We opened The Maid's Tragedy to a, dare I say, raucous crowd. Opening nights at the ASC are pay-what-you-will previews. Folks get to decide how much they want to pay at the end of the show. But on Friday night, 100+ people had bought tickets ahead of time to ensure seats. That's a great sign.
The hometown crowds like these, I find, are often full of folks who adore the ASC. Having a full house of of superfans is a lot of fun. It's not necessarily indicative of future houses, but still a great gift. That said, I'm surprised with how funny folks thought the show was. There were a lot of younger folks in the audience, and they seemed more prone to laughter than others.
The Maid's Tragedy is...I dunno...I was about to write ridiculous, but that's not quite right. It's angsty. It feels operatic. It's extreme. It's bloody (and we're using blood packets for this show--a first for my time at ASC)! There seemed to be a lot of folks who knew the story--I only say this because there were knowing responses when Aspatia makes her first entrance and Melantius congratulates her on her supposed wedding day (and it's anything but...her betrothed has been set up to marry Evadne instead).
It was a lot of fun to do the Diphilus/Strato insult exchange after the big wedding night scene. I must say Chris and I brought the house down, or at least shook up the foundation a bit. (The exchange has a great "your mom" line. Those Early Modern playwrights knew a thing or two about sophomoric comedy.) During this scene (and much of my other scenes), I felt so at ease. I haven't been this relaxed for an opening in a long time.
All in all, I think it was a successful opening. It's hard to believe that we don't have to rehearse anymore for the Ren Season. We have three weeks of performances left.
The rest of the weekend, we played to very generous houses. Each of the shows had great turnout. I hope this continues as the weather warms up. The Saturday matinee of Epicene got into a good groove. I got to the playhouse 90 minutes early, reviewed all of my lines, and was able to get a luxurious warm-up in before music call. I never called "prithee." I did have some "word burgers" as we call them here--obvious stumbling over some words. John and I got a little kerfluffled during the cursing of Cutbeard exchange, but we were able to get back on track quite easily. It happens.
And now, I'm enjoying a full 72 hours off. It's our "spring break." We don't have to return to the theatre until Wednesday night. I'm catching up on sleep, enjoying my Amazon Prime trial, and making headway through a giant novel The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. It just won the Booker Prize. This is a dense, intricate novel set in the New Zealand gold rush in the 1860s. I also borrowed The Hollow Crown series from the library. I've seen the Richard II (which is excellent) and am eager to review that along with the Henry IVs and V. Additionally, I've received cuts for upcoming productions of Hamlet and Much Ado. I've transferred all of those into my Arden editions.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Talkback - Timon Edition
We're gearing up for our opening of The Maid's Tragedy. We've had a dress and a preview earlier this week. I think it's coming together quite well. I think a giant sigh of relief will release once we get backstage after curtain call tonight. I'll write more about that later.
Anyway, I wanted to share with you some common questions that some folks have asked during talkbacks--particularly as they pertain to Timon of Athens. We had a performance of that last night and it was fun to engage with the audiences about this show. I love participating in talkbacks. We usually have one after every student matinee, and they are more generalized questions about the Ren Season or life as an actor at ASC. The comedies usually get that kind of response as well. But last night (And every Thursday night, we hold a talkback) was a bit different; folks asked more questions about Timon. I'll relay some of those questions and share my thoughts or what other actors said (this is all paraphrasing):
Anyway, I wanted to share with you some common questions that some folks have asked during talkbacks--particularly as they pertain to Timon of Athens. We had a performance of that last night and it was fun to engage with the audiences about this show. I love participating in talkbacks. We usually have one after every student matinee, and they are more generalized questions about the Ren Season or life as an actor at ASC. The comedies usually get that kind of response as well. But last night (And every Thursday night, we hold a talkback) was a bit different; folks asked more questions about Timon. I'll relay some of those questions and share my thoughts or what other actors said (this is all paraphrasing):
- How does costuming work?
We are in charge of coming up with costumes. Typically, the actor who's done the most work on the play (whether he or she cut the play or is playing the largest role) has done some thinking about the "design" of the play and comes up with a costume. The rest of the troupe follows suit (or doesn't). In the case of Timon, the logistics of many quick costume changes (I think some of the women have four or five changes in the first twenty minutes of the play). The folks who have to play many characters in this show agreed on having a black base so that they could drape other pieces over without having to do many elaborate changes.
- How do the speeches grow/change over the course of the run? Do you ever get bored?
In my experience so far, it's never a dull moment during the Ren Season. Timon doesn't get boring, ever. And we're doing this show once a week. Everything deepens and strengthens over time. The language in Timon is wonderful. It's Charles Mingus jazz. The audiences help in "teaching" the play during this season. Our rehearsals of the plays happen while we're performing them.
