Second Weekend and Golden Ratio

Well, just one performance left, the dreaded closing matinee. But first, to update on how the first two shows of this weekend went.

In sum, they went well. Friday night was a bigger and somewhat more involved crowd that tonight (Saturday) was, but tonight was galaxies better than last Saturday.

Truth be told I have more to say about tonight, than last night. That because that for certain moments of the play tonight to me represented my best acting of the run so far.

Not that I can fully explain how. A person in the audience who saw all of the performances so far may not have perceived much of a difference in tonight's performance I turned in. But for every actor, (I'd assume) there is a certain inner awareness of what they are and are not accomplishing any given play, any given night. It has a lot to do with how much of your theory for the character, built in your head and your heart over the process, is projected outward in the same way you see it inwardly. (In some cases, surpassing it.) So far i have no major complaints about my work in this show. I have been so far mostly satisfied with what I've done. But there haven't been as many moments of "inner" and "outer" matching up during this run as their have been with many of my shows.

Until tonight.

Part of this difficult-to-articulate experience relates also to proper ratio for me between automatic acting, and deliberate acting. I think I've said before here on the blog that a few times during this show I've been on stage for a few moments, and felt automatic; I felt that I was in the character, but responding in the exact moment to a few too many things, without having the grounded awareness that I am a performer in a role. As I said before it sounds great on some level, and it is a powerful tool. But the key word is tool. This vanishing into a moment cannot be a proper tool for me, if Ty vanishes too much under the surface, even if the acting is something to be proud of.

No, I strongly prefer to be just a tick or two ahead of the game, aware that I am a performer bringing a part to life. Controlling the magic, in other words, instead of the magic controlling me. A few times during the run the magic, if you will, ran ahead of me for a while.

The polar opposite problem of course is feeling nothing-being myself in a costume walking around a stage regurgitating something I've memorized. Aping more than acting. This also does little for me.

However, when just the right amount of "vanishing" mixes with  just the right amount of conscious control over my performance, and ideal situation is achieved.

If you followed all of that, (don't be upset if you didn't) than what I'm saying is that I achieved this golden ratio more often, for longer periods tonight than I have in previous days of the run. So, by my own somewhat clumsy definition, I did, overall, my best work, had my best experience as an actor, tonight out of the five performances to date.

Not that this was happening every single minute. In fact, one usually must be satisfied with a ratio a few ticks below this golden. An entire evening within the golden is rare. But barring any major problems otherwise, an evening with at least an individual scene in the golden constitutes a successful night for me as an actor. Tonight was such a night, I'd say.

Now, what specifically about tonight made reaching the golden ratio possible more often than the other nights?

Hopefully you don't think I can answer my own question! For surely, it is one of the great mysteries of theatre, and indeed many of the arts. We don't always know why one crowd laughs and another doesn't, how a brilliant actor can pull off one role and not the next, or how and when we find the golden ratio I've talked about here. I can only say, if my experience matters at all, that being prepared as early as possible, and taking the work seriously increases the likelihood. And I have felt more prepared for this show than I have for my last few.

Tomorrow of course is that odd creature, closing performance. Matinee. I will naturally try to fight the fatigue and the expectations based on tonight, and everything else that has to be done after the show, and labor just as hard to give a good performance. I don't screw around in a show just because it's the final performance. But my honest instinct at this time is that tomorrow is not likely to be a better experience than tonight.

Check back in though, and find out.

Catching Up

Despite the best of intentions, I often seem to let blogging about second weekend performances fall by the way side. But I can correct that mistake now, and do so expeditiously by concentrating on just one of the nights, Saturday night.

Not that Friday and Sunday were bad. They weren't. Friday was just smaller than the previous Friday, and Sunday was of course a matinee. (Though more people came to that matinee than the first one.) I'm satisfied in many ways with both of those shows, particularly how well 4.3 went. But without question the highlight of our second weekend was Saturday night.

For starters, it was a full house for the first time in the newly remodeled venue. I keep forgetting what that number is, but i think it's about 50 seats. That would have been a nice crowd even in the former house, though it would have only been about half of the seats. But a fuller, smaller house, not to mention one that is so intimate with the actors because of proximity adds many things to the show that even the other nights didn't have, or didn't have as much of.

The most of course is energy. Science would poo-poo it, but performers know better; there is energy in a crowd that can be used and reflected by the actor. Saturday's crowd was not only a full house, but a responsive one. A crowd that be it's very presence, (in many ways right in our faces) brought out the best in all of us.

