"I Say This Could Be Fun"

That's one of my lines in Act One, and it could apply to this show as a whole. For we are now getting to the fun parts of being in a show. Blocking solidified. Everyone off book, (mostly). Props in hand. The real fine tuning of a production begins about two weeks out as we are.

Tonight we ran Act One. We even tried to run the dance, and remembered most of it, but not enough to warrant doing it the second time. The choreographer will be back on Sunday, and I am sure she will set it all straight at that point. We almost got it anyway.

The Fred/Scrooge greeting continues to go well. In many ways that scene has gone well from the earliest point, as compared to the others. It feels 100% natural the entire time for me. I really feel I am starting to tap into the charitable notion that is Fred's treatment of his Uncle. Truly viewing the man as a lost, (but retrievable) soul. Fred mentions in Act Two that he "could be angry with him if I tried", and I think that sums up well what the scene should be, and how I want to play it. And how I have been playing it. A religious conviction of redemption without proselytization. Just poor joy and compassion. To that end, I have begun smiling off stage before I enter, to build up the right amount of joy.

The so called "break up" scene gets better each time. The scene proceeding it needs work. It is supposed to be a party but as a cast I don't think we are quite hitting a high enough energy level for it. It seems to drag on a bit too long, and is a bit too quiet. I bet once we get the dance mastered it will give the scene an injection of energy, but even then we can do better. "Belle" and I though seem to have mastered our waltz for said scene, however.

I don't say much about the opening scene in the attic, with Dickens himself and his friends because that hasn't warranted a lot of commentary to tell you the truth. It too could go a bit quicker in my opinion, but really seems to be on an even keel. I know I could use a bit of work on making the character if Frederick Dickens a bit more distinct, but I am not certain how to go about it just yet. I think a gesticulation and a back story may be in order. (Though it's harder for him because he was a real person.)

Our next rehearsal is Sunday, and we will be attempting to run the whole show for the first time. It truly is getting quite close. Running the whole show for the first time in one night always hits that point home.