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.