- What's the deal with Apemantus?
Josh (playing the role) said that Apemantus is a kind of Fool in this play (even though there is an actual Fool in one scene). Fools speak the truth; however, because that truth is difficult to swallow for many characters, no one really listens to him. There is a kind of cynic/jester role he plays--especially in the beginning. Partygoers laugh at him. In this production, his punk/alternative vibes suggest a warped sense of luxury. It's almost as if having him around makes Timon's household and parties even more special. And come on, that cave seen between Timon and Apemantus is awesome.
- What's it like to play so many characters in one show?
I play Flavius for 98% of this show. I do play the messenger of Ventidius at the beginning of the play. It's distinguished with costume, and I deepen my voice a bit. I think my messenger is looking for temp work. He's trying to make some extra money. But anyway, Chris answered this question in the talkback last night. He mentioned that there's a lot of trust with the audience that goes on with doubling/tripling/quadrupling in shows at the ASC. The text is the ultimate guide. Costumes are a big help.
Honestly, the largest hurdle in playing multiple characters in one show is finding the flow of the costume changes backstage. Otherwise, an actor's job deals with investing in the lives of so many different characters. When we're playing a bunch in one show, it's just heightened/concentrated. For something like As You Like It, I made an effort to change my voice, make significant costume changes, and carry my body in different ways. For some characters, it's not as necessary. The pages who sing "Lover and Lass" are seemingly inconsequential. I didn't develop a giant backstory about that character. I think he's a bit tipsy and fully embracing the forest life. The banishment has been good to him.
When the doubling becomes more significant and switches back and forth frequently, it can be challenging. I haven't had to work on any extreme doubling. I do have an odd doubling that's upcoming in Much Ado: Claudio and the Sexton. Right after the wedding scene, I'm the Sexton for the "Writ down an ass" scene with Dogberry, and then I jump back to Claudio with very few lines to spare for the next scene. It's fast in addition to jumping between high drama and comedy.
- The second half of "Timon" feels like Shakespeare, but the first half doesn't so much. Can you tell when there are Middleton parts in this show?
I'm not suited to be an authority on this. I have no experience with Middleton. Critics claim that Middleton is responsible for the character of Flavius. I don't really care. It's my job to deliver the text and tell the story. The only thing I have noticed is how irregular the verse is (which is typical of later Shakespeare). It's clumsy, but in a good way. There's a lot of enjambment and parenthetical phrases. All of that is useful for playing a character who is conflicted and deeply agitated. Flavius also speaks, however, with a lot of rhyming couplets. That suggests a certainty and strength. I love the chance to play with a wide spectrum.
The first half is all over the place. Many scenes span lots of locations and characters. Part of that has to do with our swift cutting of the play. The second half is almost entirely at the cave. I love that shift. Shakespeare's plays are all full of conundrums. Some people think this play was a rush job and that this is an early draft. I won't say it's not without its issues, but at the end of the day, as an actor, I can't worry about those issues while I'm playing the scenes. At the end, if the play has got you thinking, asking questions, and talking with fellow audience members, our production has done something right.
- How do you like performing an "obscure" show that audiences aren't so familiar with rather than something like "Midsummer"?
I'm loving this. You can feel the audience lean forward. Most of the folks coming to see Timon have no prior experience. They may have heard of its reputation, but there's not really a "All the world's a stage" line or speech in Timon--in terms of its familiarity. Hamlet is chock-full of familiar phrases. I've heard of one production where the guy playing Hamlet wrote "to be or not to be, that is the question" on a chalkboard and then commenced with the rest of the speech. I think the idea being that when something so oft-quoted and familiar can send people out of a production. Who knows. On the other hand, familiarity can be a wonderful thing with audiences.
But with this show, we get to give the gift of something new to the audience. I haven't done a lot of new work before, but this experience with Timon has felt like that, and I expect many audiences would say the same. That's exciting. They're leaning forward. It's difficult to know what jokes are going to land (yes, Timon has funny moments). This production feels more alive and vital for whatever reason.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Week Wrap-Up
To be honest, I'm losing steam with this. I wish that weren't the case, but alas. I think part of the reason is that these posts can, on occasion, meander through the day-to-day. I want to continue writing about the work, but I think honing the focus will help things out.
Anyway, the season is winding down (in the sense that we're going to stop rehearsing). We've got three weeks left?!
From what I can tell, the first three shows (As You Like It, Servant of Two Masters, and Timon of Athens) are in some kind of well-oiled machine land. Servant may be less so given the challenges of rapid-fire comedy. But since I don't have much going on in that show, it's hard for me to tell.
