4/8 - "And so it begins..."
I wouldn't really call it a rehearsal. It was more of a meet and greet. Despite this, I was pumped to meet as a cast for the first time. We met over the course of a couple free blocks just to touch base. As soon as we got settled I could feel the excitement in the room. They were just as pumped as I was. I gave my actors the script, shared some ideas, had a quick read through, and sent them on their way. They seemed to really enjoy the script, which made me happy. If the actors care about the script as much as I do, then we're moving in the right direction.
4/9 - "Let's Get Physical"
I wasn't sure what to expect for our first real rehearsal. I've had a little bit of directing experience, but I was still kind of nervous. Fortunately my excitement overcame my anxiety. My goal for this rehearsal was to get the actors on their feet and to think about more than what's on the page. First I wanted to get some rhythm into their bodies, so we warmed up by passing a clap around the circle and speaking the "What a to-do..." tongue twister. We also played one of my favorites, "bada bada" to focus some more on rhythm and get their brains warmed up. To get them to associate physicality with their words I had them play "Yes, and..." while making them accompany their words with specific movement. The actors picked up on my ideas pretty quickly and by the time we were done with warmups, they were ready to go. Since this was the first time they would be reading all together, I tried to give them only the essential directions, "focus on articulation, keep the thrust stage in mind, and top in". After the first read through I was glad to see that they were making choices. I had some basic notes like "get out of your everyday energy, don't leave empty space, and separate your thoughts," but overall they were getting the hang of it. After the second read through I was happy to see that they were very open to direction, while at the same time experimenting with new choices. I have to say, this was a very successful first rehearsal.
4/10 - "Articulate, Enunciate, Exaggerate"
I feel like my group is getting really close, which is what every director hopes for. Our second rehearsal focused more on articulation, rather than full on physicality. We started with the "What a to-do..." tongue twister to really get the actors focused on their words. Something we started playing with was staging. I had given them positions in the space during the previous rehearsal, but today I tried breaking a convention. Throughout the play, the actors are staged in the corners of a triangle, but they never leave their corner. I decided for the last part of the show I would have one of the actors break into another's space for comedic effect. After a little experimentation, I saw my idea happen before my eyes. It's truly a magical experience seeing your actors execute your direction just like you imagined. During the readings I had to remind them of notes I gave them in previous rehearsals. I'm thinking it might be necessary to have them bring pencils with their scripts to record notes. That way, they won't forget. I gave them some new notes to think about like, "Say your lines like you're talking to your best friend and let the realization hit you like a slap to the face". I'm excited for the rest of this process. My actors are getting the hang of this script and are taking my direction very easily. We have more work to do on physicality and articulation, but I have some ideas for next rehearsal to get them ready.
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment