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.

Rehearsal 4 4/17

Started off rehearsal quite rocky. Both Jonny and Franchesca showed up late. Apparently they were unaware that we had rehearsal today, even though I made it clear during our last rehearsal. Franchesca showed up 10 minutes late, and Jonny showed up close to 20 minutes late (he missed warm up entirely). They seemed incredibly apologetic and almost fearful of my reaction, which I thought was strange (I'm their peer, not some 90 year old nun with a steel ruler). I was firm with them about making sure if they have rehearsal or not if they are ever unsure. I also made sure to take some of the blame myself; I didn't email them the rehearsal or text them; I just assumed that they would remember what I told them last rehearsal.

Warm up was a little sparse today; for a while it was just Conrad's cast and Callie. I had them move in the space for a while, freeze, slow, fast walk etc... Then I drew on an exercise from our honors arts classes. I had everyone clear and the space and then run in one at a time to form a shape. Once every cast member was in there I had them melt slowly, just until their were starting to lose balance and falter, and then had them spring back into shape (to work the freeze and "hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil" sudden movement). It's unfortunate that Jonny wasn't there and that Franchesca was there for only 5 minutes.

After that movement exercise I moved back into the stairwell with my cast (it was around 2 minutes after this that Jonny showed up).

Despite Jonny showing up late, we had an amazing rehearsal. Our first run through went pretty well, notable improvement on memorization and choice making since the last rehearsal. But, after an exercise, serious progress really showed.

I had each cast member show me about 15 seconds of "working in a laboratory and hearing a strange noise in the distance and reacting to that noise"; I wanted to get my cast into the mindset of a person (or chimp) who live in a building that creeks, buzzes, ftangs, pings, rumbles, etc...; I wanted to start working on the moments between lines in my play (considering there is a considerable amount of silence) and policing my cast on their maintenance of focused energy during the play. So, after this prompt, I had my cast do a run through again but I told them to "keep in mind that you're working. Don't take your eyes off that typewriter unless you NEED to." Our next run through went great, as I said before, with every cast member making great new physical choices that added a LOT to their characters.

Rehersal 3 4/15

Warm-ups were with Gib's cast today; I wanted to put them in a more energetic environment to liven up the rehearsal. I figured that Gib and her cast would be the people to do that for me.

Games: Ha-Ha- HIYAAA!

            Moving the Space

               -Stop & Drop

               -Moving around while letting a body part influence you

               -Very Slow, Slow, Normal, Fast, Very Fast

             1,2,3 Animal

After playing for about 10-15 minutes, we moved onto our first run through of the week. For rehearsal space I chose the stairwell between the arts win and the theater backstage hallway; I figured that the small  and intimate space would make a good space for my cast to work on listening and responding to each other, as well as making a good play place for them to experiment with physical choices and movement during the play. I specifically took note of Jonny, who, I realized, had a habit of , what almost seemed to be, putting on funny accents for every line.I hadn't noticed this too much last week, but, I figure, as he grew more comfortable with the script, he decided to have more fun with it. I endorse having fun with the play, but it was just too 5th grade humor. He might as well have "Hi, my name is Jonny and I'm here acting funny" written on his forehead. So, I told Jonny, flat out,  that he had to quite it, "I cast Jonny Mangini, not his impersonations." I was worried that I had been a little to forceful with my feedback for Jonny. Fortunately, though, it got great results. Almost immediately I saw great feedback from Jonny, which led to a much more truth and hilarious dialogue in my cast for the 2nd runthrough.

             

Honey, I Love You - Rehearsal #4

On Thursday, I had an individual rehearsal with Calli. We began by joining onto the final minutes of a multi-cast warm up with Conrad's, Sheighla's, and Jason's casts. Because we were late, this was not as effective as it could have been, but we'll get it next time. After that, Calli and I went to the theatre and I have her a similar improv exercise that I've given Nick before. At first, after I told her that I was looking for specific choices about her character, Calli made too much of an effort to make specific references to her lines in the script. I stopped her midway and told her to not worry about that, but rather to use her understanding of Quinn as a character to come up with new things to say about the subject. I gave her a new prompt, and she did wonderfully. I appreciate that Calli takes direction so well and applies criticism positively to improve her performance. We talked a little but about her character, and Calli, like Nick, found distinct similarities between herself and Quinn. I then prompted her to tell me what was different about Quinn, and she came up with some solid answers that I agreed with and some that I hadn't even thought of before.