Epicene will continue to be a bear. We did a Sunday matinee yesterday (our first for this show), and it wasn't our strongest effort. I got to the theatre an hour early to stretch, warm-up, and review my second half lines. I felt pretty good energy-wise, but the long week caught up with me. There were some flukey mishaps throughout the show. None of them were major. But we were white-knuckling this a bit. I wish that weren't the case. This is a hard one for me, and I'm going to be thinking/learning about this whole experience for a long time.
Before the show, the cast assembled to finesse some storytelling moments. I think they were good fixes. These "changes" involve either delaying or cutting a group response (something of that nature). There's a puzzling moment still--and I won't get into the nitty gritty details--and I wouldn't be surprised if that requires some ironing. The more I do this show, the more confounding it becomes.
A big characteristic of this play is that everyone is serving Truewit's plotting, but the folks are at different levels of consciousness of the plotting. Even his "helpers": Cutbeard and Otter, are pawns and subject to Truewit's ridicule. The Collegiates are also accomplices, but Truewit banks on their natures, rather than letting them in on the whole jest. To throw another wrench into the mix, Truewit isn't even privy to the ultimate jest of Epicene's identity... While this all makes sense to me, it becomes difficult to orchestrate group reactions in the big scenes. Each of the characters has a supremely individual response to the action, which can be problematic for the larger storytelling (my kingdom for a director!)
Epicene may not ever get to the well-oiled machine land, which is a shame because this show could use it. I think the best solution to this is doing this show more than once a week. A Jonson City Comedy needs to fire on all cylinders and quickly. I will continue to give my body and mind the best prep before it arrives for the remaining weeks. I'm also optimistic the show will start clicking along.
I should point out that I'm not saying Epicene is a failure. This is more of an artist's "divine dissatisfaction." Audiences who venture to the playhouse to see an obscure 17th century comedy have been enjoying it, and I think we've drummed up some vivid characters in some hilarious predicaments.
MEANWHILE, while all this is going on, we're rehearsing The Maid's Tragedy!
I'm grateful for the break in responsibility, but others have giant loads to bear. I'm in full support mode with these rehearsals. We have our first dress tomorrow afternoon, and I need to make sure I review everything before then.
And in other news, I published by new website. Take a look if you'd like (there are more Epicene photos there).
Anyway, the season is winding down (in the sense that we're going to stop rehearsing). We've got three weeks left?!
From what I can tell, the first three shows (As You Like It, Servant of Two Masters, and Timon of Athens) are in some kind of well-oiled machine land. Servant may be less so given the challenges of rapid-fire comedy. But since I don't have much going on in that show, it's hard for me to tell.
Epicene will continue to be a bear. We did a Sunday matinee yesterday (our first for this show), and it wasn't our strongest effort. I got to the theatre an hour early to stretch, warm-up, and review my second half lines. I felt pretty good energy-wise, but the long week caught up with me. There were some flukey mishaps throughout the show. None of them were major. But we were white-knuckling this a bit. I wish that weren't the case. This is a hard one for me, and I'm going to be thinking/learning about this whole experience for a long time.
Before the show, the cast assembled to finesse some storytelling moments. I think they were good fixes. These "changes" involve either delaying or cutting a group response (something of that nature). There's a puzzling moment still--and I won't get into the nitty gritty details--and I wouldn't be surprised if that requires some ironing. The more I do this show, the more confounding it becomes.
 |
| Yours truly and Andrew (as Dauphine) in Epicene. Photo by Pat Jarrett. |
A big characteristic of this play is that everyone is serving Truewit's plotting, but the folks are at different levels of consciousness of the plotting. Even his "helpers": Cutbeard and Otter, are pawns and subject to Truewit's ridicule. The Collegiates are also accomplices, but Truewit banks on their natures, rather than letting them in on the whole jest. To throw another wrench into the mix, Truewit isn't even privy to the ultimate jest of Epicene's identity... While this all makes sense to me, it becomes difficult to orchestrate group reactions in the big scenes. Each of the characters has a supremely individual response to the action, which can be problematic for the larger storytelling (my kingdom for a director!)
Epicene may not ever get to the well-oiled machine land, which is a shame because this show could use it. I think the best solution to this is doing this show more than once a week. A Jonson City Comedy needs to fire on all cylinders and quickly. I will continue to give my body and mind the best prep before it arrives for the remaining weeks. I'm also optimistic the show will start clicking along.
I should point out that I'm not saying Epicene is a failure. This is more of an artist's "divine dissatisfaction." Audiences who venture to the playhouse to see an obscure 17th century comedy have been enjoying it, and I think we've drummed up some vivid characters in some hilarious predicaments.
MEANWHILE, while all this is going on, we're rehearsing The Maid's Tragedy!
I'm grateful for the break in responsibility, but others have giant loads to bear. I'm in full support mode with these rehearsals. We have our first dress tomorrow afternoon, and I need to make sure I review everything before then.