That's not to say there were no nerves involved. Though I haven't felt nervous at the start of the show, I still get ever so slightly nervous before the start of the oft-mentioned 4.3. This was ever so slightly increased on Saturday. Yet it was in the good way, not the bad, for the most part. Enhanced focus and such. As a result, several of my line readings were somewhat different, enhanced by the extra energy. I use that energy in various ways, one of which is to think on my feet as to how I can deliver the line in news ways to express more effectively the character's thoughts and goals in the scene. It's not usually something I plan out, rather it happens as a result of the energy I have mentioned, as well as preparation.

Another plus? I pay extra attention to every word I am speaking, and I managed to not have rubber tongue at all that night. True, most people would never have noticed the times I did have it previously, but I always knew, and I was proud to have not experienced it through the whole show. (I didn't on Sunday either, to be accurate.)

I even had an audience member tell me afterwards that not only did I fully embody the character, but that my "diction was excellent." That's high praise any time, but particular in its sweetness when one does Shakespeare. I always work hard on my diction, and I am glad it paid off.

There were other little nuances throughout that showed up in my performances, as well as those of others. I saluted a soldier with my dagger right before a battle. It'snot a thing anyone does, I'm sure, but it seems to work in this parallel universe we've created for the show. Not to mention, it was all part of keeping the energy up. When you feel it, you don't want to let it slide.

I also delivered parts of my one and only "rallying" speech to the audience. Not directly to them the whole time, but as they are right there in front of us now, and as the director wanted us to make use of the audience when we could, it felt like a solid, effective idea to see the audience somewhat as troops about to head into battle with us. (Which in a way, they were.)

Yet I don't want this recap to be nothing but self-congratulatory. As I told (yelled) to the rest of the cast in the dressing rooms after that show, "That's the way it's done, people!" (I don't often do such things as that these days, though I used to do them more often in years past.) For indeed, everyone else I saw in the show was in the zone, en pointe, of whatever cute metaphor you want to use. i can say if all of them felt that it was their own personal best performance of the run, but I know it was mine, and I know all of them seemed quite happy with what they had done. I heard of no issues.

I wrote the cast and told them as much once I got home that night. 

I'll admit that even now I find Malcolm to be an odd Shakespearean character. As I told the Talk Back group last weekend after the first matinee, it feels like about five pages of his story are missing from the play. I think I'll always feel that way. But after Saturday's performance, and all of the "extras" that the energies of a responsive, appreciative crowd brought to the surface of the show, I felt greater appreciation for portraying Malcolm. I felt even more a Shakespearean actor after Saturday night than I did before, and I have felt like one for quite some time.

So much so, I think I carried some of that with me in to the matinee the following day. It of course did not measure up to Saturday night, and the crowd was small and quiet. But I have to say it was better than the first matinee, and I'm willing to believe that at least some of that is due to the injection of confidence and enthusiasm we all received from an excellent Saturday night.

Nothing this week at all. A week from Thursday is one pick up rehearsal. A week from that is another, full dress pick up, and then, on Halloween night, our Birnam Wood will come to our Dunsinane, and the production will close.

Radium Girls Finale

Radium Girls is concluded. Has been for several days, and I've been slowly getting back to some of the things that being in the show delayed. Ironically, this blog was one of those things.

The second weekend, though  by no means problem free, was stronger than the first, from an acting perspective. Saturday was our biggest crowd at the Black Box, probably about 30 people. Good crowd. The crowd for the closing matinee was smaller by about ten people, but arguably more responsive. My mother came on Friday.

As is sadly often the case, very few of my personal friends came to the show. No need to elaborate on that disappointing fact.

I personally felt that I myself gave stronger performances this weekend than I did last weekend. For whatever reason, right up until the end I always felt more nervous during my single scene as "Dr. Flinn." I've never been sure why this was the case. It could be because the scene required a long, rambling speech. It could be that I wasn't cast in the role from the beginning. That may seem silly, but all throughout the process in the back of my mind I felt like it wasn't "really" my character, even though I had the role since about week two of the rehearsal process.

Maybe I just didn't like the character. Or the scene, which I felt was one of the few in the play that was not well-written. I understood why it was there in a way, but it was too long, not a good match for me, and always took me out of the play a bit. It got a few laughs from the crowds during the run, and my cast mates very much enjoyed watching me in the scene, but internally it never totally clicked with me. On the final day I went a little further with the character, making him even broader and sillier in some ways, and that made it a bit less imposing to do the scene, but I never felt totally at ease with it. (On Friday I even dropped one of the sentences from his speech, but jumped right to the next one, without further incident.)

It can't be denied that there were tech and crew issues in this show that were never totally solved. They made the show longer, and through off at times what could have been a far better presentation. Not to bad mouth any one individual, because one single person can't be blamed for it, but scene changes and other such things were an issue when they didn't always have to be an issue. Maybe an extra week of rehearsals would have done it. Maybe. It doesn't matter now.