We then ran through the script twice, with me filling in as Evan (at this point, I could play both parts and make this a one-woman show). I didn't talk to Calli much about blocking beforehand, so we ended up staying close to one end of the bench. For a first run through, aside from the blocking issues, it went quite well. Calli picks up on the way Quinn should be reacting to situations intrinsically, which impresses me a lot. She has a good sense of what is required of her within the context of the script. After I told her what I intended to blocking to be and we talked a little about Evan and Quinn's connection (having a slight disconnect, but Quinn being able to know what Evan needs to hear and really understanding him), we ran it again, and it went very well. In terms of movement, Calli does a great job of moving from point A to point B with great energy and purpose. We ended the rehearsal there, and I have a two hour rehearsal with both actors on Monday. This will be better because I fear that both my actors might be too comfortable with me as a scene partner than with each other, and this we desperately need to be having rehearsals together. One thing I'm worried about is my plans for blocking. I really want my actors to maximize the diagonals, but I'm not sure how to have then play out the back and forth section without looking disjointed... I realize my vocabulary here is vague, but I cannot find another means of describing it. I suppose I'll have to see tomorrow if it works or not and see how that goes.

Week 1 Post

Rehearsal One 4/8

My initial goal for this rehearsal was for it to be a meeting mainly focused on feeling the waters out. My cast consisted of people who don't really contact each other much, so, I wanted to get them started on getting acquainted and comfortable with each other. I started with some simple games that I hoped to be on the fun side, that would also be good for getting them into the swing of making choices/being physically articulate/getting into the energy of Words Words Words. Also as a new rule, for every rehearsal, every cast member and myself must be barefoot for the entirety for the rehearsal.

Games- Moving in the Space
                     -Moving in the Space while letting a body part define you (chest, nose, forehead)
                     -Drop and Freeze
           - 1, 2, 3 animal (boppidy boppidy bop)
           -Yes and....(you're formulating a plan to kill your boss)


After playing we name just had a read through, going over the text and the many puns inside it. As expected people still seemed a bit reserved by the end of rehearsal, but I didn't really expect anyone to jump in right away. Before everyone left I had each cast member take a bite of a banana, and then rehearsal ended.

Rehearsal Two 4/9

My cast and I met during MX today and it was a bit short. As opposed to rehearsing in the theater, I decided to rehearse in Conant; I figured that a larger space would work better for my initial rehearsals (it would develop good habits in terms of projection, volume and enunciation).

Games- Moving in the space with a body part defining your character
           - Moving in the space at very slow, slow, normal, fast, very fast

 Jonny showed up slightly late to rehearsal, right about in the middle of of moving in the space with varying speeds. I reminded him that punctuality is necessary for rehearsal, considering we have very limited time and can't all meet so easily. I had them continue moving in the space for a while longer, practice freezing and then moving again, and then we moved onto our first real read through. Energy wasn't quite as high as I would've liked. After the read through I emphasized the importance of energy and emphasis in the play. "This play is really dependent on your ability to be in it. If we let that lax, it's going to suck." To kind of move some focus away from the script, and hopefully increase comfort levels and make people less nervous, I asked them some spur of the moment questions. "Who is going to look, unexpectedly, the worst on graduation." It got a laugh, everyone chimed in with spirit. One remarked that Jane would "holding in internal sadness, but stoic". So, considering everyone felt this was accurate, I had each actor give their own version of "holding in internal sadness, but stoic". During this exercise I called for them to vary their speeds, as we did before in the movement exercise. I reminded them that its a matter of maintaining high and constant energy in every state, but never to let it get manic when fast or lazy when slow. "It's not you walking fast, it's the whole story getting told fast." It turned out well, and then I dismissed my cast on that good note.

April 15th

Nicholas Guarracino

I started out the day in Conant. We played a "Create the Space" game; go up, do something, come back, next person builds. And that created a space. Then I had them create Gurney's store, in order to build a set where there was none. And that worked.