And in other news, I published by new website. Take a look if you'd like (there are more Epicene photos there).
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Maid's Tragedy Rehearsal: Tuesday
Today
- Worked on some music with our trumpet trio (Chris, Abbi, and yours truly) for a song I'm working on.
- The masquers are trying to figure out this masque. It's a tricky spot in the play. The uncut masque is long and even has a subplot. We have a very limited number of people available for this masque.
- Staged the Act IV banquet scene. This was tricky. It involves ten people sitting at a table. We experimented with many tables in various positions. There are private conversations and public conversations. Figuring out the angle of the table, where people can sit, if everyone needs to be sitting was a bulk of the rehearsal. This is where I applaud scenic designers and directors. These are questions they ask and answer long before rehearsals begin. We ended up creating a long banquet table, adding two square tables to the ends. It makes a "Last Supper" picture that isn't the most realistic, but this way, the audience will be able to see the face of every actor who speaks with no problem. We've also orchestrated who carries the chairs, the glasses, pages the curtains, brings the tables off and on, etc. What's even trickier is that a bed has to come on stage right after this, and the bed can only live in a certain space backstage. So the table will have to be disassembled in the discovery space as quickly as possible to make room for the King's bed.
- Looked through the stock of wigs for the masque.
- I think I found some shoes for this show too. I'm not sure about them though. We'll see.
- Later in the afternoon, we did a work-through of the first act. This involves the masque. It's complicated. We're using the trap, the balcony, music, dancing, singing, masques, dresses and wigs.
- After that, we had some music time to work on a Pink Floyd song. It's so much fun. I can't wait for people to hear this.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Double Day: As You Like It & Epicene
It's so late. I should be sleeping, but I'm wired from ice cream and pouring over Austin Kleon's new book Show Your Work. Austin has been an artist/writer/creative/inspiration for the past couple years. I remember stumbling across a list of tips he wish he'd learned in college. Those tips later became the book "Steal Like An Artist."
He got his start with Newspaper Blackout poetry.
Anyway, I've been following his work ever since (on Twitter and his blog and whatnot). He lives his life as if it were one long DVD special feature. That's partially why I thought blogging about the Renaissance Season would be fun to do. I'm a fan. If you're at all interested in embracing a creative life, follow him. I'm going to be exploring more of his advice in the future.
With that commercial over, I'll get back to more Ren Season updates.
Yesterday we had a two-show day: As You Like It matinee and then an evening performance of Epicene.
The matinee had more than 300 students. It took them a bit to warm up to the pre-show music, but once we busted out the Doobie Brothers, they were grooving. Yesterday's show also marked the most kids singing along to "Royals." Typically, there's at least three people mouthing along or moving to the song. But yesterday, there were many groups scattered throughout the playhouse singing along. I love when that happens.
In between shows, I did some cooking and reviewed some Epicene lines. I also did a great hatha yoga routine. It had been far too long.
Then: performance I'd been a little concerned about. My voice has been slowly getting back to where it was before the great cold/opening of Epicene last week. I knew I couldn't push it, but I also knew that I was able to give the audience and my castmates a show they deserved.
I guzzled as much water/tea as I could. I did my best to keep a calm headspace going before the show. I knew I had to groove but I absolutely could not push things. And on the flipside, I couldn't be overly worried or nervous about this. It's hard. Truewit is a ringleader, a trapeze artist, and a clown in this show. I believe this character thrives on verbal pyrotechnics, which requires using the extremes of the voice.
The greatest blessing from last night's show was the most generous, giggly audience of 30 I've ever witnessed. The intimate energy of that show was just what I needed for working on the delicate balance of being kind to myself and driving the show. Especially with comedies, you cannot force an audience to laugh. I do what I can to keep the cues tight and listening intently. With this small house, I think we found a good pocket of energy. I think it went well for me (from what I can tell). If nothing else, my voice felt great afterwards.
I'll leave you with that for now. We're doing As You Like It and Epicene again on Saturday in the same order. I'm hoping I'm back to 100% for those shows but that I can still maintain the delicacy with the theatrics for the rest of the run.
He got his start with Newspaper Blackout poetry.
Anyway, I've been following his work ever since (on Twitter and his blog and whatnot). He lives his life as if it were one long DVD special feature. That's partially why I thought blogging about the Renaissance Season would be fun to do. I'm a fan. If you're at all interested in embracing a creative life, follow him. I'm going to be exploring more of his advice in the future.
With that commercial over, I'll get back to more Ren Season updates.
 |
| The wigs of the men's dressing room. |
Yesterday we had a two-show day: As You Like It matinee and then an evening performance of Epicene.
