Marked Improvement

Last night's rehearsal for "It's a Wonderful Life" went much better than Monday night. We still have some rough patches with sound here and there, but nothing like before. It is coming together well in spite of those patches.

Due to the fact that Act 2 had given us the most trouble previously, we ran that first last night. Just in case we needed to work on problem spots. (Which we did here and there.) After a break, we moved to Act One.

Act One of course is where I give my largest single performance, as George's father, Peter, in two scenes. I take all the roles seriously, but that is the one that I feel will leave the deepest impression. It is the one with the most character work required, as compared to the other roles.

"Peter" is coming along well. I feel I give him more depth each night. The director is very pleased with the tone I am giving him. (In particular my successful implementation of a note he gave me on a specific line on Monday.) From a technical standpoint I am told I am still "popping the 'p's' " when I do Peter. (An audio term referring to overloading the mike when one pronounces the letter "p". I am not really sure what to do about his, as it is something I fear when I was further from the mike. I made a concerted effort to be more direct with the mike, and that problem showed up. Maybe there is something that can be done with the setting. Or maybe I can find a way to stay within the range of the device, but at an angle. I suppose we will talk about it tonight.

I admit that I am having some difficulty with these sort of moments. The technical aspects. I feel my acting is sufficient, but I admit I could be somewhat less inhibited in a more traditional setting. There are so many other things to worry about that you do not have to worry about when in a standard play. Or even in a standard reading that is not going to be recorded. As mentioned, there is closeness to the mike, and angle. There is volume. There is how to stand at the mike. The idea of where to hold the script, and how to hold it, while still being able to face the mike properly. All of these worries, (none of which I have mastered just yet) tend to sometimes take over the forefront of my mind while I am trying to perform. I must work extra hard tonight (full dress rehearsal) to iron out some of these problems. They are not huge, but they will require specific effort. (And questions for the director.)

I don't seem to have as much worry when playing the other parts. Probably because they are of shorter duration. One or two lines at a time, whereas Peter is a "lead" if you will in the two scenes he is in. (It is just he and George for those two scenes, for the most part.)

So I have things to work on tonight. I hope to avoid two non-theatre related things as well. I hope to avoid driving home in a horrendous surprise winter storm last night. And before rehearsal I was ask to rid the theatre office of three mice. I hate vermin. But since they were already trapped in a basket, I was able to (barely) take the thing outside to the parking lot, on behalf of those who didn't feel they could do it. But I do not want to do it again.