Such problems did a few times irritate me quite a bit, but over all the experience of being in Radium Girls was a positive one. I am glad to have been in it, now that all is said and done. I enjoyed it more than my previous show, for any number of reasons.

I feel I presented four distinct characters throughout my performance. Even Flinn, the one I didn't like, was sufficiently different from the other three. That's the biggest challenge of ensemble work-making sure each of your characters, no matter how "minor" appear to be different from the others. I feel I achieved that.

Not that it was always easy. Several times I had to jump right into the next character, necessitating rapid costumes changes. The -longer-than-they-should-have-been scene changes probably helped me cheat a bit, but for a while there I wasn't sure if I could find a system that would allow me enough time to change costumes quickly enough. I did, in the end. In an ideal world, I would have had a crew member helping me do that, which was discussed early on. But as I mentioned there were already enough issues with the tech aspects as it was, without adding more responsibilities to the team.

For the record, if you know the show or care to look it up, I enjoyed playing Berry, the lawyer for the Radium Girls the most, especially during the scene of the hearing. The reporter was my second favorite character, and the one I played most often during the show. Berry and the reporter are the two characters I said on my audition sheet I liked the most, and I'll always be grateful to the director for letting me play both of them.

I'll miss some of the folks from this show, most of whom i had never met before. I'd work with any of them again.

I'll also miss my hat from the show, though. I almost offered to buy it, but I didn't.

So, that's about it for this show. If you get a chance to see or be in a production of Radium Girls, I encourage you to do so. It is a good script, with a lot of room for different styles of acting, and stageable on a low-budget.

What's next for me? It may be happening very soon, in fact. On Saturday before the show I auditioned in the same building for a production of Macbeth, that a friend and Radium Girls cast mate is directing in the fall. If I get into that, I'll probably be rehearsing, or at least doing table work for that in the next couple of weeks.

But plenty of time to talk of that, should it happen. For now, I'm officially closing the Radium Girls chapter of my time, and this blog.

Send Off

Due to there being no matinees, last  night we closed "A Night of One-ders" at the Black Box Arts Center.

It was our largest crowd of the run. (About 20 people) and in many ways was probably the best performance. It lagged in a few places it had always lagged, but overall energy was up, and I'd say we sent the show off on a positive note.

What can really be said at the end of a show such as this? If you've followed this mini-adventure since it began here on the blog, you know that this production was spotted with certain problems. Some of them were preventable, and some of them were not. It was usually difficult going, and for a time, at least to me, was worrisome. I wasn't convinced we were ready to open when we did.

Truth be told, the second weekend was in many ways stronger than our opening weekend, so in some ways that theory played out. However, opening weekend was acceptable, which is better than I expected at one point.

I always felt rushed in this show, always a bit more on edge than I like to be. More so than I tend to be for most shows I'm in. This was due in part to the fact that it was three shows crammed into one hour, both of which required a lot of stage time from me. I didn't get nearly as much of a break as I like to re-calibrate, especially between shows. No intermission either. I'd probably have to consider it long and hard before I tried out for something in this format again. (As in, being this rushed through the whole thing.)

As for the people I would work with most of them again, gladly. I probably will, in fact. They are all local, and I have known some of them for years.

Now the process of gently stripping away the thoughts, feelings and affects of this production, so as to prepare my artistic spirit for the next project(s). Being in a play is almost always the prime expenditure of creative time and energy during a run. Now I can reallocate that to other things I've been working on.

Oedipus Rep intends to have another show in June, auditions in April. It hasn't been decided what it is yet, so I don't know if I will audition for it or not. But I have plenty of time to think that over, and they have plenty of time to decide what they want to do.

For now, back to "normal" (read: non-production) time.

As always, thanks for following along on my journey through this show. Check back often to see what my next theatrical endeavor, thought, or idea will be.

One left for One-Ders

Since we didn't have matinees for this show, tonight's performance will be the final one for this production.

But first things first: last night.

We started late last night because our sound/light guy was late. It happens. You don't want it to happen, and had it been an hour later, I'm sure I would have been more annoyed. But it was only about 20 minutes, and I just wasn't too put off by it. Some were more angry about it than others.

The performance itself had its ups and downs. The energy for the longest show was a bit low, and at one point something happened that threw off the rhythm for a bit. To be honest, I'mnot sure what happened, exactly. I suppose somebody skipped a line or something like that, but I really don't know. You'd think I would after all this time, but it occurred in a part of the play where I have no lines for ten minutes while on stage, so I am not as in tune to every nuance as I am in other places.