The matinee had more than 300 students. It took them a bit to warm up to the pre-show music, but once we busted out the Doobie Brothers, they were grooving. Yesterday's show also marked the most kids singing along to "Royals." Typically, there's at least three people mouthing along or moving to the song. But yesterday, there were many groups scattered throughout the playhouse singing along. I love when that happens.
In between shows, I did some cooking and reviewed some Epicene lines. I also did a great hatha yoga routine. It had been far too long.
Then: performance I'd been a little concerned about. My voice has been slowly getting back to where it was before the great cold/opening of Epicene last week. I knew I couldn't push it, but I also knew that I was able to give the audience and my castmates a show they deserved.
I guzzled as much water/tea as I could. I did my best to keep a calm headspace going before the show. I knew I had to groove but I absolutely could not push things. And on the flipside, I couldn't be overly worried or nervous about this. It's hard. Truewit is a ringleader, a trapeze artist, and a clown in this show. I believe this character thrives on verbal pyrotechnics, which requires using the extremes of the voice.
The greatest blessing from last night's show was the most generous, giggly audience of 30 I've ever witnessed. The intimate energy of that show was just what I needed for working on the delicate balance of being kind to myself and driving the show. Especially with comedies, you cannot force an audience to laugh. I do what I can to keep the cues tight and listening intently. With this small house, I think we found a good pocket of energy. I think it went well for me (from what I can tell). If nothing else, my voice felt great afterwards.
I'll leave you with that for now. We're doing As You Like It and Epicene again on Saturday in the same order. I'm hoping I'm back to 100% for those shows but that I can still maintain the delicacy with the theatrics for the rest of the run.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
The Maid's Tragedy Day #1
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| In an effort to make these posts more visually interesting, here's a rehearsal photo from "Epicene." But this post is all about "The Maid's Tragedy," and I have no idea if you think this photo is actually interesting. Jay McClure must think so: he took the pic. |
We've begun rehearsing Beaumont & Fletcher's saucy revenge tragedy The Maid's Tragedy today. I for one, am relieved for the chance to take a "back seat." My part is pretty small, but I do have some sizzling one liners that you'd hear in the taverns of King's Landing on Game of Thrones. I share them with Chris Johnston too, so...
I'm playing Diphilus (we're pronouncing it like dih-FILE-us, if you're curious).
I'm also playing Night in the masque, and given that this character is a queen, I'll probably be wearing a dress. But I haven't figured out my costume yet, so we'll see. I will be dancing. I know that much. But it looks like Greg won't be the only dude in a dress this Ren Season, folks.
We've started blocking from the beginning of the play. I'm in the first scene, welcoming my brother Melantius (Rene) from war. He's shocked to hear that his best bud, Amintor (Greg) is marrying Evadne (our sister, played by Sarah)--NOT his betrothed Aspatia (Abbi).
That's when the complications and suffering begin. It's pretty much all downhill from there.
So many of us say this, but it's true: I love the variety that comes from the seasons at ASC. If I were doing just one of these great plays, I would have a blast. But it would be tough to sustain over the course of 8 shows a week for months on end. The fact we're busting through five plays is something to relish. And they all have their merits as plays and as acting opportunities.
With this play, I'm honing my listening skills. (I mean, I'm never not, but...you'll see what I mean in a minute). I've done very little preparation for this show. My knowledge of it is basic at minimum. This isn't something I advise for any actor. I'm working under the frames of the Renaissance Season, however, working from my cue script (something I didn't do for Timon or Epicene).
Yes, I've reviewed the scenes I'm in. But given the marathon load that was Epicene, this show is a bit of a "break." I suspect I'm working more in a way that an actor on a TV series would. This is a long way of saying: the listening I have to do while I'm on stage is vital because I rarely have any sense of what will be said next. This is quite refreshing. In Epicene, I pretty much know what everyone is saying because they are my cues. That's a whole other beast. I'm charged with the responsibility of keeping the play on course. With this play, I'm very much supporting the action (and providing some twisted comic relief). I have to be there for the leads, making sure that I'm giving them enough resistance or support when necessary.
Most of the day, I worked on music. I'm hoping we can work up a Johnny Flynn song for this show. He's an English folk singer/songwriter/trumpet player/Shakespearean actor. Needless to say, I feel a kinship to this guy. John Harrell (playing Calianax) has drummed up a re-imagined version of a Pink Floyd song. We worked that up in the afternoon, and it was so much fun.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Recovery
I've lost track of the number of days. Maybe I'll figure it out sometime. Here's a quick recap of things:
THURSDAY, FEB 20
Epicene preview. I was a bit nervous, but doing the show once yesterday was a gift. The folks seemed to like it. Our pace is just off. But that is to be expected for a comedy that we've only been working on for, what, ten days or so? John Harrell mentioned in the talkback that Ben Jonson plays need to click along, and I agree. I feel a pang whenever there's a little gap in the action. The troupe is getting more and more solid with lines (myself included). Another wrench: I've picked up a cold that's been hovering around the Blackfriars. A couple of us have it. It's just a pesky cold (exacerbated by this schedule, no doubt) but it's supremely annoying.
