The Final Approach

Last night was our final rehearsal. I don't buy into the notion that a final rehearsal is the opposite of what opening night will be, but even if I did, I wouldn't know how to categorize it. The energy was low, but we didn't bomb or anything.

This is one of those shows that needs an audience. Yes I realize that they all do when you get down to it, but what I mean is that I have discovered that certain shows get to a point where rehearsing starts to get a bit pointless. So invested in the presence of an audience is the script that beyond a certain point one can only guess as to how prepared a show is to go on, and I think we have reached that point. It needs an audience.

My best guess is that there are some tricky spots and pot holes here and there, but that each rehearsal has filled some of them this week. An extra week would have been ideal, but I would gather the show is ready to tentatively take off tonight. I think perhaps the first 15 minutes or so may be slow in going, and then the show and the audience will commence to thaw.

Silly as it is, I am proud to report that none of my snaps came undone during my scenes last night. I think I have finally mastered the limitations of my movements in same, and can gesticulate without causing a problem. There was also a piece of velcro added to the fly of my knickers, so that potential embarassment is no longer an issue. (I had used a safety pin the night before.)

I do think i need to slow down a few of my lines, but that shouldn't be difficult.

I also worked out some of the lighting cue difficulties I had had in Act Three. I need to give a subtle cue to the lighting guy who cannot see the whole stage, but other than that, no problem.

The only unpleasantness about last night is that I had to ask some people in the green room to quiet down do I could hear cues. There has been a lot of yelling and exuberant talking back there of late, but last night we had singing pop songs in harmony, and I really couldn't determine a thing as to cue from the monitor. I believe I angered some people, and while that is not my intention, I do need to hear my cues. Hopefully the presence of the audience will help with that as well.

I didn't time the show, but it seems to take about as long as it did the night before. We were done with everything, including notes, at about 11:00PM. The show is probably a solid two hours and 30 minutes.

For my own part, I continued to perform at about the same level as I have all week. Which is why I hope that tonight there will be that extra spark I mentioned in my previous entry. All of the difficulties and practice and such is behind me now. I am confident that I can and have provided my cast mates with what they need during my scenes. I wish everyone well of course, but I cannot spend too much time any longer pondering what is happening when I am not on stage. (Other than my cues, of course.) Despite the large blocks of time I have without doing anything, I hope to go inward tonight, and just enjoy the fact that I am Hamlet. If I can do that, it should be a fun opening night.