So Much To Say..Part 1

I have been unusually derelict in my blogging duties this week. And it is tech week, for shame! But, as amazing as this may sound, i have lately had several other things going on that have taken up some of my free time other than theatre. I know, sac religious, isn't? Yet true.

I have so much to update you on, that I have broken it down into several entries. First and fore most, let me talk about the last three rehearsals for tech week.

They were all in the chapel. All three were roughly the same in regards to productivity and accomplishment. Sort of an even keel type of thing. I cannot really say each one has gotten better than the last, but all three for the most part maintained the status quo we established earlier in the week. A few things here and there, spread throughout the 3 days are noteworthy, as opposed to an separate account of each night's rehearsals.

The other day, i forgot to put on my ring for the first scene. Though we are not doing costumes this week, I confess to feel somewhat off in my performance without it. So strange how things like that can through off an actor's equilibrium.

Well, perhaps that is overstating the sensation. I still did the scene just fine. But the ring not being there was in fact a rather glaring problem. So I retrieved it for the rest of the play, and all was well.

I have developed, what I think, are better line readings in several cases with some of my lines. Geoff has a several lines that just sort of pop in there at some points in a conversation. I have, throughout the last three nights, found better motivations for them, and they have gone easier than they had been going.

So has one scene I have with John. It had never really gone poorly, but it was just one of those scenes, on in this case, scene sections, that just did not flow smoothly out of my mouth. John and I ran the lines several times in a row before rehearsal one night, and i finally started to nail it into my head. Knock on wood, the scene now feels much smoother from my end than it previously did. So that is taken care of, by and large.

I also thought of something rather obvious this week. During a very tense, climactic scene, I have started to breath heavier intentionally. It sounds obvious, but panting like that it actual counter intuitive when your body does not literally require the oxygen in those levels. And indeed, one cannot go overboard, or fainting is likely, but trust me, i am not doing it THAT much. I just thought giving the impression of a bit of labored breathing might ad to the scene. Simple enough.

My ring flew off during a struggling in the last scene one night. I picked it up in character as best as I could. Not so much out of a need for him to have it on at that exact minute, but out of fear it would be stepped on and crushed, being the cheap piece of metal it is. (I got it in a toy store. It's called "Super-Bling". It's as durable as something by that name sounds like it would be.)

I do not even show up in Act 2 for about a half an hour. (one long scene, and one shorter one before I come on stage.) So I needed something to keep the time moving. I am proud to report I finished an entire Sudoku puzzle during the performance of act 2 up until my entrance. Yes, it was on easy level, but try working those things when you have Henry and Eleanor yelling at each other about pork in the tree tops, 3 feet away from you. I impressed myself.

Last night we obtained to very handsome, antique wine barrels. They are needed for a scene in the wine cellar. We had previously used a painting of them, but once the director got her hands on these, we opted for the real thing. Very nice indeed. One is so cumbersome that it will stay on stage the whole show, disguised as a table until it is needed as a barrel.

Then last night, tempers flared. Mine included. I will not document the occurrence in detail, as those that were there know to what i am, referring. But this blog is meant to be an account of what happens in a show, and so I include it here. Suffice to say that in my opinion, under the right (o in this case, wrong) conditions, people who volunteer their free time in a community theatre can reach the boiling point faster than Equity people who are being paid to stay quiet, and tolerant. While we all want to do the best we can, i think that sometimes everyone in community theatre, (myself also) needs to always remember the nature of community theatre...that it is made up of volunteers and not professionals. That is all I wish to say on that ugliness.

As for tonight, the rehearsal is to be at the home of the director. It is to be a line rehearsal only, no props, no blocking. I may not be able to make it, as an ice and snow storm is blanketing the north east, my area included, as well as the area where the director's house is. I am committed, but the highway I take to that town is treacherous enough any day. Fridays are worse, and added ice to it would complicate matters even further. I am going to stay on top of things and make a decision as the day wears on.

Such was the nature of the last three nights of rehearsal. Tomorrow we open. (After rehearsing the show once over before hand, on the stage.) And now, other entries for other things.