Performing one show, rehearsing another

The silence over here can only be explained by the rigors of tech week layered with a desk job at the same company AND beginning rehearsals for John Gabriel Borkman. Needless to say, I've been overwhelmed.

But talking to audience members after the show eliminates all the anxiety I had about Death and the Ploughman. It seems to be received well. There's good buzz about according to some other company members. We've provided a doozy of a play. A couple people even told us that this production was certainly comparable, if not better than the stuff they see in the Cities (and a lot that's in the Cities is good).

I'm relieved. I didn't know how this particular show was going to pan out. I'm having a good time, but it's difficult work that requires absolute specificity with so much text to chew through. I've been battling a sore, tired throat and have a bit of a cold.

We've only got six more performances for Death and the Ploughman. Click on the link to see some pictures from the show. It just looks BEAUTIFUL on stage. There's so much color. If only you could hear the music we have as underscoring. This is a show of which I'm incredibly proud.

Tonight is a gala for the apprentices. I've got some friends attending the next few performances. It's a great time. Spring has sprung and I've got a great sense of rejuvenation.

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As far as John Gabriel Borkman is concerned....

Jeffrey Hatcher, renowned playwright, has written an adaptation of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman. He's made it more conversational and less British than previous translations. We're setting this in a non-specific contemporary world (and we're very conscious of the Bernie Madoff scandal).

I just did a costume fitting and it's exciting to have this energy swirling for another production already! At the moment, I'm in skinny black jeans with a dress shirt, tie, and hip charcoal coat with big ol' buttons everywhere. It's very hip. I'm playing Erhart, John's son (who wants nothing to do with his family).

This rehearsal process is very interesting. There's a lot of mystery to the story, and something the cast is working to collectively find answers.

Our "homework" for next week:

Every character will show their greatest moment of happiness and greatest moment of sadness (prior to the play). Each must involve the plot and one moment must involve another character within the story. This is away of creating a living history so that we can turn to those moments as they inform us with what is happening on stage. I'm excited, there's going to be quite a lot of creativity and imagination (of course) for this to thrive.

But now, I have to clean my room. It's in such a shambles and fueling any stress I'm going through for the past week. Maybe I'll catch up on Lost before then.

Content Exhaustion

I was completely and utterly exhausted after the run of the show tonight. It feels good (but also means I should be in bed; I had to watch Lost on Hulu though).

There's been a lot of work as we get ready for tech to begin. I've also quite a considerable load to do for the marketing department. All of it's important and for some reason, I've got a renewed pride and gratitude for the work and everyone else in the company. I'm not sure why it's appearing all of a sudden. I think it's the talk of the future. And we've got the next round of apprentices coming soon. Rehearsals start next week for the 2010 season (this apprentice show isn't officially a part of that).

Last week we let a group rent out our theatre for an Elvis Tribute Artist fundraiser. This kind of even is not my cup of tea, but it was for a good cause, and I helped out with the front of house duties. People started coming into the theatre and it completely reenergized me.

The winter has been pretty dreadful this year. The snow is finally starting to melt. It's been almost three months, ya know? But now, birds are chirping and this crowd starts flocking into the theatre. I couldn't be happier about that notion--this captive audience excited to take in the performance (albeit an Elvis Tribute Artist, but still).

It all made me realize I'm in the right place. And that's a great feeling.

Rehearsal, Rehearsal

(NOTE: I've added a Photos and Resume page on the right side. I have yet to add the resume, but there are plenty of cool photos to check out)

We had a strange rehearsal today.

We had a speed-through for lines and blocking. I wasn't too hung up on much, but I did have some issues toward the end. But I know exactly which spots to reexamine; it's not so nebulous and fuzzy as last week was--PROGRESS!

THEN was the doozy. We worked through the first half of the show and went and had no restrictions of lines, blocking or anything. We could speak what would come to our heads, which created some incredibly powerful moments. We had conversations (rather than an exchange of monologues, which is how the show is written).

Afterward, our director said that we've been too rigid and technical. We've got the basics of the more mechanical things. We have to trust that foundation and start jumping and flying higher. We have to find ways to actively show what's going on in our heads as another person's talking. It's about having permission to experiment and play. We don't have much time for that, but there's still time.

In other words, we have to channel the exercise into the constraints of the blocking and lines. This is going to create some even more beautiful moments.

I think we were pretty playful toward the beginning of the rehearsal, but that kind of petered out when we got worried over the lines (there are a ton, I know that's not a good excuse, but there are some insane passages in this show).

Now, my key is to get into the right framework for the beginning of the show. That's going to help inform the transformation Death has (and yes, he goes through quite the terrain). It's a safe room. I'm doing a lot of weird things; so I have little reason to feel self-conscious.

We open in ten days!

In other news, I begin rehearsals for the next show in a week. I'm really excited. It won't be your typical Ibsen, methinks.

I've got a picture

Here's a teaser publicity photo we took today.



We're getting closer and closer to tech and all that.

I hope people come to this show. It's not a downer the whole time, I promise.

We did a run today. It went well; I think. There were some moments that really surprised me. We've got a couple days off. I'll be reviewing lines and some spotty sections. I can't wait to add the music and lights, and I love the suit I get to wear.

Later.