Rehearsal and Rebuttal

I hate to have to do this, but I am going to have to mention some unpleasentness.

Someone left a comment on a previous blog entry, presumably someone connected with the show I am in. I mentioned in passing that the director had forgotten the props at her house, and I was eaten alive for it.

Whoever may have written that, I would appreciate being approached directly with any problems you have with what I say. To accuse me of not helping my director is a tad out of line, and not backed up by my history in ANY show I have ever been in. Had my director asked me to go back to her house and help her with props, that is exactly what I would have done. I was not asked to do so.

Secondly, I mentioned the props were forgotten, because my understanding of the director's own words were that she had forgotten them. Whatever the case, it was not said with the malice that your comments were said with, and if you read this, I would like to think as a fellow team member, you could come to me directly, and in private about something. Particularly when it involves my work ethic.

The comments are not being published, but they have been read.

All of that being said...

The marathon rehearsal was a little bit harry at times. Some scenes just sort of dissolved into chaos. And we have even less room to work with than we thought, so there was a lot of actor impromptu blocking going on as we went. Awkward crosses abounded. But it could not be avoided tonight.

One problem is a large banner that is dissecting our performance space. We had about a third less than we thought we did, (which wasn't much to begin with.) That made thing more difficult. But it is to be moved back further tomorrow, if I am not mistaken. That is a relief, as we really could use the extra feet.

The cramped quarters extended back stage too. It is going to be a tight squeeze back there with all of our props, and set pieces. Doable, but certainly a challenge. I am up to it, but I do notice it, for sure.

And of course, this was the first chance the tech crew of three had to move the set around between scenes. Ergo, that required some extra time.

I also tried on my costume. It is a robe, or is it a gown? Either way, I tried it on today. It is to be, as I understood it, hemmed tonight or tomorrow sometime, to be approximately knee length. More word on shoes and pants tomorrow.

We then went through a speed through of some scenes...without emotions, just to get the words and the blocking nailed down. Some of the funnier moment actually came to life more during the speed through than in previous rehearsals. I think because in a play this dialog rich, speed counts. The rapid fire nature of some of the lines gives them more life than a more methodical delivery would be. Though we were not acting per se, the speed with which we were delivering the lines at that point created a substitute repartee...one that we did not have before, but can add to now that we have seen it.

And I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich during our break.

I know that for such a long rehearsal I have not said much. But when you have that much rought work to do, there is no a whole lot of detailed accounting that can be made. I will say despite the length, I had fun at rehearsal for most of tonight. We will not get many of these nights, in fact only one more. So I am trying to get as much of that "tech week giddiness" as I can during these two days. We are one actor short tomorrow, but without a doubt, I will still find enjoyment in the process.