2014 Honors Theatre Ensemble One-Acts

Lawrence Academy's Honors Theatre Ensemble

Each year, the Lawrence Academy Honors
Theatre Ensemble culminates their year-long course by directing full productions of one-act plays. Some directors have chosen to write original scripts, others have chosen to adapt pieces of fiction into dramatic form and others have found play scripts that they want to direct.
This year, there are eight directors and the lineup of plays is as follows: 




The Dog, written and directed by Kelly Burns
Everyman, conceived, adapted & directed by Gabriella DiVincenzo
Lipidleggin', adapted & directed by Nick Guarracino
John & Emily, written & directed by Kara L'Heureux
Honey I Love You, But I Just Can't Smile, written & directed by Sabina Haque
Words, Words, Words by David Ives, directed by Jason Karos
The Scary Question by Wayne S. Rawley, directed by Conrad Solomon
After, by Carol Mack, directed by Sheighla Wall

You can follow the rehearsal progress of the 2014 One-Acts below, in the words of the directors: 

Last Message

Nicholas Guarracino

I woke up this morning and didn't have anything to do. I had no props to set, no notes to give, and no worries.

And yet I miss it.

I have to admit that for all the stress my first experience in directing has given me, I loved every moment of it. I felt like I learned a good bit about the process, like I could (theoretically) do it all a gain. And you know what I hope I do.

I thank God for my excellent cast, my helpful peers, and my director/teacher Joel. It was a good run.

Rehearsal photos

Sabina directing Nick & Callie

Sabina directing Callie & Nick

Gib directing Julia & Brendan

Nick & Callie

Kara directing Brendan & Katelyn

Gib directing Everyman

Conrad directing Katelyn & Frank

Gib watching rehearsal

Conrad directing Katelyn & Frank

Sabina playing with Callie & Nick

Frank & Katelyn

Gib directing Talman & Julia

Talman, Julia, Brendan & Shae in Everyman

John and Emily

I would say today was the last full long stop and go rehearsal. Today was  a tough one and I really put my actors through boot camp and made them start parts over a lot. I channeled my inner perfectionist and spent a long time dealing with lines that weren't believable and pulling energy out of them.

I am very proud. They took direction amazingly and when I gave them feedback they understood everything I meant. We did about 2 run throughs of the show with at least 8 stops and redo's during practice. Each time I would ask them what their character wanted and if they were being direct enough. We also worked on diagonals again because the last time we ran they did not use the diagonals enough. I talked to them also about relaxing and feeling more comfortable with each other. I feel at this point they understand their characters really well and now know how to react in most situations as their characters.

At the end of this long rehearsal we did a read through and I had them really work to get their lines right. They were still having a little trouble with some areas of the play and some lines but I think the rad through helped.

I am going to keep reminding them to remember all the great work that they put in today and I hope they remember all the little things we fixed. I am excited to start lighting and finally see everything fall into place.

John and Emily

Today was the first day my group had to deal with the platform. Unfortunately it was not like I expected and it rolled. This set back required rearranging but was relatively easy to fix. Thank god.

The rest of the rehearsal went relatively as normal. We started with an improv where I had them set the stage with chairs randomly and then from the way they set them up they had to create a story. This was a fun one and got them into thinking fast on their toes and using the set pieces.

We did a run through and after re-blocking a few spots I started to work with them on connecting to the scene and the story more. My actors are so close to expressing their intentions but some how they are still having trouble pushing themselves to the extremes and some lines are still not believable. We talked about this for a while and did a few exercises.

During the next run I definitely saw them going for it. They created higher stakes for the things they wanted. There were some moments where I really believed them and some moments when their lines really came off clear. They still need to keep working on this but the fact that I saw such improvement so fast is a great sign.

Tomorrows  rehearsal is time to really buckle down and start being more pickey and I need to really push them. I am excited to see the results and see how much they improve.

May 6 Lipidleggin'

Nicholas Guarracino

You know what my problem is, what my cast's problem is? Precision.

Seriously. I feel like everything that needs to be there, is there. Heck, I taught them to waltz AND tango! They know, I'd say, at least 70-80% of their ques. Most of the props are in, and most of the costumes. They just have to practice. Everything is there.

They have to lock down on their characters, and commit to them fully. They need to be big. They need to have fun. It's there in the play, and it gleams through in rehearsal, but there is still dropped energy here and there.

They need to sink those ques. That's just a matter of practice, though. That will get done. Heck, I'm with 'em for three hours for four days. Plenty of time to run.

All I need to do is get those few props. Also, I need to buy groceries. That is, I need to bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches and some English muffins. Oh! And the music. That will also get done.

May 1st

I'm off book.

There. It was said. And it feels damn good to say it, too. Like I've finally accomplished something. Like my actors accomplished something. Like it won't suck (much).

Now, here are the things that needed to be worked on.

1. We still, STILL, occasionally have the momentary break during rehearsals. NEIN! No more!
2. We're still "staged for proscenium". This shall be fixed.
3. Too much walking with narration. It's distracting. 
4. The waltz, it's... nice. But it's out. Tango instead. Tango is in. More competitive. More conflict. Fits the show better. 
5. The dialogue, especially the actual purchase, doesn't seem high stakes enough. It doesn't seem like they're dealing in the illegal. 

But yet, that is all. Really, I swear! Now all I need to do is acquire the props and solidify the music list, and presto! Forgive me for the brevity of this post, but I honestly think I'm good! Knock on wood and all.

Rehearsal Seven

Well I did it. I pulled a Sunday rehearsal. I am lucky to have Paige and Colby in my cast. They had no hesitation about coming in on their day off to reherse. We had a hour and half session in connate gallery   and made a lot of head way.
Both actors worked a lot with the script and are much more solid on their lines now.
To start we did work with projecting. I made them stand outside the arts library door while I stood inside it with the door shut. If I couldn't hear their lines I made them say it louder. We did almost a full through of the script like that. I thought it was very helpful because it helped Colby realize how loud he could be even during the quiet scene. It also helped the actors in their line memorization.
Afterwards we went into Connat gallery and started doing full run throughs. Both actors were much more comfortable with their lines and they now have them down pat. We did a little work remembering the diagonals but they were much better mainly due to the memorizing of lines.
I still believe that Colby needs to work on getting louder. Especially during the cold hands warm heart scene. He often times believes that it doesn't sound realistic. I will push him more on this next time to believe that projecting is much different than yelling.
Afterwards we moved into re-blocking the second half. I took Joel's advice and tried blocking the second half with more movment. Both actors get up earlier now. I like the idea of this because both actors keep better with the polar magnet staging.
It took a while for both actors to get used to the staging but it looks much better now. They both move beautifully on the diagonals. However they both are still speaking too quietly. Though I worked with them at length on this it was hard to tell them this in Connate because their voices echo. I will work on this next time in the theatre to show them how easily their voices get absorbed in the space.
Afterwards we did a couple run throughs just to go over any hicups. I am very excited for next sunday to see what tech will look like.

