Full Run at Full Circle

Last night we ran both acts of A Christmas Carol for the first time. Given that, it was a satisfactory rehearsal, though there were several mistakes. I myself made two of them, at least.

Act Two has become less rushed in the last few rehearsals, but it nonetheless is still the more complicated of the two halves. There is still much to do, and less time in which to do it as compared with the first act. I think there may have been some fatigue on my part once we got to Act Two, having done Act One before hand. Not permanent fatigue, as of course, I will be ready to perform the entire play eventually. But it being the first time we had Act One to do right before the complex Act Two may have something to do with why I was off later in the evening.

To begin with, I once again forgot to set Tiny Tim's stool, which is my job. A minor flub, but still something I am annoyed with about myself. The second moment where I was below par was not a screw-up because I fixed it, but it still showed how off I was. I almost did not remember I have an entrance as the Ghost of Christmas Future. I did get into costume, and I made the entrance in plenty of time, but I did not remember right off that that was my next duty.

The other actual mistake I made was missing a line during the Old Joe scene. I skipped one, and went right to the next. I knew something was off but wasn't sure at first what it was. It dawned on me though, and if I had not told the other actress I was sorry, (something I realized later I shouldn't have done), my mistake would have probably gone unnoticed, the lines being so similar.

So I am not happy about those things. But there is this consolation; I will now put extra effort into fixing those very moments I flubbed last night. Of course that is no guarantee of perfection from here on out, but it decreases the odds of making the same mistakes.

The mistakes were the exception for me though. And indeed for most of the cast, most of whom continue to improve each night. The "break-up" scene with Belle continues to feel better each time I do it. I must be careful in the scene to not fall back on affectations, which is easily done when working with uber-familiar material such as this. That has been something to resist from the start. In some scenes I have succeeded more so than other in that mission. Yet I would surmise that having costumes, lights and sounds effects in place starting Wednesday, thus giving it a feel of a full-on production, will help align me, and deepen my performances. Tech week almost always has that effect to one degree or another, anyway.

I did feel better about Fred's party scene last night. I feel I am starting to slow things down, and make that Fred more like the Fred at the start of the play. For a while they felt like different people. I am not sure why. Perhaps because there is a lot more going on, with different people than in the first scene. But either way, the gap is closing as I take more command of all of the dynamic things happening within the scene. I'm going to start experimenting with those lines on my own, I think, now that they are memorized.

All and all, I think the show needs more energy. It does seem to fall a bit flat and quiet at times, especially in Act Two. And that is not due to any one particular person, but rather the entire show still feeling it's way. But, just as with my own personal moments, I can't help but believe getting all of the extras in place this week will improve things. That tends to happen most when a show is well prepared to enter it's final week of rehearsal, and honestly, I think this one is in very solid shape, all and all.

And so ends the last of the "regular" rehearsal updates. Starting Wednesday we enter technical rehearsals. Rubber, prepare to meet road.

Addendum: I just got an e-mail from the director stating that lights will not actually be in place until Saturday. Tech week does begin Wednesday, but the polish won't show up until the weekend.