I never zone out. I work extra hard to make sure I am conveying a character, and telling a story when I have extensive time without lines in a play. In fact you have to pay particular attention to such stretches, as an actor who is just standing there without responding to either his character's thoughts or the actions happening around him on stage will stick out like a sore thumb. As my departed directing professor once said of such situations, "You might as well hold up a sign on stage that says, 'hey folks, I'm a fake.' "

So, I strive to not be a fake. There is a lot going on in the scene. But because I allow my character to react directly to events as they unfold in the scene, I don't know every line of it. Whatever went awry last night, it was something I couldn't jump in and fix without looking totally stupid.

The set changes continue to be a problem. People not sure what to do, in the pitch black, no work lights. These were planned out and rehearsed all in one night on tech week, and never really worked on again. Rehearsal time for these changes was probably the least adequate part of the show. I myself screwed up during a set change last night. I thought someone needed help moving something, so I grabbed it, but they didn't. It was already set. The issue was corrected quickly, but nonetheless I got confused as to what I was supposed to do for a moment during the always chaotic scene change.

I don't mind doing some extra work as an actor, especially in community theatre. That's the point. But I have to say, I have very much disliked having to stop and totally commit to a set change in what little time I already have between shows to get into character and prepare. This show needed at least a skeleton tech crew.

I always feel rushed in this show. There is no intermission, and once I am on stage, I am only off of it for moments at a time until the end of the evening. Last night, I felt a little more on edge and rushed than normal. I think it's because it was our first performance after the hiatus. An ever so thin layer of rust, perhaps, despite the pick up rehearsal. I predict I won't quite feel that way tonight, for the final performance.

There were about 8 or 9 people in the audience last night, so sadly we haven't been packing them in. Tonight being Saturday may bring a bigger crowd, especially since I and some others in the show have friends coming this time.

One more time for everything in this show, both the stuff I like and dislike.

A Pick-Up Pick-Me-Up

Last night the most of the cast met for a pick-up rehearsal of the show. Two actresses and the director were unable to attend.

If you are familiar with this blog, or with community theatre, you'll know that a pick-up rehearsal, between two weekends of a show, often is seen more as a chance to goof around, as opposed to rehearse the show in earnest.

I've been to a few of these that have ended up as a total waste of time, so much messing around was there. One time a director even called it off right in the middle because of its fruitlessness.

About half of the shows I've been in haven't even bothered with a pick-up at all.

I've even been a few where the director insisted on it being a full fledged "tech week revisted" rehearsal. (Though I've found this is the most difficult position to get everyone to agree to.)

Last night was an interesting hybrid of a pick-up. We ran all three shows, including basic blocking and (about 90%) of the lines properly. A few stupid hats, a lot of silly voices, and a few other small gags made their way into the mix. And I don't mind.

I don't mind because not only did we review (albeit informally) everything we needed to, we all had fun with one another. Fun as people, as actors, as volunteers in the same project. There is enjoyment in performing and doing well, but it was an at times tense final week of rehearsals. It was in some ways a nerve-wracking (though successful) opening weekend, with all the ritual and anxiety that goes along with same. Last night gave us a refreshing chance to be loose again.

That silliness, on top of being halfway done with the run I think gave some of us a better understanding of one another. Maybe not a "cast bonding" moment, as so many people call it, but it did provide a level of camaraderie that hadn't quite been achieved yet-a level that wouldn't have been attained with a full throttle rehearsal, nor with an absolute chaotic manure-show.

Pick-ups are a weird creature anyway. You've done the show, you've proven that despite flaws, you're able to perform the show in front of a crowd. You've had your first days off from the show in a week. Then you come back and "rehearse" again. Sometimes a show really needs it, and sometimes it really doesn't. But in either case to me it feels like hanging out at your high school after you've already passed your final exams. You're technically still a student, but you've essentially done all you can do before graduating. It's like a "lame-duck" rehearsal in many ways.

And of course, this was the last rehearsal for this show, since it's only running two weekends. Never again will this group get together to practice this thing in any fashion. It's performances from now on. We want the final two nights to go  better than the first two, of course, but in a real sense, once you have a pick-up rehearsal, the momentum shifts. It's downhill now, from a time (not a quality) standpoint. With a pick-up rehearsal coming up, there is a small buffer. That buffer gone, we really are coming to the end, even though only half of the performances have happened thus far.

I'm glad we had this chance to goof around on stage as actors in the low-pressure environment that was our pick-up rehearsal.

Next performance: Friday at 8:00PM.

 

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern...are Closed

*

Another show concluded. And while the Sunday closer was not our best audience or performance, I do have to say it went better than I would have thought for a Sunday. The whole second weekend was clearly the best, and the second Sunday was better than any of the days of our first weekend.