FRIDAY, FEB 21
The afternoon we had a four-hour block to look over stuff. We tweaked some things here and there. We cut a couple lines out of the final scene, which helped smooth out some jagged edges. They both affected my cues and lines--so I made sure to review those again before the performance. We opened Epicene to a great house. The pace quickened. I nearly stopped the show on the line "How? Maim a man forever for a jest?" There was a moment of panic when I forgot to grab a gallant stool for an intricate prank scene, but I was able to get things back on track. I felt great before the show. The energy continued throughout. It was just plain ol' fun. I know I went beyond what was healthy for my voice though, and...well...you'll see how that plays out in the days to follow...
SATURDAY, FEB 22
The adrenaline got the best of me and the cold sort of returned with a vengeance. My voice felt pretty ragged. I opted out of singing "MoneyGrabber" for Timon and "Hongry" in Servant. The shows went just fine. I was incredibly hoarse during Servant, however. Fortunately, it's a tiny part. Been sipping water and teas all day.
SUNDAY, FEB 23
In bad shape voice-wise. My body/energy felt fine. The cold is pretty much gone. The vocal folds, however, are probably in shock. I did, however, sing "Royals" during the interlude. It's not a demanding song range-wise (we changed the key from the original). But my Hymen Hymn was something else. I made up the melody. I attempted to figure out a way around the hymn and the vocal choices I made, but nothing came to me. If this hadn't been the last show of the week, I may have even asked for an understudy, or some kind of re-staging of Hymen. I dunno... The end of this race was something just short of a trainwreck. I immediately went on vocal rest after the show. Our stage manager Sara appointed Symmonie (our all-time understudy) to read my lines for The Maid's Tragedy read-through that evening.
MONDAY, FEB 24
Woke up feeling incredibly rested. But remained on vocal rest through the whole day. It's getting better. This day off is exactly what I needed. I got some reading done. Worked on my cue cards for The Maid's Tragedy. I also started working on a new actor website. It's simple and pretty easy to manage. I'll share it someday once it's finished.
TUESDAY, FEB 25
That's today. I have nothing more to share (other than I'm on the lookout for a job during the months of April, May, and June).
THURSDAY, FEB 20
Epicene preview. I was a bit nervous, but doing the show once yesterday was a gift. The folks seemed to like it. Our pace is just off. But that is to be expected for a comedy that we've only been working on for, what, ten days or so? John Harrell mentioned in the talkback that Ben Jonson plays need to click along, and I agree. I feel a pang whenever there's a little gap in the action. The troupe is getting more and more solid with lines (myself included). Another wrench: I've picked up a cold that's been hovering around the Blackfriars. A couple of us have it. It's just a pesky cold (exacerbated by this schedule, no doubt) but it's supremely annoying.
FRIDAY, FEB 21
The afternoon we had a four-hour block to look over stuff. We tweaked some things here and there. We cut a couple lines out of the final scene, which helped smooth out some jagged edges. They both affected my cues and lines--so I made sure to review those again before the performance. We opened Epicene to a great house. The pace quickened. I nearly stopped the show on the line "How? Maim a man forever for a jest?" There was a moment of panic when I forgot to grab a gallant stool for an intricate prank scene, but I was able to get things back on track. I felt great before the show. The energy continued throughout. It was just plain ol' fun. I know I went beyond what was healthy for my voice though, and...well...you'll see how that plays out in the days to follow...
SATURDAY, FEB 22
The adrenaline got the best of me and the cold sort of returned with a vengeance. My voice felt pretty ragged. I opted out of singing "MoneyGrabber" for Timon and "Hongry" in Servant. The shows went just fine. I was incredibly hoarse during Servant, however. Fortunately, it's a tiny part. Been sipping water and teas all day.
SUNDAY, FEB 23
In bad shape voice-wise. My body/energy felt fine. The cold is pretty much gone. The vocal folds, however, are probably in shock. I did, however, sing "Royals" during the interlude. It's not a demanding song range-wise (we changed the key from the original). But my Hymen Hymn was something else. I made up the melody. I attempted to figure out a way around the hymn and the vocal choices I made, but nothing came to me. If this hadn't been the last show of the week, I may have even asked for an understudy, or some kind of re-staging of Hymen. I dunno... The end of this race was something just short of a trainwreck. I immediately went on vocal rest after the show. Our stage manager Sara appointed Symmonie (our all-time understudy) to read my lines for The Maid's Tragedy read-through that evening.