Rehearsal Six

Fridays rehearsal was long coming. We were unable to rehearse because of the rain on Wednesday pushing Colby's game to Thursday.
We worked on blocking the rest of the show (after the push) in the theatre. We able to complete the rest of the show!  Of course it still needs more work to be fluid but actors have great command of the stage and are defiantly getting there.
After the push worked with remembering diagonals and how to keep their voices loud even if they are 'speaking softly'.
It was their first day without scripts so a lot of their energy was put towards trying to remember their lines. Both forgot some of their lines which gave the run throughs alot of hiccups. It also made them forget their blocking and their hops and pauses. They seemed to rush through the lines. However the main problem was with both Paige and Colby forgetting their diagonals.They seemed to rush through the lines. I hope that as we continue to rehearse they will become less self conscious of their lines and remember their original blocking.
The other thing we dealt with was how quiet both of they were being, especially Colby. It was an intimate scene and both played the emotions and and motivations of the characters beautifully. However it was damn near impossible to hear them. We did a couple of enunciate games (I slit a sheet and I bought a box of biscuits) and worked on projection. I explained to them the difference between being loud and projecting their voice across the theatre. Both need more work but as it goes I think it was good.
I talked with Joel after and he recommended that I have my actors sitting down for less time and I don't disagree with him. I think that the last scene, though it is intimate, can have more dynamic staging. I don't want to lose the idea of polar magnets in the last scene.
Next time we will work on getting the diagonals back, playing with more dynamic staging, and projecting.

John and Emily Rehearsal

Today we accomplished a lot and now I know what direction to go in. We did a run through after a few warm ups to get their energy up. Watching the run through I realized there are still some areas they need to get their energy up and not just go half way. There were many times where they would try to get angry or be hurt and it came off not as realistic because they were not fully invested. That is the biggest concern for me right now.

After reading through Joel's notes I ale realized some of the staging, like the movement at the end has to change. This note made me realize I need to spend next rehearsal really working through those moments. I think from now on I am going to push them further to make bigger choices and make their characters actions more clear.

I am the most proud right now that they have not regressed or forgotten what we talked about at previous rehearsals. They both are making improvements at every rehearsal and this is good progress

Rehearsal Five

I was not a fan of this heads holiday. I did like it because I was able to sleep for a very long time but it got in the way of my rehearsal schedule.
However we were able to have a rehearsal during this mx block. I was happy to see that the presence of Joel has even less of an effect on Colby and Paige now. Joel also commented that our rehearsal were 'fun' so that also makes me happy.
As always we did a little moving in the space but we quickly got down to business. We ran through the first half of the scene and stop and did notes. All of what we have rehearsed so far has stuck with both Colby and Paige. The first half of 'The Dog' looks as good as ever.
We then moved on the the infamous push secene. I call it infamous because both actors seemed a bit befuddled on why it was in the script and how it was suppose to go. We spent a good portion of rehearsal blocking it and talking about the motivations behind the push.
I first started out by showing them the kind of humor I wanted this sense to be like. I asked Colby to put his hand on my head and I ran trying to 'attack' him. The gag was ridiculous and I explained to Colby that what Lizzy was trying to do was ridicouls.
We then worked with the push in the same way. Paige pushed Colby in such a way that it gave the illusion that she was pushing Colby hard but it had not effect on him. I asked them to do this, putting their script down. Colby burst out into peals of laughter and I asked him why, as a director, he nail on the head.
We talked about how James was not taking Lizzy seriously. Lizzy chimed in that in real that would only make her even more pissed off. I shouted 'YES!'. We tried the scene again and it started looking better and better. Both actors now understand what motivations are behind the push and why it is such a high tension moment. Colby and Paige continued to work off of each other and draw on their own experiences. (Paige even noted that when she was really pissed off her voice got higher and it was now starting to show in the push scene).
Though the blocking did take a majority of rehearsal I am happy with how it looks. I think both actors understand the motivations behind their characters and genuinely express them during the scene.

Rehearsal Four

Today we jumped right in to moving in the space ( we were lucky enough to have the theatre to use). Both Colby and Paige were extremely exhausted from sports. Paige forgot her script and I think I almost killed her by telling her to go 'run' and get it. From there we went to the diagonal game, which was just moving in the space but using the diagonals.
Gib and her cast popped in on us for a bit and it was good to have them there. Both actors are a bit un-used to having an audience so it was good for them to have a taste of what it was like to have other people watching while they preformed. They had some problems not looking at the audience. It is the same as when Joel is in the room. Both Colby and Paige seem to stiffen a bit. They are not as big in their choices and sometimes become flustered with how they say their lines. However after a few moments both Colby and Paige fell out of the stiffness and became more comfortable. I would like to have Gib and her cast or other casts pop in on us more often because I think it will prepare the actors for what it is like when show time actually rolls around.
After Gib left with some encouraging words to both me and the cast, we continued playing. I pushed Colby to make bigger choices. He has gotten a lot better about taking side direction and takes these directions in the moment, instead of stopping the scene to ask questions. Sometimes when playing a call in response game (example: 'Where where you'... 'I was at home'), Colby only has a range of angry, going from slightly pissed off to yelling. After prompting him a few times to 'change his tactics' because Lizzy 'was not listening to him', he really got into the game switching his tactics to pleading, joking, serious, friendly. It was good to see this and I told him that he needs to apply these different tactics to the script.
It was also beneficial to see Colby change tactics because of Paige responses. With his investment in the game came her total investment in the game. At one point she got on a chair to respond to one of Colby's tactics. Other times she wouldn't even respond to his questions. This beautifully transferred into her role as Lizzy because of her reactions to James.
The other thing I worked on with Paige was her searching for Charlie. We talked about it together and Paige and I both came to the solution that though it was frantic it was really more of an avoidance technique. This improved the veracity of Lizzy character immensely.
We then did a ran through the script up until the 'push'. Both remembered the idea of the diagonals wonderfully and the overall picture of the stage looks wonderful. Both remembered their staging from the previous rehearsal which makes me very happy. They also both remembered the ideas of long pauses and hopping (Joel calls it topping in but Paige decided it should be hopping so there you go).
 Though I had them stop at the push (it hasn't been choreographed yet) I let them run the whole thing without giving side direction and waiting for notes at the end. I said last time that I wanted to try to let the actors run for longer giving them time to play out the scene. It was the right descion. I am very happy with what the first half of 'The Dog' looks like.
I gave notes and we continued to run it (each time it looked better and better), until Paige had to go catch the bus.