I think we had about 15 people, including my own mother. The house was not as warm as the previous night's but they did laugh at things that most of the crowds did not. Yes, I am sure some of that was my mother laughing at a few of my moments, but I know her laugh, and she was not the only one.

It was hotter than the previous two shows. Not just because it was day time, but because the weather was hotter in general, and the house was once again not a very comfortable place to be. Neither was the stage. Even if in my brief moments began to feel a bit hot near the end.

My mother enjoyed what I feel was a good performance of Hamlet by yours truly. I can't say it was bar none the best one of the run. That honor probably does go to the night before. However the usual dip in energy, for both myself and the rest of the cast for a second Sunday wasn't as evident as I might have thought it would be. At least for those who ever had any energy in the first place. So kudos to such people.

I won't miss the umbrella bit, though it went okay yesterday. I won't miss sitting on stage hidden for 20 minutes waiting. I won't miss that costume. I won't miss the heat of a summer show. And I certainly won't miss certain individuals within the cast. But I will miss delivering the lines of Hamlet. I'll miss the pirate scene, as silly as it was.

The entire experience has given me something important, though. I have often mentioned my plans to stage my own Hamlet at some point, probably within the next 18 months if things go well. I knew that that would take work, and it well, both in terms of structure and art. Yet having this chance to be Hamlet in this play gave me a leg up on that experience. It doesn't stand in for the idea of course, but it was just enough to confirm that I do have an idea of Hamlet within me after reading the play so many times. And not just the broad strokes, either. Being in this play provided me with a preview of some of the nuance. The flourishes. The little details that can be utilized pursuant to playing one of the greatest roles ever. Staging the real Hamlet will be a challenge, as will performing the title role. But thanks to being cast in this play, I will not be approaching the role 100% cold. For that I am grateful.

It also taught me patience. Patience with terrible people, and how not to allow them to get to me too much. For while that jackass I have been talking about did piss me off, I take pride in the fact that I still said nothing more to the old fool than "Just leave me alone." I of course refuse to ever work with him or anyone like him again, because life is too short and theatre is too important. But I at least showed that I can be accosted and berated by a lunatic and not let it affect my overall performance in the production. If I may say so myself, I think that is a strength for an actor.

I don't know what my next theatre project will be yet. I am doing a few skits for a picnic next week, and for fun I may post some thoughts here on that when the time comes. But as far as plays, I don't yet know. I usually don't know right away. But when I so know, so will you, loyal blog readers, as it will be right here on Always Off Book, as it has been for over five years now. Thank you for your continued readership and interest in my theatre adventures.

Back to weekly advice posts for now. Hope you stop by on Tuesdays for those.

Photo by Martha Louden. Myself and Roger Hume as Polonious.

The Trend Seems to Hold

There is one more performance of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. I realize that. So I would be able to say with certainty that my second-Saturday theory held true. But I can say that last night was both our biggest (20...) and most responsive crowd of the run. And that despite one of our leads having a sore throat and failing voice, it was, from what I could gather, our best performance. Today's matinee could in theory be better, but in the history of my doing theatre, a closing matinee has been the best of the run only one single time.

First off, it is a matinee. Then there is too much fatigue, colder, smaller crowds, unfair comparisons to the night before and depending on the show the emotion of knowing it is about to end. The closing matinee is usually not a showcase of stellar quality. (Which is why I prefer my people not to attend them.)

But that is today. Last night I had a few friends in the audience, and many of the more subtle moments finally got some laughs. Even I as Hamlet got a few chuckles. The bit wherein I reveal I am reading a magazine got a laugh in Act Three. My spitting over the side of the "boat" got it's very first reaction. Even "hawk from a handsaw" amused somebody.

Last night my Hamlet was in top form, I would say. Now I don't want to oversell this point, because as I said, the character is just a periodic presence the pops in and out throughout the play. So it would not be accurate to call this Hamlet a huge drain on my resources. Yet through the tiny slices of Hamlet that I get to enact each night I have gotten a feel for what doing the entire role would require, and confirmed that I could hit the stride of same. In the program I describe this as a sort of "spring training" for Hamlet, and last night I feel I perfectly hit the rhythms of this version of him. Both last night and the night before I got to the place I wanted to be from the beginning: feeling for those few moments as though I am in the actual Hamlet. I was most able to convince myself of that last night, and so I give it the stamp of my "best performance of the run" so far.

The business of us running and hiding from the pirate actually got applause at the end of the scene. That was fun.

The only difficult lie in me moving the damn umbrella about in the dark again. I got it done, but almost missed the chair when I sat down. I think someone laughed. But oh well.

Not an exciting entry, I realize. But a stride has been hit. At least for the last two evening. Hopefully it carries through to today's closer.