I tried to get Seabass to get out of the "play" zone more. That's one issue I suspect I might have with him. I don't want him to play pretend; when he gets into character, it's scarily good. But I have to get him there.

Athena is great at getting into her character and staying in it. However, I sometimes wish there was more force in her words. Sometimes they lack a certain "weight" to them, the kind of weight someone with a gun pointed at someone might have.

Julian is green, that's true. but he has an over the top energy that will work very well with his character.

They all speak their lines well, if a bit rushed at times.

Overall, I really love my cast. This I have mentioned before. We ran through the script and it was great. Not as great as before, but I think that is because I expected their performances.

But we need to work more. Specifically, the dance is awkward. It takes place during one of Gurney's narrations, which means everyone is frozen but him. But he still needs to dance with her. Seabass had the idea that instead of dancing with her, he could dance around her. It's an idea. He performed it for me, but he didn't sell me on it. I'll need to get on stage, possibly next week and with some music, so that they can actually run it.

I'm gonna use this time now to plan out tomorrow. I feel like today was not as productive as it could be because I didn't plan today out as well as I could. Time to fix that.

1. Hey!
2. What a Todo to Die Today
3. I Was At Home
4. Run Through
5. Hitty Hands
6. I Was At Home
7. Run Through

4/16 John and Emily

Today we started rehearsal with a few improv exercises. The first the actors could only say John, Emily and What. I gave them situations and made them go through different heightened situations and gave them goals to complete. This allowed Katelyn and Brendan to play around with how they said the woods I gave them they also pulled influence from the script into their performance and really worked well together.

Next I had Katelyn try to tell me a story and Brendan had to correct Katelyn's mistakes in the story. This was fast paced and had them topping in on each other. It created great chemistry and they really got into it. This was exciting to watch and I think set them up for our run through.
Then we ran through the scene from the beginning to where we had left off. I was pleasantly surprised when they did not go back to the habits and mistakes the original made the first run through. Today Katelyn and Brendan really got into their characters and I saw a lot more chemistry between the two. We worked a few more scene-lefts and began blocking the movement part of the script. This challenged both me and the actors when dealing with the three sided audience and having their actions seem natural.

Overall it was a good effort today in rehearsal and now I know how I want my future rehearsals to go. I think my actors have gotten comfortable enough that I am going to push them to make bigger choices and connect with each other next time. I really want to finish the show next time and perhaps have a rehearsal with each of them individually.

Honey, I Love You - Rehearsal #3

Yesterday, I had my second individual rehearsal with Nick. We began with a quick game of zip with Kelly and Nick G.'s casts, and then I had Nick do another improv prompt, where I asked him to "tell me about how Quinn dropped her lunch on you last week." Although I do believe that these particular prompts have their flaws, especially in casting, I think they're really forcing Nick to think of answers to these questions as Evan on the spot, which is good for helping him feel comfortable in the role. However, I would like to find some other kinds of warm up exercises and improv-type games that would reinforce this character development, but in different ways. I think I'm just limited because of the absence of my entire cast.

We then ran through the script three times, working primarily with blocking that I had envisioned. The run-throughs went well, but we kind of broke focus a few times to talk about Evan as a character. We talked a lot about his vulnerability and how he spends a good deal of the script trying to gain his sense of security back. In addition, we discussed the relationship between Evan and Quinn. This "table-work" I think is helpful, especially because Nick really likes to talk. I know Calli likes to talk, too, and this the "table-work" would be beneficial, too. As for me, I love analyzing text and going into the subliminal meanings behind the text, so I freaking love "table-work." At the end of the day, though, there's only so much talking you can do, and there's a point where the talking becomes much less important than actually doing. During these individual rehearsals, table work is just fine and I think it helps my actors understand their characters and the plot more. However, something I need to improve on once I rehearse with all my cast is getting out of the tendency to talk about the script and actually work through action.

First Week of Rehearsals

April 7-11
Nicholas Guarracino

This week was my first week of rehearsals. Specifically, I had 1.5 of them.

The 0.5 is from Monday. That day we were missing Julian, so we only did read through's. Still, I was given a good impression. Both Seabass and Athena were comfortable with their lines, and willing to lend themselves to the roles.