MONDAY, FEB 24
Woke up feeling incredibly rested. But remained on vocal rest through the whole day. It's getting better. This day off is exactly what I needed. I got some reading done. Worked on my cue cards for The Maid's Tragedy. I also started working on a new actor website. It's simple and pretty easy to manage. I'll share it someday once it's finished.
TUESDAY, FEB 25
That's today. I have nothing more to share (other than I'm on the lookout for a job during the months of April, May, and June).
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Epicene...
I haven't abandoned this, I promise. But the work's gotta come first, and it's been a busy past week. For one, my parents visited for a few days and were able to catch performances of As You Like It, The Servant of Two Masters, and Timon of Athens. I finally completed memorizing the 500+ lines I have in Epicene.
Yesterday we had our first run of the show, which was also our dress rehearsal. Tonight, we have our first preview, and then we open tomorrow night.
The dress rehearsal was a huge gift and incredibly nerve-wracking at first. There is something luxurious about being on stage for 80% of the show: I don't have time to freak out back stage. I just have to continue pressing forward and move the story along. It's tough for the critical monkey in my head to break through. It took me a little while to find the groove, but I have a much better sense of how the show works even with 7 or so people present for the dress. After the dress was over, I felt the giant weight off my shoulders. There's still spots to sort out and certain turns of phrases to solidify, but I went through the whole show non-stop (not without calling "prithee"--including THE LAST LINE OF THE SHOW...I'll tell that story later).
Tonight will be tricky. The show is funny, but it's also witty and amusing (not always laugh-out-loud). Navigating the audience through the laughs will be the next component (as well as tightening the lines and cues), but I'm used to that (thankfully).
I'll share more thoughts/observations about this play. But for now, I'm going to take a much-needed nap. We had a matinee for As You Like It this morning with 300+ students, and I've caught a cold bug that's been floating around (GRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), so we'll see how the body/voice/mind keeps up for tonight's show. Right now, it's just a runny nose (which is a major pain).
Later all!
Yesterday we had our first run of the show, which was also our dress rehearsal. Tonight, we have our first preview, and then we open tomorrow night.
The dress rehearsal was a huge gift and incredibly nerve-wracking at first. There is something luxurious about being on stage for 80% of the show: I don't have time to freak out back stage. I just have to continue pressing forward and move the story along. It's tough for the critical monkey in my head to break through. It took me a little while to find the groove, but I have a much better sense of how the show works even with 7 or so people present for the dress. After the dress was over, I felt the giant weight off my shoulders. There's still spots to sort out and certain turns of phrases to solidify, but I went through the whole show non-stop (not without calling "prithee"--including THE LAST LINE OF THE SHOW...I'll tell that story later).
Tonight will be tricky. The show is funny, but it's also witty and amusing (not always laugh-out-loud). Navigating the audience through the laughs will be the next component (as well as tightening the lines and cues), but I'm used to that (thankfully).
I'll share more thoughts/observations about this play. But for now, I'm going to take a much-needed nap. We had a matinee for As You Like It this morning with 300+ students, and I've caught a cold bug that's been floating around (GRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), so we'll see how the body/voice/mind keeps up for tonight's show. Right now, it's just a runny nose (which is a major pain).
Later all!
Thursday, February 13, 2014
ARS Days 37 and 38
I'll conflate these two days because they were so similar.
We managed to stage the second half of the show. It's was a tricky beast. It involves a lot of people on stage there are lots of side conversations, asides that only some people can hear, and a 200+ line scene that is an elaborate jest for Truewit.
On Monday, I went through the scene chart and tried to devise a schedule. I worked backwards. I knew I wanted to get through the rest of the show. This meant staging 1100 lines in two days. I found a good "half-way point" (600 lines for the first day). Then, depending on the nature of the scene, I attempted to give around 45 minutes for 100 lines. It's tough because not all chunks of lines are created equal. When there are shorter scenes with only 3 or 4 people, it's easier to bust through. But when there are a lots of entrances and "business" for characters, more time is needed. Mrs. Otter beating up Captain Otter just needs more time to work out some choreography, for example.
The scene breakdowns (and I'm guessing they are editor scene breaks, but I'm not certain) act more like French scenes rather than Shakespeare scenes. A new French scene begins when a new character comes on stage. The fourth and fifth acts don't have a large passage of time among scenes. The scenes are mostly continuous (much like a Moliere play).
I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I still have a lot of work to do (we all do), but there's some comfort in getting the whole show on our feet. Our first dress rehearsal is next Wednesday.
 |
| That stack of cards contains only my second half lines. |
We managed to stage the second half of the show. It's was a tricky beast. It involves a lot of people on stage there are lots of side conversations, asides that only some people can hear, and a 200+ line scene that is an elaborate jest for Truewit.