"The End Of It"

The title of this entry comes not from the play, but from the last section of the original novel, A Christmas Carol. But I used it for the final entry for this play two years ago, and I am doing so again.

First and foremost, I need to say that it is quite an infrequent experience for me to have my final performance be either the best, or in front of the biggest crowd. Today's matinee, however was both. Five seats short of a full house, and a very response, cheerful crowd at that. They laughed at a few things that the other crowds did not find so amusing.

As well as things that all of the other crowds found amusing. Such as my often mentioned "Happy New Year!" bit. It was always well received, and tonight was it's best reception. And though I didn't reach 100% internalization, (another hot topic here on the blog the last two weeks) I do feel my performances in this final day were of high quality, and full of energy. And the same can be said for basically everyone else in the show.

It was especially true for the break-up scene. It went better than last night, as Belle and I managed to more successfully recreate the graceful hand motion at the end of the waltz that we first did on Friday, but didn't quite achieve the following night. It may have been our best presentation of that scene. If not, it was certainly the second best. I am happy with my move in later rehearsals to present Scrooge's frustration, as opposed to presenting anger or total coldness. I shall miss performing that scene just as much as I shall miss Fred's first scene, wherein he greets Uncle Scrooge.

I had fun with Old Joe, and will miss him a bit as well. I won't miss being Peter Cratchit in either scene, frankly, despite the drama in the second. My brief moments as Christmas Future were always fun, though not my biggest challenge ever. I won't particularly miss any of the scenes in Dickens' attic, even though they are sort of the raison detre of this particular version. I always found myself chomping at the bit to get on with the actual story. (And according to my mother, who was in today's audience, some people in the house agreed with this notion, being confused by the attic moments, and unsure of what was happening.)

And then there is the Fred party scene in the Christmas Present section. The one scene that always made me a bit nervous beforehand, despite it usually being just fine. A scene I did not hate, but probably won't miss too much. And it was just fine today, and the audience was very appreciative of it. But it was not without it's problems.

To begin with, a moment wherein I was supposed to walk slowly off of a 5 step turret we built for the play did not exactly go off as planned. It is round in shape, and as I turned to deliver a line, something happened. I lost my balance for a moment, or caught my show on something, and felt myself falling forward a bit toward the ground, and away from the steps. So in the only thing I could think of to correct it error, as well as to prevent possible injury, I simply leaped off of the turret and landed in the middle of the stage while delivering said line. A bit much, but I don't think the audience noticed, and in fact seemed to be laughing rather heartily at that moment. But whether at my mini-stunt, or at something else going on on stage, I can't say. I can say the jump was a bit higher than I initially thought it would be. But better by far than falling off the thing.

The second snafu for that scene will take some explaining, but was so amusing to me I'd like to take the time to do so.

Fred blindfolds his friend Topper during the scene for a game of "Blindman's Buff". There is a gag here, wherein I look for a handkerchief, and the supposedly unseen Ghost of Christmas Present throws it, and I catch it. It always got a chuckle or two. However, at the top of the act, one of my fellow actors came off stage, and delivered a message to me on behalf of the actor who was playing Christmas Present; He had forgotten to grab the handkerchief.

That actor didn't come off stage for close to half an hour straight. He had no way to get it, and I was about to go on as Peter Cratchit. I pondered ways to cover the problem while performing Peter. (A role which had few lines.) During my brief exit, I discussed it with a fellow actress who suggested something I had already considered...taking off my ascot during the scene and using that. (Ironically, this is exactly what happened two years ago, when another actor was playing Fred, and the blindfold was somehow misplaced.) The problem was, I wasn't sure I'd have time to put it back on for my remaining scenes. I never could get it on without several tries.

Bob Cratchit enters the scene now. Played by the same actor who will later play Topper. During a section we all hated, wherein the Cracthit family had to mime its way through what seemed like a 10 minute speech by the Ghost of Christmas Present, I leaned over toward "Bob" and explained the problem to him. "Bob" then explained to me that he had retrieved the blindfold from backstage and sneaked it on with him. He mentioned it was laying behind us. I couldn't look without being conspicuous, but sure enough when I exited the Cratchit scene, to prepare for the Fred scene, I saw the wayward prop, and pocketed it quietly. It was then available to me during the party scene. And though a joke was lost, the audience was none the wiser of this. (At least until some of them read this entry!) It was a nearly perfect fix involving nearly half the cast, and not a bead of sweat was shed because of it. That is what focus and team work will bring you during a show!

None of that would have been possible if this production wasn't one of the most prepared, well rehearsed, and overall smooth flowing shows I have been in for a while. I have discussed the reasons why this may have been so for in previous entries. I won't go into them again, but suffice to say today was a prime example of the importance of being so.

