Tech Week

I just completed my first 10-of-12 rehearsal ever.

10-of-12 means you rehearse for 10 hours in the span of 12. We had a 2-hour dinner break about midway through. I'd say half the cast (or so) went to a Thai place, and it was delicious and it was fun to hang with them (and chat above a whisper--which is what we'd been doing in the wings all day).

This show is technically epic. The play is episodic in nature. We don't have scene changes, we have transitions. The set doesn't really change, so all the locales in the Odyssey are signified by costumes, lights, and sound (and "living" set pieces--which you kind of have to see to believe). It's a cool combo of high-tech and low-tech at the same time. (For example, the sailors in Odysseus' crew create the boat with their bodies, shields, and other props)

Given those circumstances, tech has become an arduous process. I'm pretty sure I heard that there were over 40 cues the stage manager had to call within the first five minutes of the play.

We'll get through it all. I'm slightly concerned about the element of costumes (which has yet to be added). I have some quick changes that I'm not quite sure are possible, but I've decided to not worry about that until I have to. Other actors have WAY more complicated changes than me. But I'm not worrying about it.

I think there are some really cool effects. Four of us ran a new move in the very opening of the show (where we create the prow of a ship that is going over large waves and then comes crashing down)--this is all with our bodies, and nothing else--think "Cirque du Soliel-lite." Anyway, after we did the rep, the rest of the cast and our movement choreographer genuinely "oohed" and "awed". I hope there's a way I can see a bit of video footage or something to see how it all looks (same with puppeteering for Polyphemus, the cyclops), but that's unlikely.

In the end, I have to trust the design, direction, and the audience.

Our first preview is on Friday!

I better get ready for today's 12 - 9:30 call. We get a 90-minute break somewhere. I don't think today will be as demanding. My responsibilities are very Act 1-heavy, and I have less to do in Act 2. That's good, because I have some marketing deadlines to meet for Monday....