Thursday was the first actual rehearsal. That day we had Julian, Seabass, and Athena. That day we did as follows.

1. We did a moving through he space exercise in which everyone had to choose a certain body part. That exaggerated body part became their character, as they played through this exercise in exaggeration.
2. Read through with BASIC blocking. No music, no props, just lines and moving. And it was... acceptable? I liked where things were going, but we were rough around the edges. Julian, bless his heart, gets straight into character but improved too much, and had a bit of a stutter (but, admittedly, he knew how to work with it well). Athena, who is to be a gun toting cop woman, did not have the weight in her voice of a person actually holding a gun. Seabass said his lines well, but they were a bit flat. I needed to inject energy into this cast.
3. IMPROV! There is no better way other than a direct IV drip of adrenaline to inject energy into a group. First I pretended to own a jewelry store and had everybody rob me. Not only did this get everyone in the mood to be serious and playful, it also scared me. Athena is a calm and collected robber, pointing the gun and issuing demands. Seabass starts out low key, before forcing you to the ground with the gun. Julian was the scariest. He didn't use the pretend gun. He put me in a half nelson and told me not to call the cops. You can learn a lot about a person from their criminal style. Then I had Seabass sell me butter, Athena arrest me, and Julian convince me to play chess. But instead of actually playing chess, I told him to try convincing Gurney (Seabass), saying he might actually concede. Then officer Callahan (Athena) came on the scene to investigate. I told them to keep this improve going up until the point that they were in their spots for the beginning of the play. Then we began, this fantastic energy in everyone.
4. The second run through was amazing. Ya, the blocking and the lines need work, but most of the stuff they did hit the nail squarely on the head. Julian especially surprised me. You know that feeling you get when something you image comes out exactly as you imagine it? Julian replicated what I dreamed for his role near perfectly at times. It was... kind of creepy. 

I ended the rehearsal with a quick talk about line memorization and memorization techniques (singing, transcribing, etc.) There were a few quick tangents about how Callahan was originally a man, how being chosen for something is your motivation for succeeding at it, the nature of satire and grotesqueness. I'm really bad at tangents. All in all, I am happy to have started the process off right. 

Honey, I Love You - Rehearsal #2

As many of you know, I have been having significant difficulty in getting both my actors in the same room at the same time for rehearsals. Due to many, many college visits, both Calli and Nick have been and are going to be absent for several pivotal days. Our second rehearsal as a whole cast, therefore, will not take place until Monday, April 21st. Despite this setback, I've decided to not let it hinder either our progress in the rehearsal process or anyone's moral. I really want to make the most of what I have to work with in regard to time, given that there isn't much of it. So, I met with Nick individually today and will meet with him again tomorrow, and I'll meet with Calli twice on Thursday. This works very well for my cast, I think, because the most important thing for them to master is an understanding of their character. Working individually with Nick and Calli allows me to really focus on them and encourage them to develop choices that are consistent with what the script tells them about their characters.

From today's individual rehearsal with Nick, I was thoroughly impressed with his work and his ability to really engage with his character. We started off by me giving him a prompt to tell me, in character, "about his first date with Quinn." After Nick delivered, I told him to start making some specific choices about Evan himself. What Evan's nervous ticks are, how Evan walks, etc. After this, I told Nick to "tell me about the time he got accepted to MIT," and his progress was tremendous. I saw much less of Nick Papazian and much more of Evan Anderson. We had a brief discussion about Evan's personality and character, as well, and I think this particularly helped Nick with playing his character.

Then, I talked to Nick about the intended blocking I had thought of. After moving blocks and chairs around to recreate the set, we ran through the play twice, with me acting in place of Calli. One setback to these individual rehearsals is that, since I have to act in place of the missing actor, I cannot simply watch the production and really observe how the production looks or give notes to the actors. It does, however, offer me an interesting perspective into how the actor's performance looks to their scene partner, and this is a valuable thing to possess as a director. As a director, as we've discussed, it is important to understand the production inside and out, to know every intention behind every choice made in the script, and this dogma is ringing true to me throughout this process.