As well as a prime example of why two weekend simply are not enough in most community theatre shows. Loyal blog readers will know already I have long advocated for a three weekend schedule for at least some community shows, given how almost all of them hit their true stride during the second weekend, right before they close. (If the stride is ever hit at all...) If once in a while that sense of finally hitting that rhythm could carry into one more weekend, I think a show could have more life than most community players would imagine.

A subject worthy of further consideration and discussion, but not here. Here is the time I look back on yet another show that has concluded. A show that I didn't even think I would be in, given I did not audition for it. But one I am glad I agreed to appear in. It was not revolutionary, nor life changing. nor was it perfect. But as I was telling one of the other actors during strike today, I feel it was one of those shows where we basically achieved anything we could have expected to achieve. I don't think we left anything on the stage, as it were. I think we did everything we set out to do, despite the inevitable obstacles. And hopefully we opened up the holiday season on a positive note for at least some of the people who came to see us these last two weekends. Perhaps even converted a real Scrooge or two into a happier frame of mind? One never knows.

So though once again almost none of my friends came to see me, (a sadly regular occurrence) I count this production of A Christmas Carol as a positive one. I give us a B+ or A- for the entire run. Quite the improvement over my previous show.

And an improvement over the last time we performed this show, two years ago, in some ways. Even the strike was smooth and without incident.

Now my focus turns both towards the holidays themselves, and toward my next theatre project; being an assistant-director for Full Circle's next production. I will decide in the coming days whether or not to chronicle that here on the blog, but until then, I bring my blogging about the Full Circle Theater Company's 2010 production of A Christmas Carol to a close. With my thanks to cast and crew of same.

And no, I will not end this entry with the most obvious Tiny Tim reference of all time.

Winding Down

Very often, I don't end up writing an entry about a second Saturday performance. It's true. Look back over previous shows I have chronicled here, and you will see that often I was too tired on Saturday night, and I end up blogging about both the second Saturday, and the final performance/strike in the same entry. Not this time, though there isn't much to say.

I was at the theatre for hours before call today, helping to run auditions for the show I am the assistant-director of. So I felt more than usually prepared and well balanced with my surroundings tonight. And once everyone else started to arrive, it felt like it was the most relaxed, and in some ways crazy atmosphere in the green room thus far in the run. Everyone just seemed to be more energetic tonight.

Plus we knew we were going to have a very large crowd, based on reservations. By the time it was all over, we were just 14 seats shy of filling the 100 seat house. Not bad. Our largest so far.

And our most responsive. Friday night was good, but most of the folks in tonight's crowd seemed to come ready to laugh and get into the proceedings. I even heard a few people laughing before I did my "Happy New Year" thing as Fred. I think they all knew something was coming from him, they just didn't know what exactly, nor the precise moment it would come. But it got the big laugh again once it did come.

I agreed with "Belle" that our dance and break-up scene felt better on Friday than tonight. Better than most others, and still certainly good, but it didn't flow quite as gracefully as last night. We have one more shot at it. One more shot at everything, of course.

Such as the party scene, which was fine, but sluggish in a place or two for a moment. I am not sure the exact cause, (other than me getting tongue tied once.) But the audience was laughing quite a bit at certain sections of it, so I would call it a success overall.

I almost tripped again on the damn cloak for Christmas Future. I got to wear i needed to go, but felt I had stepped on the cloth, so I stopped. I was still in my light, but could not extend my arm as far as normal when I pointed at Scrooge. Correcting it on stage would have been too awkward for that character, so I just left things alone. But people are a fan of the way I nod my head in that scene. One of the tech crew complimented that again tonight during intermission.

I screwed up in the Old Joe scene. There is always a line or two, even in a good show, that for whatever reason you worry about or struggle with. I had gotten through mine without hitches until tonight, when for a moment I blanked on the next thing I was to say. A few seconds at most, but of course it felt longer as it always does. Then I recovered and delivered the line. I hate that it happened. But am grateful it was as brief as it was, and that it was not some of my other lines at other moments.

Otherwise, another good, solid performance for everyone involved. Now comes the realization that each time I do something in the show tomorrow, it will be that last time. Or in the very least, the last time I will do it this year. There is talk of making this play an annual event, in which case I very well may end up playing the exact same role again in the future. But as for this moment in time, the sand is falling through the hour glass.

But it has not stopped yet. One more show, and despite it being a matinee, promises to be a crowd as big, if not bigger than tonight's crowd, based on reservations. I don't know if I have ever closed with the biggest crowd of the run. But whatever the size I hope it's the best crowd of the run. For even more rarely does one close with one's best crowd. Yet my mother will be in tomorrow's crowd, and I'd like her to see some of our best stuff.

