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.

           

First Week 'The Dog'

Rehearsal started off with coffee and crossiants. Not a bad way to start the day. For our first rehearsal we started off by doing a read through of the script and answering any questions there where. I really wanted to see if the actors understood the underlying subtext throughout the plot. While doing the read through I asked them why Lizzy was so upset. After a few guiding questions and looking through the text, Colby realized that there was an affair in the relationship. I then proceeded to ask Colby why James was acting the way he was. This started our conversation into what 'The Dog' was about and the dynamic between the characters.
We discussed the difference between James motivations, the past, and Lizzy's motivation, the future, and how this created a conflict. We worked through the txt finding key turning points when the character's realize something or their emotions and why.
I discovered that maybe the best thing for me as director is just to throw this play up on it's feet. While I loved answering questions. It was less satisfying to explain the answers to the actors questions, instead of having them realize the answers through working through the script.
It would have also been helpful to do some movement work since one of the block ideas I want to work with is the idea of magnets that repel each other no matter how close they are pushed together.
Directing language is proving difficult to use. It is hard for me to not tell the character what their character 'feels' even when they ask.
I think next rehearsal I will take a step back and see 'The Dog' up on its feet and work from there. This way I can see how each actor interprets the text instead of just talking about how they interpret it.
Scheduling is also proving difficult due to massive amounts of sports conflicts. Hopefully this week we will make up for lost time.