Tonight we rehearsed the second half of the show. Despite a few blocking snafus and a few lingering line problems, thinks started to click in more ways than one. We are not at the "everything coming together" moment yet, but for the first time such a moment is visible on the horizon. And we are moving towards it quickly.
In fact, the director said the the day is soon coming where most of her attention will be focused on technical issues, as lights and sound, (some of which we had today), start to be utilized in full.
That moment in a show represents a sort of weening for the actors. When the director begins to let it go and fly on it's own a bit more. Again, that moment, by the director's own declaration, is nigh, and it feels like it. Which means I need to get down to smoothing out the few rough spots I have in blocking, and begin to create more nuance for my moments. I began experimenting with some things tonight. I will do so even more tomorrow, and from now on. But I don't want to get ahead of myself here. First, tonight.
During one scene, the characters gather around a radio and listen to the broadcast of a boxing match. We had the actual radio program available for us to use today for the first time. Two of the cast members work/have worked in radio and television, and spent some time a few days ago recording and editing the short radio segment. It sounds very good. It was a little too soft, but I imagine that will be corrected in future rehearsals.
Off stage I had more of a chance than usual to simply converse with some of my cast mates. Given that we ran more than one scene before getting notes, as opposed to stopping for notes after each scene, those of us not in the final scene had to stick around until the end for the first time. So there was much conversation in the green room.
This is also historically the beginning of that "bonding" experience in a play. Though I have been friendly with several cast mates already, and have a problem with none of them, a show to me always just feels a little different, a little more relaxed, once those moments of personal familiarity between the actors start to become more commonplace. I would not be surprised if after tonight even more of those moments show up as we begin to enter the trenches of the final two weeks of rehearsal. The prospect of becoming even more at ease with one another off stage can only help us onstage. I look forward to that.
I also look forward to getting props sorted out. The green room had been cleaned up, and props from former previous shows finally put away. Some props for this show have been pulled, but more needs to be done. Namely, I need a pistol. I handle one in two scenes, and the sooner I can stop using the lousy little bright yellow water pistol, the more comfortable I will be. (Unless that is the one I will really be using, in which case, I need to paint it at some point.) That is actually something I want to practice using because someone else will be firing the gun that makes the noise. The gun in my hand will be silent.
Tomorrow night we will rehearse the entire play in one night for the first time. It will also be the first time that we are not stopping between scenes in each half. All of Act One before notes, and the same for Act Two. This should give us our first real idea of the length of the show, as the director has also as much as said that we can no longer play, "What's my line," after tonight, which I took to mean we cannot call for lines anymore. It may be a bit rough in places, but this moment had to come eventually, and the sooner it comes, the sooner we can smooth out said rough spots somehow.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
"It's Looking Like a Show."
Such were the words of my director after tonight's rehearsal of "Act 1". I am as pleased as she was with the progress of the production.
There was still some calling for lines, but there was much improvement over the last time we ran these scenes. I feel confident that form now with each passing evening there will be less and less of that. A rhythm is developing. A rhythm I have spoken of many times here on the blog. An apt metaphor I suppose would be a plane that has started to coast full speed down the runway. We are not airborne yet, but for the first time the momentum towards opening night is palpable to me.
Perhaps some parts of the show are in fact already airborne, however. The director told those of us involved in a small scene wherein my character and three others discuss the writing of a large check was exactly where it needed to be. She even mentioned that if this were a movie we were making she would be ready to film that section. So she cautioned us to keep everything just as is; to add nothing extra to it. I think we can handle that.
However, it begs the question; what is it about that exact section that has worked out so well in such a short amount of time? It is nobody's first scene, nor anybody's final scene. We have not rehearsed that section any more often than the others. Yet something about it has just clicked almost from the start. Who can say why? There probably is no real answer. But it is fascinating to think about. I guess there is one of those moments in a lot of shows.
Then there are the not so normal moments during a rehearsal. Like surprise karate kicks and chairs that slide several feet when sat upon. We experienced both tonight, along with the ensuing laughter during the scenes. (I was lucky enough to be off stage when these things happened.) One doesn't want too many such moments to happen, but the fact that they are happening at all indicates how comfortable with one another we are becoming as a cast.
After rehearsal the actress playing my "romantic" interest and myself put in some extra time perfecting a scene with which the director wasn't quite satisfied. A scene with both of us on the couch. We have to strike a good balance with it, because we need to say and appear to be interested in one another, but not actually be so. I think we've got it down now. We rehearse that scene again on Friday. That will reveal how much the extra time tonight helped.
Also, we have our official set pieces in place. No more practice furniture. The couch is more comfortable than the one we had been using. I personally prefer the practice chair to the one we will be using, but not by enough of a margin for it to be problematic.
Next rehearsal is this Thursday, which will be the final time we rehearse only part of the play. Starting Friday we run the whole show in one sitting.
There was still some calling for lines, but there was much improvement over the last time we ran these scenes. I feel confident that form now with each passing evening there will be less and less of that. A rhythm is developing. A rhythm I have spoken of many times here on the blog. An apt metaphor I suppose would be a plane that has started to coast full speed down the runway. We are not airborne yet, but for the first time the momentum towards opening night is palpable to me.
Perhaps some parts of the show are in fact already airborne, however. The director told those of us involved in a small scene wherein my character and three others discuss the writing of a large check was exactly where it needed to be. She even mentioned that if this were a movie we were making she would be ready to film that section. So she cautioned us to keep everything just as is; to add nothing extra to it. I think we can handle that.
However, it begs the question; what is it about that exact section that has worked out so well in such a short amount of time? It is nobody's first scene, nor anybody's final scene. We have not rehearsed that section any more often than the others. Yet something about it has just clicked almost from the start. Who can say why? There probably is no real answer. But it is fascinating to think about. I guess there is one of those moments in a lot of shows.
Then there are the not so normal moments during a rehearsal. Like surprise karate kicks and chairs that slide several feet when sat upon. We experienced both tonight, along with the ensuing laughter during the scenes. (I was lucky enough to be off stage when these things happened.) One doesn't want too many such moments to happen, but the fact that they are happening at all indicates how comfortable with one another we are becoming as a cast.
After rehearsal the actress playing my "romantic" interest and myself put in some extra time perfecting a scene with which the director wasn't quite satisfied. A scene with both of us on the couch. We have to strike a good balance with it, because we need to say and appear to be interested in one another, but not actually be so. I think we've got it down now. We rehearse that scene again on Friday. That will reveal how much the extra time tonight helped.
Also, we have our official set pieces in place. No more practice furniture. The couch is more comfortable than the one we had been using. I personally prefer the practice chair to the one we will be using, but not by enough of a margin for it to be problematic.
Next rehearsal is this Thursday, which will be the final time we rehearse only part of the play. Starting Friday we run the whole show in one sitting.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
A Rarity and an Anniversary
It hasn't happened much in my acting career, but yesterday I had to miss a rehearsal due to an unforeseen circumstance.
Everything is fine now, and the situation is over. I just hate missing a rehearsal, but luckily it was for the half of the show where I have fewer lines. This would have been considerably more inconvenient had we been running the first half last night. I apologized to the director over the phone, and hopefully my absence did not throw off my fellow actors too much. I plan to make it up to everyone by working extra hard from now on.
As for the anniversary part, I cannot believe I forgot to mention it, but Wednesday marked the 10 year anniversary of my very first opening night. In a college production of the one act play, "Sorry, Wrong Number", by Lucille Fletcher. I played Sgt. Duffy, a police officer on deck duty. The first line I ever deliver on stage, (not counting in acting classes) was:
"Police Department, Precinct 43, Duffy speaking."
At one time I had planned to have some sort of big celebration/recognition of my 10 year anniversary. I wanted to mark with a bang my decade as an actor. Then the day/week of it comes, and I forget to even make mention of it. Due in part to the fact that, ironically, I have been distracted by learning my lines for Heaven Can Wait.
But perhaps there is no better acknowledgment of the anniversary...to still be just as dedicated to excellence and immersed in the work of an actor ten years later as I was during that very first show.
And there's always the 15 year anniversary...
Everything is fine now, and the situation is over. I just hate missing a rehearsal, but luckily it was for the half of the show where I have fewer lines. This would have been considerably more inconvenient had we been running the first half last night. I apologized to the director over the phone, and hopefully my absence did not throw off my fellow actors too much. I plan to make it up to everyone by working extra hard from now on.
As for the anniversary part, I cannot believe I forgot to mention it, but Wednesday marked the 10 year anniversary of my very first opening night. In a college production of the one act play, "Sorry, Wrong Number", by Lucille Fletcher. I played Sgt. Duffy, a police officer on deck duty. The first line I ever deliver on stage, (not counting in acting classes) was:
"Police Department, Precinct 43, Duffy speaking."
At one time I had planned to have some sort of big celebration/recognition of my 10 year anniversary. I wanted to mark with a bang my decade as an actor. Then the day/week of it comes, and I forget to even make mention of it. Due in part to the fact that, ironically, I have been distracted by learning my lines for Heaven Can Wait.
But perhaps there is no better acknowledgment of the anniversary...to still be just as dedicated to excellence and immersed in the work of an actor ten years later as I was during that very first show.
And there's always the 15 year anniversary...
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