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.