John and Emily

Todays rehearsal was a bit more laid back then normal. We started off doing Katelyns favorite game she chose. It was a game where one sat on a bench and the other tried to get that one to move. as we went I gave them new tasks transforming the game. This was fun and my actors worked well with directions
Next we did a run through. My main concern for today was to see where they were memorization wise and for now I am happy. I still want to push them to have it all memorized soon. We worked on some blocking again that they forgot and did a lot of talking through sections. This was important but I don't want to do to much of this next time or soon.
Today I think they improved a bit on chemistry through the playing around with each other. I really like the atmosphere in the room and they have with each other.  They improved mostly today in steping into their characters. with out having to hold the scripts I could more clearly see who their characters were and saw them much more invested in the scene.
I still need them to make bigger choices and up the energy but this is a good place to be.

4/29 - Lipidleggin'

Nicholas Guarracino

I did my first off-book, and it didn't suck!

Lets start off from the top. I'm trying to get my actors in a mood to be playful without breaking. That is a problem I've been having with them. I might give a comment ,or there might have been a mistake, and they feel the need to make a comment or remark. It's like "The Sparrow", except I have become Joel.That man mus have the patience of an angel.

We moved in the space before tongue twisters, and did a run through. The first run through, on book, was OK. They din't move in the space enough, and as such didn't present themselves to enough of the audience. So I did some diagonal work with them, some movement work, some character work, etc. The idea was to improve their ability to present their characters.

And then I gave them a surprise off-book run. And to be honest, I didn't expect as much from them as they gave. They told me they only had half their lines. They only asked for lines a handful of times. And they got the majority of their ques right! It's almost like this whole "rehearsal" thing actually works,and when I ask them to "memorize their lines", they actually put in the effort to memorize lines!

Am I worried? Yes! Hell Yes! It's essentially March, which means I have two weeks left. But I'm hopeful. If I can get my props in to them by next week, and get us back on the stage, then we will have one Hell of a play. Knock on wood for my optimism, but I don't think the play will suck.

Much.

Honey, I Love You - Rehearsals #8, #9, and #10

Rehearsal #8 - Tuesday, April 29th (6-8 PM)

We had a super fun, two-hour long rehearsal on Tuesday. We started in the small lobby between Conant and the theatre by going over some of the enunciation tongue-twisters ("What a to do..." "I slit a sheet..." etc.). I really felt this was important because two things we have not discussed much are enunciation and volume. Both my actors are pretty solid on enunciation, but they are quite shaky on volume. That's definitely something we need to work on more as time progresses. After that, I gave them a quick situational improv where Quinn has a muscle spasm while walking with Evan. I did a lot of side coaching during this one, which was interesting for me as a director. I like giving these to Nick and Calli because it forces them to think on the spot and to play off each other organically. I think this kind of fun chemistry is crucial for the later portions of the script. I do think, however, that Nick and Calli need to work on generating more serious chemistry and taking time with the script. I need to generate more warmups that focus on that area of the chemistry.

After that, we had two complete run throughs. For one thing, both of them are almost completely off-book, which I was thoroughly impressed with. While the space was more cramped than we're typically used to, I was pleased with how my actors were moving through the space and applying what they know about their characters and translating it into action. I am worried, however, about their volume and their ability to really project their character choices onstage. I think that both Calli and Nick have a tendency to make pretty small choices when they are not speaking, but I have spoken to them about being engaged the entire time, so I think I need to design warm ups that are concurrent with that.

Once we moved to the theatre classroom, we kind of laid on the floor and played the script as if they were looking at clouds. At first, Calli and Nick were making references to clouds themselves, but I advised them to stick to the script. This was really fun because, again, it really allowed Nick and Calli to play with their characters and interpret the scene in a slightly different way. Because the idea of looking at something through different perspectives is so integral to the meaning of the script, I think this exercise was important in helping them achieve that feeling. After that, we had another couple of run throughs, during which we talked about the specific blocking for the rest of the performance. I stopped them a lot to interject notes and to remind them to do certain things, such as keep a purpose to their movement. Again, my cast work very hard to apply the notes I had given them and the movement directions we had established for blocking, and I think they did a tremendous job on Tuesday.

Rehearsal #9 - Thursday, May 1st (MX/F)

Today we had a brief rehearsal before showing Joel a complete run through. We started by doing the "one-upping game," in which each actor stands on a chair and talks about how horrible their life is, and the job of the other actor is to push their companion off of the chair and talk about why their life is worse. Calli and Nick, I believe, can be a little too much in their heads, so I think improv helps them be more natural and more spontaneous. They both came up with some really fun stuff during this, and I think that was helpful. Once we finished that, I summoned Joel, and we did a full run through for him. To me, I thought it was one of the best run throughs we have ever done, but I think Nick, and possibly Calli, disagreed. However, once they left and I talked with Joel, I did realize that there is a lot that I need to change and work on. My original idea for the blocking - having the characters both constantly moving throughout the space on diagonals - does minimize the importance of the words being said and lessens the effect they should have on the audience. What I need to get Nick and Calli to do is to try to connect with each other more - to move to one destination and talk to the other person instead of wandering aimlessly while speaking. Nick and Calli, as actors, need to think about what exactly they want from the other person and use that motivation to drive their movement and drive their reasons for saying these lines. Those are the two major problems I need to fix - their connection and the blocking. I think having them both slow down a little bit - to learn to not be afraid of silence - would be helpful. Other than that, there are small things that we need to change - the entrance, where the proposal happens - but I think these can be fixed. My plan is to go through the script piece by piece in a timely and efficient manner and work through these difficulties so we can produce a more effective performance.

Rehearsal #10 - Thursday, May 1st (7-8:15 PM)

Once I got a hold of everyone - I literally begin every rehearsal knowing where one actor is and being unable to find the other one - I told them what I had talked about with Joel and how we were going to proceed. Both members of the cast were not discouraged by the new changes, however. They both maintained a positive attitude and were willing to work with me to fix what needed to be fixed. We all felt like a warm-up was not necessary, so we moved to the stage and began to work through the script. We only made it through the proposal scene because I was stopping them so frequently, but this method worked well with my actors. Both Nick and Calli responded better to the direction I gave through this method rather than going through a full run through and getting some abbreviated notes at the end. To be honest, I feel like I should have done this work earlier in the rehearsal process. We had such a short rehearsal process anyways due to all the scheduling difficulties that the entire thing feels rushed. I don't think that I'll ever feel like we're close to being finished.