I would stop Nick through our run-throughs and give him some feedback about how to interpret certain lines. I'm avoiding telling him how the lines should be said, but rather asking him guiding questions that allow him to come to certain conclusions on his own. Nick, however, has some really interesting ideas about Evan's character that differ from my own and that, frankly, work better for the script. I'm thrilled that I cast Nick in my cast because he is willing to push for his own ideas for his character and the script and discuss them with me. He's not just going through the motions - he's really doing the groundwork to excel in this role, and he's thinking exactly as he should be thinking. We had a great deal of discussion about Evan's arc of change throughout the script and how his adherence to perfection and planning affects his actions and the way he feels. Overall, I would call this a tremendously successful rehearsal, and I'm not as worried about the rest of the process.

Honey, I Love You - Rehearsal #1

On Monday, my cast and I met for the first time since the audition process! It was a fairly short rehearsal period. We started by reading through the script - I had given Nick and Calli each the scripts beforehand, so they were familiar with the material. After that, we began to talk about any questions that either of them had and the bigger ideas behind the script. I think the key for both Nick and Calli to have a successful performance is the understanding of their characters and the kind of chemistry that builds based off of that understanding. However, I have a lot of faith in my actors' ability to understand the characters' motivations and intentions and to deliver a truthful performance. If there are any reservations that I have, they are all about my ability as a director. I mentioned in class that this is something I do not possess a lot of experience with, and I am definitely nervous. However, I am not unwilling to take risks, and I wholeheartedly welcome this challenge.

John and Emily Week 1

This first week was a great week where I got a feel for how leading and directing would go and how my actors would take direction and act during rehearsals. On Monday we spent about a half hour talking about logistics. Then once that was over we did a read through and I explained to them my ideas about the play and asked what they thought. I explained that I may have a vision but theirs is just as valid and they should feel free to incorporate their own ideas into everything. For a first day it was a great bonding experience and I think it will be helpful for their understanding.

On Thursday we had a much more active rehersal. We started off doing charcter work and they would improv who their characters are based off interviewer questions I would give them. This got the to open them up and to explore who their character might be. Next we did a lot of scene work. I would make them go over little scene-lets and give them feedback to help them improve. This drastically helped them find character and find how the scene worked. This is a method I am going to continue to use throughout the next rehearsals.

For the first week We got a good start and I now have many ideas to come that I can use for future rehearsals. 

Scary Question

Week 1: First Impressions

Rehearsal 1
         The first rehearsal of "The Scary Question" seems to have gone as expected. Because Katelyn was the only one of the two who picked up their scripts as requested, I decided to conduct a bit of an experiment with Frank. As Katelyn and Frank did a sight reading of the script I stopped them right before Brian, Frank's character, was about to ask the 'scary question'. I asked him what he thought the question was. After receiving some mixed responses, all of which were wrong, I told them to continue. As Frank read his next line the first discovery of our work together was made. Hopefully discovering that the question was about zombies made both Katelyn and Frank realize that the tone of the script is playful and fun whilst maintaining the seriousness of the question.

          So far, I cannot help but to be scared of the work that the we have cut out for us... the sight reading from both Katelyn and Frank tells me that we are going to need to have many discussions on what qualities each character has to refine their interpretations of the dialogue.

         My nervousness is assuaged however, by the eagerness and drive of each of my actors. They told me as they left that they would start memorizing their lines immediately (without me even having to ask). Just by showing me how willing to work and be involved in this process they are makes me really excited to make this a great performance.

Rehearsal 2

           Today we started by playing an improv game. Katelyn, who is already fairly experienced on stage, was very comfortable creating an action in the middle of the room. Frank however, was unable to keep a straight face or take the activity seriously. And it was for that reason that we spent the next 15 minutes helping Frank find his neutral actor body. This makes me nervous for obvious reasons. If Frank is unable to be serious in doing a simple action on stage, then how is he going to maintain the necessary sense of seriousness Brian has throughout the script?

           Next, we began reading our scripts again... After reading a section of the script, I asked Frank and Katelyn if they had any questions about any lines in particular. This led to a discussion about the character of both Brian and Linda. After our discussion where I asked them questions that helped them (I think) refine their interpretation of their characters, Katelyn, and Frank especially, made a lot of positive changes in the way they interpreted their line.