Crossing the Median

The second Friday's performance of A Christmas Carol seemed to have a few tiny sticky points at the start. Yet in spite of that fact I'd say we had one of our best nights so far.

The crowd was small, but more responsive than the previous three. They laughed a several things that just had not been getting laughs. And though I was not out in the audience itself of course, and could not judge it's overall mood, our choreographer was out there, and she revealed to us during intermission that the peopel were very much into every scene. (A little theatre secret for you: sometimes your backstage people will watch the audience as much or even more than they watch what is going on on stage.) Given that I trust her view on things, I must conclude that indeed we were holding the attention of the small house quite well.

I think the waltz with "Belle" was the best it has been, leading into one of the best break-up scenes we have done.

The timing of the waltz was great tonight, and something happened that doesn't usually happen, which I think led to those enhancements. From the start, near the end of my waltz with "Belle", I step away and into the part of the set wherein Scrooge's desk sits, thus symbolizing the character's transformation from "good Scrooge" to "not so good Scrooge" if you will. While I am doing so, the actor playing the current, older Scrooge finishing the waltz with Belle that I started. Probably the most allegorical moment of the play, now that I think of it.

When I walk away from Belle, I have always done a bit of a flourish with my hand, my arm extended as though releasing a balloon in a matter of fact manner. Tonight, Belle held that hand longer than usual, and as a result her hand gracefully glided out of my own, as opposed to my simply stepping out of it. It made the whole scene feel more graceful. Possibly even more poignant. And from what I am told, (though I cannot see it happening from my vantage point) it led to an excellent timing for the other actor to step into the dance. Really nice effect, so we were told later.

The break-up scene itself went well as usual, but with the added momentum from the previously described new moment. Couple this with me changing up a line delivery here and there, (leaning more towards frustration with Belle, than anger), and we had perhaps the most complete presentation of that whole sequence we have yet achieved. I hope we can replicate the effect in the final two performances.

Beyond this, I am happy to report that my "Happy New Year!" jab and Uncle Scrooge got a luagh again. It always does.

All the rest of my scenes, save one, went by without hitches. I did trip ever so slightly on the long black cloth I wear during the entrance of Christmas Future. It is a very meshy, long and unruly piece of cloth that is probably best suited for a much taller person. It has always been a bit tricky for me, especially during the quick costume change I must make right after that first exit. But today I stepped on it just off stage, and for the first milli-second I was on stage. I don't think the audience noticed, as it was very brief. But finding my balance did prevent me from pointing at Scrooge as early as I usually do. Annoying, but by no means devastating.

This remains one of the fastest runs I have ever been in, and it is a little stunning to think we have but two more performances remaining.

Though it will not mark the end of my time at Full Circle, even for what little remains of 2010. Tomorrow, before the call for the evening show, I will be present there to help conduct auditions for the next play. I am the assistant director of that show. I have not yet decided how, or if I will report on that adventure here on this blog, because this has always been about acting, not directing. I must give it some thought.

But not yet as much though as delivering strong performances tomorrow night and Sunday evening. Until such time as the set is literally struck, that remains, as it must, my primary focus.

Ends of the Spectrum

As mentioned, Thursday night was both a read through of my next show, (A Christmas Carol) and a pick-up rehearsal for my current show. (A Thurber Carnival.) Both went well, though I missed half of the latter.

Not much can be said for the read-through at this point. The material is so familiar, and in one script or another I have portrayed many of those characters before, so there isn't a steep learning curve. Don't misunderstand, I will take these roles as seriously as I have taken any other, but there is a higher degree of instant comfort and familiarity with the script than there is during most initial read-throughs.

And the truth is the lion's share of my attention still belongs to the Thurber show at this time. Despite it feeling otherwise, this production is only half way over. Three more paying audiences remain, and they deserve our best as well.

Which brings up another point. The sense of time for this show has been quite skewed. I think it is because schedules were so poor at the start of the process, and then the added stresses of the dance problems and the other personnel issues, especially during a very long, chaotic tech week. It really made the first weekend seem like the only weekend. As though Sunday were the natural conclusion to the entire production. I guess starting my next play already didn't help matters either.

I know that the three days between the first matinee and the pick-up last night felt more like a week or more. Almost as though this weekend were mere an encore presentation after some time off. I can't say I have ever had this experience with a show before. I probably won't know for certain the reasons. But oh well. The fact remains that we have three more shows, and we had a very much needed pick-up last night.

Which went well. It wasn't full performance strength, and there were some line flubs. But I myself seem to still be in pretty good shape. One thing we all noticed is that in the more relaxed atmosphere of a pick-up, we were enjoying the show, and each other, more than we had been. And in some cases that improved the product. Can we manage to recapture that sense of relaxed enjoyment this weekend? I hope we can.