This was a purely technical rehearsal in that we focused a lot on blocking. There were instances with Nick especially where I had to paint the context of the scene before him to help him understand what was needed of him in that particular section of the script. I still get questions from him about how to say lines, which is slightly frustrating, but I now simply tell him to not worry about how he is saying a line or how it looks if he does a certain thing, but to rather construct his performance using a knowledge of his character and understanding what it means to be here with Quinn and what he wants from her in that moment. That has been pretty helpful in getting my actors into the right mindset.

4/22

Another rehearsal of bettering quality.

Bettering being the key word here. Is it perfect? No. But closer than I was before. Are all the lines memorized. No. But more than earlier. Blocking? Hell no. We the stage isn't even done yet, how could we be? 

BUT... I think everyone in my cast has found their stage presence and their character(s). They are also aware of the diagonals and dead spots in the theatre, and their movement in the space reflects this. They are far less afraid of letting silence linger on the stage, when silence is needed. And they have gotten better at annunciation, giving every syllable its do. 

This week's rehearsal (and it was only one do to scheduling) was a show of repetition. That's code for "we've been doing the same thing for weeks now and have gotten better at it". We stared out with moving in the space on diagonals, mixed with "Where were you last night". Then we did some tongue twisters, "I slit a sheet". We yelled at a chair and we did a stop and start run through.

But what specifics need improvement? Well, there are points for the cast/play, and for me.

For the Play

• We need better blocking with the dead spots. It's far better now, but we steel need to keep moving and make sure as much as possible is seen.
• We are still awkward with some of the movements, especially the dance.
• We need to know our ques better.

For Me

• I have to "get off the damn stage"
• I have a habit of showing the actors what to do (I have come to loathe the phrases "show me what to do" and "direct me". I always resort to giving in to those requests.)
• I'm starting to get to that point in the process of hiding my anxiety behind a smile. The part where everything looks nice, but I wish it was further ahead, and its almost May, and damn what happens if I don't have a show to put on?

Stuff like that. But, I hope to nail down as much as possible this coming week.

Everyman

One Big Blog

The Rehearsal Process So Far If I Could Pick 3 Adjectives:

Stressful.

Building a piece from a loose story line has really been quite the challenge thus far. I find myself worrying often about being able to make the thing before tech week! I am reassured often by Joel that my task is 100% do-able, but I can’t help but doubt myself. This is my first time directing a group of people in a setting like this. The nervousness that I feel keeps me on my toes though, in a good way I think. Something interesting about this experience is since we are creating as we go I find myself in the position of “director” as well as “peer” as well as “friend” as well as “fellow player”. In order to really create something and get us up on our feet and running, I need to be a collaborator as well. Playing along with my group reassures me as well that things will turn out all right.

I also feel very stressed dealing with some of my actors’ scheduling issues. I understand in full that athletic commitments come first, but I find myself getting very frustrated and hurt when my actors neglect to keep me posted and filled in with their schedule. They don’t seem to care that it’s a huge inconvenience to me, and the rest of the cast as well. I also understand that they are unfamiliar with this kind of work and may not truly comprehend the gravity of what we are doing here, and in rehearsals. I’ve been trying my absolute best to be understanding, and I hope that eventually we will be able to work this through. I was happy this past weekend to receive a text in the cast-group-chat from one of these actors proposing a Monday rehearsal, which is not usually on the schedule. Seeing this initiative from this actor brightened my day for sure and fed my desire to really work with my players.

Fun.

            Creating this process and this piece is super fun. I have fun in every rehearsal, and I am so thankful to my cast for jumping right into things, head first, and being crazy. I know that what I am asking of them is tough, but everyone seems to be taking this process with a certain amount of levity, which I think is necessary to make this work.

            So far most of my cast members are able to have fun and be crazy, yet come back and focus when necessary. I hope this continues. I’m very thankful that my cast is comfortable with one another. This aspect of friendship and comfort is key is being able to work with each other smoothly. It provides a safe and trusting environment for all my players, and me too.

            One rehearsal this past week, I was working with Shea and Talman. We started with a guided improvisation about two people waiting in line for something. It turned into the two of them fighting over a doll and trying to compromise. This included lots of running around the stage and through the risers as well. This opened up the idea of using the aisles in the risers as playing space! The improv resulted in an imaginary character stealing the doll, and the two of them running around the space and the art wing searching for “Martha” who stole the doll! The two of this were so committed to the game, and didn’t stop for a second until I told them to. I was so proud! This was so incredibly fun for me to watch and play and be a part of, as well as them!

Experimental.

            This process needs to be filled with taking chances and making decisions and being crazy if it wants to succeed. The experimental aspect of it keeps things moving pretty fast. Right now in the process I am at a stage of reaping for material. I want to allow my players to get a handle on things and how this process is going to work; also I want to see what they can bring to the table. The more they can bring and create on their own, the better!

The experimenting also comes in the form of exercises and warm-ups for me. I create warm ups and improvisation games that I have never played before. This challenges me as a director to adapt to where the rehearsal is going and make things work for my cast. It is very important for me to pick warm-ups that will truly benefit my cast. I spend a good amount of time before each rehearsal planning what I want to accomplish and finding or creating exercises that will help my players. I expected much less from them, and I have been pleasantly surprised with the progress in rehearsal thus far. I only hope that it continues!

The Success Of The Players Personally Thus Far

Talman: Talman is always committed, and takes my direction to him light heartedly and willingly. I ask a lot of him and I give him a lot of leeway in creating who he wants, “Everyman” to be. I know that sometimes my direction to him can be a bit too vague, and I’m sure at times, confusing, but he seems to work with it well. Talman is not afraid to jump into things, and I am so grateful for that. There is a serious and a joking side of Talman that balances out well. Talman has been to every rehearsal called and shows a great enthusiasm. He has come a long, long way from when I worked with him as a fellow actor in the sparrow. I feel very comfortable with Talman, and him with me I believe, as well. Working with Talman is a pleasure and everyday is a successful one.

Shae: I knew from the start that Shae would be a tremendous addition to this cast, and I was right. She is committed and loves to jump into things with everything she has. I push her often to make the choices she makes bigger and bigger. She responds and exaggerates further and further every times. She takes direction extremely well. I can tell that this is important to her, which inspires me to do my best too. Shae makes me smile, always; both as a friend and as an actor in my play. She brings a strong level of leadership to the entire group and always leads by example. I know that Shae has had experience with this before which allows me to pick on her sometimes and let her start off exercises. This is a great asset to the group. Shae, having done lots of this work before, both in class with Joel and in shows, knows and brings new exercises to the table too! She has been very helpful to me as the director, and communicates well with some of the actors that I sometimes have trouble communicating with. I know that Shae will be truthful with me if I have questions for her about her opinion about this process. I’m so thankful to have her.

Brendan: When he commits himself, Brendan is always excited to bring new ideas to the table. He’s constantly asking good questions and making suggestions. This kind of contributing is very vital to this entire process. Brendan also is great at taking the lead in situations when people may be confused. He’s ready to step up and make something work. He also has a great enthusiasm when it comes to jumping to exercises and warm ups. He’s eager to get started! When we do improv games and I put them in one by one, I’ll often hear Brendan whispering to me saying “Put me in! Put me in!”

Brian: Brian often has trouble staying in the scene, but when he does so, I’m almost always impressed. Brian does extremely well with my side coaching and responds almost immediately. He has a very “real” quality about him when he acts. Brian plays two different characters one after another, and I’ve been working with him on differentiating between the two. At our last rehearsal I spit us into groups. I had Shae, Talman, and Brian working on one scene, and Brendan and Julia working on another. Brian worked well with his group and took great direction from Shae.

Julia: Julia is a blessing to have in this cast. She commits herself to everything and does whatever I ask immediately. I can tell she is excited about this. When some of the boys give me a hard time Julia has my back. She works well with others, and works hard. She is becoming better and better every rehearsal and wants to improve. She adjusts well from scene to scene and does a fantastic job of listening to her fellow players on stage. I am very proud of her, especially because this is her first time being in a show at all, let alone a show of this nature.

            

Scary Question

Rehearsal 3

       Today I had the cast really dig in to what its like being on stage. Started rehearsal by warming up and playing a couple improv games. Katelyn and Frank seem to be really enthusiastic about being in the spotlight during these games and it is apparent that they are already building a strong relationship that will prove to be essential if this play is to go on.
       At first, both Frank and Katelyn seemed to be struggling with doing improv on stage. Frank could not take himself seriously and so Katelyn was not able to stay in it either. After seeing this I made Frank try again and told him to take himself seriously, even if he is making a weird and funny choice. after a good ten or so minutes of trying to get the two to improv together they came out with something really fun and enjoyable to watch.
       After this  we ran through the script again to continue familiarizing them with their scripts.


Rehearsal 4

        Today we warmed up with the other cast members. This was probably one of the most active and fun warm ups we have had. Unfortunately, however, Frank did not come until after the other casts had left.  For Frank's sake we played the same improv game as last time to get them both to be more comfortable on stage.
         After warming both of them up we then started working on lines. Instead of running through the script again, we had a discussion about each character to help Frank and Katelyn figure out for themselves who their characters are. This discussion spurred on many questions and realizations and was overall the most helpful exercise we have done yet.

Honey, I Love You - Rehearsal #7

We began our MX F rehearsal in the stairway between the art wing and the hallway to Joel's classroom. I stopped my cast here and told them to run through the script, but to strictly limit themselves to going up and down the staircase. Both were confused at first, but they did adapt to the changed conditions quickly. Up until then, we've only rehearsed the script in Conant or the theatre classroom, playing with the one act thrust stage in mind. I hoped that performing the piece in a different space would open up the actors' minds to different possibilities for movement. Calli took to the new stage very well, and played with a lot of different angles while going through her script. She was constantly moving up and down the stairs throughout her "psychotic idiosyncrasies" passages, and I liked best the moments when she would talk to Nick from a higher landing. One thing both Calli and Nick are apt to doing is breaking character in small moments. If something slightly funny or awkward happens, they break to laugh about it, and Calli occasionally will look at me while Nick is speaking. I was surprised with Nick's performance on the stairwell. He continued to make low-energy choices, and would continuously break character when he wasn't speaking to lean against the stair railings. He definitely was not listening to Calli, and was not committing to the notes I had given him earlier. I was kind of shocked that he felt that he could pull this when the performances are coming up so soon.

Once the run-through finished, we went back to the theatre classroom, and I told it to them straight. I made it clear that, this late in the process, we cannot have breaking of character or sinking into an "everyday body" and making low energy choices. From now on, I need both of them to be incredibly committed and to take the notes that I give them seriously instead of making the same repeated mistakes. While I understand that we had a shorter rehearsal process than expected due to scheduling and that we're still trying to explore the script and the characters, we have to move fast. This was more directed to Nick than Calli, but I think the note applies to both. So, we did a short warmup (after the run through) in which I told them to get out of their everyday bodies. I then had them play "Yes, and..." to scheme how to kill their boss. The exercise did not go very well - I think that they were not very concerned with topping in on each other. Then, I gave them a situational improv exercise in which Quinn and Evan run into each other on the street. I loved how Calli took this - she's really got her character down and can apply it to different situations, which works well. Nick improved a lot here, too. I kept drilling him about his walking throughout the course of the rehearsal, so he made a distinct effort to really walk the way Evan might walk. I appreciated this choice much more - how he was walking before was exactly how he walks normally, so I told him to forget about how Nick Papazian walks and to walk like Evan Anderson. Overall, I think I need to help him get out of his head a little bit. Calli is very natural, which works for her character well, and I think I need to bring that out in Nick more.

thursday john & emily

Thursdays rehearsal was , in my opinion, very successful. We spent about half of the rehearsal working on character. I had them first find themselves before they found their character. I had them also observe each other to pick up details they might not have noticed. Then once they found their own bodies I had them find how their characters walk, stand, sit, and move. This got them into a relaxed state and made them conscious of their bodies during the run through.

We ran through the show two times completely uninterrupted. While they preformed I would take notes. This was a new experience for me to let them keep working instead of stopping them. After I would go over the areas that need work and give my input as to how I thought the scene went. Some comments I made were about chemistry, which is something we still need to work on and Katelyn and Brendan need to get comfortable about. Also some of my notes were about them not going 100% for the emotion or action and that made some parts of the scene unbelievable.

Then I asked them both to find lines or movement where they did not understand or needed to work on. I helped explain but mostly had them find the motivation behind those lines and then had them repeat the lines over and over.

This was a longer rehearsal but I think we covered a lot of areas and made a large improvement.

Rehearsal Three

Wow. Maybe I need to be taking more time to come up with creative title's for my rehearsal.

So to start of we meet MX E on Tuesday April 24th in the Theatre class room. The other day Joel taught us how important the diagonals were by play the "Where were...At home" but only by walking on the diagonals. I then played this with my cast giving Paige the direction to search for Charlie (the dog) and Colby to get her attention but with out speaking. Both were very invested into the game and it continued for a while before I cut it off. Looking back I think I should have kept the game going longer in order to give Colby more direction. After a while he kept repeating the same movement and next time I would like to see what he does when he changed up his tactics. Colby seems fairly uncomfortable without his words so it might be good to keep him silent and see how he still changes his tactics. 

From there we moved on to have Paige saying Charlie' and Colby saying 'Lizzy'. This expanded their decision exponentially. Both are very comfortable with language so I think the next thing we need to do is work with silence. 

Afterwards we did run through of the beginning of the scene working with the diagonals as we did in the game we played at the begenning. I think I will need to play with Paige some more on the idea of searching. While it is very good I also want to her to have some more stops so she can connect with Colby. We ran through the scene a couple more times but I stopped them before they got to the second page, just to give them more notes. Joel said to me later that it was 'always better to go longer then to go to short'. I think I will apply this to my next rehearsal and let them run for longer next time. I think this will improve my actors comfortably with the text and also allow them to make more choices. 

After (past week)

Tuesday, MX 4/15

So I want to formally apologize for falling so behind in my logs because this makes me the worst. Hopefully this log will make up for being the worst.  

This rehearsal , we jumped right into the script because I was determined to fix the misinterpretation of the script. I watched it through once and then I told margaret to go back and make completely different choices that are based off of the script. I told her to pay attention to the notes in the script that tell her (confrontational) or (childly anger). I also pointed out that Lizzy is telling her in the script that she is getting upset and she's over there smiling so something had to change and it wasn't going to be the script. 

We played through the script one more time and there was a little improvement but there was still misinterpretation. I let it go because I didn't know what to do to help her at the time. I asked them to be memorized by the 20th though so I wanted them to get a handle for the story line and not just memorize the text so if they forget their lines they can find their way back easier. I had them put their scripts down and play it out in the space and the two rules were to stay in character and keep it to the story line. This didn't seem to work out for them because they hadn't memorized enough and they didn't get the concept of what I was having them do. I tried to explain it better by saying if they forgot lines it is okay I just needed them to get to the point of the whole play with staying in character. We tried this until the end of MX but it didn't get any better because they just laughed through it. I will try this again next rehearsal and see what happens. 

Thursday: MX 4/17-  I played with script for the first couple of minutes but I really couldn't continue until the script was being interpreted correctly. In order to do this I gave margaret a prompt for her to be able to relate back to the play. I told her she needs to find out a grade from her teacher because her mom will yell at her if she doesn't find out. That didn't seem to help. She only laughed and couldn't take what she was doing seriously. I then told her she couldn't get her favorite toy in the store because her mom told her no. I told Lizzy to be the mother. This helped a lot so I changed it so Lizzy could only say no and Margaret could only say Can I have the doll?  I got what I was looking for and told her to start the scene and take the previous activity into account when making choices. It came out  SO MUCH BETTER! I need to get to a point where the characters each of them is portraying is truthful completely. I need them to honestly be their character instead of just saying the lines. 

Thursday 6-7 4/17
-For this rehearsal I tried to go off of where we ended with the MX rehearsal. I had them put their scripts down right away and play out the first section. I wanted to see them do this seriously but they really couldn't do it. I tried really hard to make it as easy as possible for them to stay in character but all they could do was laugh. After doing that for about 15 minutes or so we went and warmed up with a couple different one acts. We played zip, 3 second animal, and making formations. After that we  went back and played more for about 20 more minutes. I had them go through the entire script and told them to move though out the space so they weren't just standing there awkwardly. Lizzy made really nice choices with her magical powers. She justified a part of the script that I didn't know needed to be justified but I loved it. In the script it says (after Glynda does her magic spell on Cindy) " IT WORKED"  Lizzy made a choice to try multiple times behind Cindy's back to cast this spell and it didn't work up until the end. This was really funny and entertaining to watch and I don't want her to ever do it differently.  Again, movement is an issue but I feel like when they get a hold of their lines we can do a lot more with the staging. I told them to be memorized by this week so fingers crossed… After working we created, FINALLY, a permanent rehearsal schedule so their will be hopefully no more interferences. I am excited to see what next week brings and am 100% nervous on the outcome of this one act seeing as I feel completely lost on the staging. I hope this will be eased a little next week. 

Tuesday MX- 
Today I met with both Lizzy and Margaret and we jumped right into the script. I told them to be memorized and I was looking forward to seeing how much they had done so. They didn't even take out their scripts which made me happy. They both got up so full of energy and started from the beginning. Before they started I tried to help them understand the Three Quarter staging. I told them to find a reason to move especially if you are standing facing one way a lot. With that I told them to work with the diagonals so most of the audience members can see them. They then started and only once or twice did they ask for lines. I was very impressed with their memorization but because they just started memorizing they didn't make as big of choices because they were trying to remember. Lizzy didn't do her whole wand/spell ordeal and she toned down the fairy a little too much. Also, because I didn't give them complete staging, they were just wandering around the stage a lot of the times. I was hoping to see more choices being made but maybe I need to ease into it a bit more. I told them, the second run through that we did, to work on the direct diagonals for the fairy rant. This looked really good to start with and I think there is a lot of potential and a lot that can be done with that section. I am still nervous but I think it will all work out. Here's hoping. We meet next on Wednesday 6-730 so I aspire to get a lot done in that period of time. 

AFTER WEDNESDAY APRIL 23

Wednesday Rehearsal For After was for an hour and a half rehearsal, which is our first long rehearsal. I brought high heels for Lizzy to wear and also a substitute wand and tape recorder. We traveled down to the playground. This was very funny because Lizzy cannot walk in heels especially 5 inch heels that are too big for her. This walk was down hill and when we finally got to the play ground I had them swing on the swings just to kind of get them in a playful mood. I then had them go on the jungle gym itself and do the one act. I told them they could go anywhere on the jungle gym except the slides. For awhile they stayed right where they started and never moved. I told them to use the whole entire thing. They started to move a little more but not as much as I had hoped so I stopped them and told them that they didn't need to be standing right next to each other the whole time. In fact, find reasons to not stand next to each other the whole time. This helped with spacing and showing them how 3D I needed them to play this one act. They had a really hard time with staying in character during the whole rehearsal. There was a lot of giggling and falling out of characters. I figured at first it might have been the silliness of the setting and Lizzy being in high heels so I took the heels off of Lizzy and had them start from the beginning. This didn't seem to help with the laughter so I took them down to the gazebo and worked on  it down there. This worked because their are specific segments in the floorboards so I told them they couldn't be in the same piece of pie as each other. This was to space them out more and get them thinking about movement in the space. I worked on the truthfulness of Margaret's questions that she asks in the play. I told her to think of it as her asking a question in a math class of science class that she needs/wants the actual answer for and to not know what the answer is before Lizzy says it. This helped a little but we will need to work on it more. We went back up to the Theatre for the last half hour of rehearsal and I told them to make choices in the space keeping in mind the 3D work we just did. They moved with 100% more intention and they both fed off each other's movements, however, they seem to follow each other around stage which I do not want. I told them to walk around the whole space only using the corners/diagonals. They didn't seem to follow this no matter how many times I would yell it out. Plus, they weren't staying in character. They blamed it on working it to much during the rehearsal but I told them that we need to work it this much and we haven't had a clean run through. So we sat down for two minutes in almost silence just to regather ourselves. This helped and we finally got a clean run through before the end of rehearsal. Overall, I think going to the Playground was really good for them to get the hang of the movement, however, I think with that playful setting they will need more self-control in order to keep in character.

John and Emily staging

After having a rehearsal cancellation this practice had a lot to catch up on. IT was an exciting practice because for the first time we were in the theater. We spent the first part of rehearsal getting to know the space. I would give them a task to do and shapes to make in the space in order to find the how the stage feels. After a few games I began having them set the stage by placing each "set piece" in a place where everyone in the audience can see. What started out as a game ended up setting how our stage would work and created the rehearsal space.
After we ran through the show and worked with playing with ceasing shapes in the scenes. We worked to the end of the show and for the first time we did a run through. Unfortunately my actors were not 100% memorized like I had wanted but as we worked the scene they became more comfortable without looking at their scripts. We re-staged the last part of the scene and I found that I need to work with them on chemistry more.
After this rehearsal I now know what I need to do next rehearsal. I gave them the first assignment outside of rehearsal. The should be working on finding how their character walks and talks and finding their mannerisms. Also I told them to be memorized for thursday. At this point I am ready to do run throughs with stops on areas where chemistry and character need fixing. I think we are in a good place rehearsal wise and I am happy my actors are trying so hard in rehearsal and are taking direction so well.

Second Rehearsal

It's been a rough week for scheduling.
But we got in a rehearsal so that was good. The cast and I were able to be in the theatre. It was helpful to give them an idea of the space we would be doing the actual performance in. We started off the night with some fun games (zip, zap, zop and angry face) with Nick's cast and Sabina's cast. Paige and Colby had some genuine reactions to it. They took a while to get into it, using full energy and commitment but after a while there was some great reactions. I want to play more games with Nick's cast. He is a very good director and has a wonderful ability to get the cast energized and focused.

Afterwards we moved on to running the script. At this point we were already two weeks in without a full run through of the script. Before we even started there was a flurry of questions. After answering them. I threw them into the scene saying just run it to the best of your ability. After four lines Colby had his already had another question.

Though I love the questions, but I still need to see Colby and Paige in action. It's important to see what lines they had trouble on and specific sections that needed to be worked. What I told them was to hold all questions to the end of rehersal. That way we can all sit down for 15 and talk out what questions they had on the script. I also think this will help get rid of questions such as "How do I say my line like this." I think as we go on it will be better for them to work it out through running the scene instead of talking it out.

 The run through was not half bad with both actors connecting with each other and using lots of energy. There was one definite problem spot at the line "Cold hands, warm heart." Colby had a hard time saying this, eventually bursting out into laughter. This caused Paige to break into laughter. The moment was very genuine and I wrote down in my notebook a very large 'KEEP'. It was some where that I never saw the line going, but Colby and Paige's reaction to it was so sincere that it didn't matter. However after the two broke into laughter Colby asked the infamous question "how do I say..." I stopped him right there and they finished the one act together.

Afterwards we talked about that line and another problem lines to figure out why they were so hard to say. To him Colby the lines seemed cheesy and not something he would say in his own life. I asked him to draw on situations and people that he knew that would say these lines. This way he could connection to the motivations of James.

With that said we sat down and ran the line 'Cold hands, warm hart.' over fifteen times. I told them only to continue the scene after I clapped my hands. The first time Colby immediately broke and asked what to do. I ignored his question and asked him to run it again. After the third time he finally started understanding the idea. During the other run through I asked Colby to change it up . Paige worked wonderfully with him playing off of him no matter what he did.

I ended by explaining that you have to say the line as it feels natural to the character. Some runs it is a serious line others its funny ect. ect. It depends on the moment and what feels the most genuine.

Hopefully as we go into the third week we can have more rehearsals!

Rehersal 5 4/18

I had gone into this rehearsal with the intention to keep the workload light for my cast; they had made so much good progress this week and I could clearly tell that they were all working hard on getting memorized (plus we all had that Friday "I'm fading into oblivion" energy). So, I kept it short. I asked my cast to play for a little while and have some fun for 25 minutes and then they could leave.

We played "1, 2, 3 Animal! " for a while, and then moved onto some improve. Mainly, one, in which, one of 5 people warming up starts telling a story and the remaining 4 have to act out the story. We a lot of fun for about 20 minutes. Afterwords I decided just to quickly convene with my cast.

During our little private meetup I stressed the importance of memorization and how essential it will be to our progression through the script. Afterwords I let my cast go so they could go home early.

4/17

Happy Birthday to Nick, Happy Birthday to Nick

Today for my birthday my actors gave a an excellent rehearsal. I'd like to think it was thanks to me and my planning, but in truth they are the ones to thank. We started off with the following plan.

Hey!
What a Todo to Die Today/Mother Pheasant Plucker
I Was At Home
Run Through
Hitty Hands
I Was At Home
Run Through

I cut hitty hands and did more "I was at home". My intention was to teach them how to hold a silence, without rushing through the lines. And yes there is still some rushing, but that's expectable. Besides, I like Rush; it's my favorite band. What, that's unrelated and I'm rambling?

Sorry, but I'm just in a good mood. Why? Because the run through was great. I played it through them with film noire music, and though it worked better in the close acoustics of the lobby than the echoing theatre, I think it got them in the mood. Did Julian adopt a phony gangster accent because of it? Maybe. Can I get him to harness that cheesiness and direct it into somewhere great? God I hope so.

Oh, and I taught Athena and Seabass to waltz! Let me explain. There is a dance scene in the play, no? Yes! So when that came up, I played korobeiniki (my favorite Russian folk song, see here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkxixp8O1gk), start playing from 1:15) and they didn't know what to do. So I taught them and lo, they did it! And the music played into the flashback scene too perfectly, with Athena looking fearfully at the audience as if a madman from the country was forcibly waltzing with her. My actors can attest that I was giddy.

On that note, I started making the music list. I have it here, and will put it up at the end. Its random 30's era speakeasy and noire music, a Russian folk song, etc.

Are there problems? Of course! Blocking. I got to get them working the diagonals soon. Athena's face isn't seen for half the play. But after that there are no direct problems that can't be solved by repetition. I'll get them props, I'll get them music, and I'l get speakers to rehearse with in the future. All is looking well.

And here is that music list, with times I recommend starting and when I plan for them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsHoDndFkA0  (opening)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkxixp8O1gk (1:15) (dance)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sTP994tOMk&feature=kp (0:06) (new york)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GNDjy6T2Ww (gun to head)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsHoDndFkA0 (closing)

Tuesday MX 4/15-
Got up and played in the space with script… asked them to put it down and play without script…

Thursday: MX 4/17- played with script… gave margaret a prompt to work on her reading of the script… she needs to find out a grade because her mom will yell at her if she doesn't find out… didn't help… She can't get her favorite toy in the store bc her mom says no… this helped a lot so i changed it so Lizzy could only say no and Margaret could only say Why not! got what i wanted and told her to start the scene and take the previous activity into account when making choices. SO MUCH BETTER

Thursday 6-7 4/17
-Played with the script. Warmed up with zip… 3 second animal and making formations. went back and played more.. Lizzy made really nice choices. Wand(casting spells the whole time) We need to figure out movement but i think that will come once they get a hold on their lines. I told them to be memorized by this week so fingers crossed… we have, FINALLY, a permanent rehearsal schedule so their will be hopefully no more interferences.

Honey, I Love You - Rehearsal #6

Short rehearsal today during MX. We didn't do a warm-up, but we just ran through the script once. The major obstacle for both my actors is the movement of the piece. Both of them are not fluid, and the whole section with the back-and-forth competition seems disjointed. We talked for a while, but I think something more important to do with them is to plan out where they move during that section. It was a short rehearsal, so our time was eaten up quickly. I asked both of the actors to think about where they think they should move onstage for homework, and I will do some work on this as well. In our next few rehearsals, once the movement issue is sorted out, we will also try to focus explicitly on enunciation and the volume with which they speak.

Honey, I Love You - Rehearsal #5

(I realize I write posts with length that would suffice for a dissertation. Oh well.)

First legitimate rehearsal with the whole cast!!1!*!1&11^1!!$#!!!!%

Today went extremely well. We rehearsed for a full hour and forty minutes, and one very reassuring thing was how quickly Nick and Calli clicked and bonded instantly. Before, both actors expressed concerns to me about being more comfortable with me as a scene partner after all the individual rehearsals (what can I say? I'm an acting genius). However, I'm thrilled that this didn't end up being an issue, and I think the rest of our rehearsals should be a lot of fun. One thing I need to work on as a director is being serious about not letting fun and jokes get out of hand and distract everyone from getting work done. While we had a longer rehearsal than usual today and did accomplish a great deal, it shouldn't lead to problems. We're on a tighter schedule than usual as it is, in any case.

Anyways, let me map out the entirety of the rehearsal. We all met in Joel's room and set up a mock-up one act stage, complete with chairs, a stolen piano bench, and a giant X to mark the two diagonals that I want my actors to maximize use of. We began with a moving in the space exercise. First, I asked them to simply walk around, but I specified the directions as time went on. I then asked Nick and Calli to walk in the space with a purpose to their movement (from point A to point B), to walk as if they were tethered to the other person in the space by a thread, to increase their pace, and to drop on the floor or stop completely at a clap. This was helpful in not only building up the actors' energy, but also heightening the stakes of the situation and adding a sense of tension, both of which are important to the staging of my one act. Finally, I asked them to keep the heightened pace and the "point A to point B" mindset, but to stay solely on the lines of the X. Not only did Calli and Nick walk along the full length of diagonals, but they also made 90º turns. This is the exact type of movement that I'm looking for in part of my one act - particularly the sections where they talk about their "psychotic idiosyncrasies."

After this, I gave them two improv prompts: to show me Evan and Quinn's first date, and to show a more recent date of Evan and Quinn's at the movie theatre watching a romantic comedy that Quinn picked out. I was genuinely quite happy with how Calli and Nick naturally seemed to melt into their characters. They've definitely thought about who their characters are and how they would speak to each other. Calli, for instance, did a great job of speaking in a very tangential way. She would often let one sentence lead to another thought that was barely connected to the first, which is right in line with Quinn's character. In addition, it was also interesting to see how Nick and Calli played the different stages in Evan and Quinn's relationship. Nick did a good job of portraying Evan in a more nervous, timid light in the first date (Evan, being who he is, makes a mountain out of small events like these, so he would appear visibly nervous). During the second date, Nick portrayed his character with greater ease and made some truly hilarious sarcastic quips at Quinn. I think both of these scenes were important for the nature of the script. The section in which Evan proposes and Quinn freaks out has a more uncomfortable tone to their relationship, where the first date exercise plays in. Other portions of the script would tap into the fact that the couple has been dating for two years and Evan and Quinn are quite comfortable with each other, just not in a conventional way.

We ran through the script a total of three times. The first time, I didn't go over specific blocking and simply watched how the actors played with the text and with each other. There were some notes I had to give, such as telling Nick to find reasons to look at Quinn (Calli) during his proposal. After this, we discussed blocking more and I told the actors what exactly I am looking for in terms of movement. I described the giant back-and-forth conversation about who is weirder as a point of escalating energy and enthusiasm, which should reflect in the movement and the actions of the section. Once I gave this direction, both actors took it seriously, and talked to each other about how to move so they could get in the right places at the right time. Calli and Nick both came up with an idea to actually cross each other on the diagonals, which I never thought of and fully supported. We ran through the script twice more, and there were strong improvements to the playing of the initial sections of dialogue, especially the proposal and the conversation afterwards. A lot of their interactions seems very natural and not like acting at all, which is amazing. It shows that they're really in character and their chemistry playing out beautifully. Calli is doing a superb job of playing the sections where she rattles off her quirks, and Nick could not be doing better with the proposal scene and playing Evan's extremely nervous phase. He had some confusion about his character's "turning point" and where he snaps from being very nervous into being more comfortable and joking with Quinn, but I think after talking about it, we're both on the same page. I have very strong faith in Nick (and Calli, too) to convey the knowledge of his character and the stakes of the script through his performance. I timed the performance in the third run-through: nine minutes and fifty-one seconds.