~ First Rehearsal : NAOMI IN THE LIVING ROOM ~

First Rehearsal.

Conant Gallery.

6:00pm.

Start: Dolphin Game Warm-up:
Instructions: 1) An "ACTOR" leaves room. 2) Remaining compadres decide a task which the "ACTOR" must complete. 3) Said "ACTOR" returns from oblivion. 4) Said "ACTOR" begins to guess the task which the compadres decided upon. 5a) If said "ACTOR" begins to accomplish the task, the compadres clap uproariously. 5b) If said "ACTOR" does not begin to accomplish the task, the compadres remain silent. 6) The game ends when said "ACTOR" completes said task.

It was surprisingly easy for my cast during this game of react and response. MICHAEL and PHOEBE completed their tasks quickly and rather easily. FRANCHESCA accomplished her task after many trials (likely as a result of her task being to bring a chair into the men's restroom and then sit in another chair. The restroom is where we... rest? That doesn't sound right.) This game led into a successful discussion about responding to each other, trying different things, and reacting creatively and quickly in response to external stimuli.

We then played a less than successful game of Yes, and...
It may have been because we were "planning our adventure to camel land" . . . ?
However, it was helpful afterward to briefly discuss why we were playing the game. We touched on the idea of responding quickly and playing off of one another. The main idea was to always say yes. And run with whatever ideas were presented. Although when you're discussing travel plans to a land of camels, it is a bit more difficult than something more everyday.

We started reading through the script and it went really well. The biggest issue with directing is that I'm also an actor and I need to resist the urge to act things out for them. It is difficult to stick to using verbs when giving instruction because there is a natural tendency to say, "Be happier," or , "I need you to be really sad." Instead saying, "Put your hands above your head and smile," or, "Drop your shoulders forward and stare thoughtfully at the ground." The second set of instructions were much more difficult to write and so it is much more difficult to produce these responses spontaneously in rehearsal. It takes a second to think of them. So I think I really just need to be frank with my cast about this issue and we can converse about different issues that they may be facing as well. I think it will help us to grow as a unit and will help us progress faster in terms of the actual production.