On Monday, I went through the scene chart and tried to devise a schedule. I worked backwards. I knew I wanted to get through the rest of the show. This meant staging 1100 lines in two days. I found a good "half-way point" (600 lines for the first day). Then, depending on the nature of the scene, I attempted to give around 45 minutes for 100 lines. It's tough because not all chunks of lines are created equal. When there are shorter scenes with only 3 or 4 people, it's easier to bust through. But when there are a lots of entrances and "business" for characters, more time is needed. Mrs. Otter beating up Captain Otter just needs more time to work out some choreography, for example.
The scene breakdowns (and I'm guessing they are editor scene breaks, but I'm not certain) act more like French scenes rather than Shakespeare scenes. A new French scene begins when a new character comes on stage. The fourth and fifth acts don't have a large passage of time among scenes. The scenes are mostly continuous (much like a Moliere play).
I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I still have a lot of work to do (we all do), but there's some comfort in getting the whole show on our feet. Our first dress rehearsal is next Wednesday.
Monday, February 10, 2014
ARS Day 36
We geared up for a Servant of Two Masters matinee. I worked diligently on my Epicene lines during the first act (about 45 minutes). The interlude bell is my cue to get prepped for the songs, so I'm able to focus on a project quietly in the rehearsal hall without having to keep an ear open for an important line cue. That's a great gift.
After the show, we had a dinner break and then returned for the final rehearsal block of the week. Sunday nights are tough. We've been working hard for six days, and our "Friday" night is on the horizon!
We start each rehearsal with a meeting to plot out the rest of the day's work. I decided to bite the bullet and bring up the furniture conundrum. People seemed to be in general agreement. It does mean that we have to do some backtracking (some time lost). I think we determined that the furniture can just be for the first act, we'll coordinate a way to remove it going into act 2. I think this will only require 45 minutes at most. The other thing to consider is: do we work on getting that in now? Or plug along?
It's hard to know, and it's really up to me. Since the furniture doesn't seem to be needed in the later scenes and I've already got some ideas on how the first scenes can incorporate it all, I figured it would be best to keep plugging along with the workthru and move along to the second half (which is unfamiliar terrain) on Tuesday. We do have a total of 36 hours of work before our first dress rehearsal (within the span of a week). I'm confident the pieces will come together in time.
The game plan for this rehearsal was to finish our workthru of the first half--the third act. Because there are so many bodies on the stage, the shape we've created is pretty solid. We didn't have to do major overhaul. Someone had a great idea for the music that bursts in on Morose's wedding reception. "Cacophony" best describes the moment. It should be a pretty fun way to end the first half of the show before interlude.
At the end of the rehearsal, I decided it would be best to have a detailed rehearsal plot for the rest of our time with this show for my own sanity. We've been taking each day in stride a bit (which isn't how we've been rehearsing the other shows this season). That said, it does mean I have to hunker down and figure it all out, which will take some time. But I'm gonna work on that right now...
After the show, we had a dinner break and then returned for the final rehearsal block of the week. Sunday nights are tough. We've been working hard for six days, and our "Friday" night is on the horizon!
We start each rehearsal with a meeting to plot out the rest of the day's work. I decided to bite the bullet and bring up the furniture conundrum. People seemed to be in general agreement. It does mean that we have to do some backtracking (some time lost). I think we determined that the furniture can just be for the first act, we'll coordinate a way to remove it going into act 2. I think this will only require 45 minutes at most. The other thing to consider is: do we work on getting that in now? Or plug along?
It's hard to know, and it's really up to me. Since the furniture doesn't seem to be needed in the later scenes and I've already got some ideas on how the first scenes can incorporate it all, I figured it would be best to keep plugging along with the workthru and move along to the second half (which is unfamiliar terrain) on Tuesday. We do have a total of 36 hours of work before our first dress rehearsal (within the span of a week). I'm confident the pieces will come together in time.
The game plan for this rehearsal was to finish our workthru of the first half--the third act. Because there are so many bodies on the stage, the shape we've created is pretty solid. We didn't have to do major overhaul. Someone had a great idea for the music that bursts in on Morose's wedding reception. "Cacophony" best describes the moment. It should be a pretty fun way to end the first half of the show before interlude.
At the end of the rehearsal, I decided it would be best to have a detailed rehearsal plot for the rest of our time with this show for my own sanity. We've been taking each day in stride a bit (which isn't how we've been rehearsing the other shows this season). That said, it does mean I have to hunker down and figure it all out, which will take some time. But I'm gonna work on that right now...
Sunday, February 9, 2014
ARS Day 35
Double-Show Day: Timon of Athens matinee + As You Like It on a Saturday night (! -- it's been a while)
No Epicene rehearsal.
We had a nice mid-sized crowd for Timon this afternoon. I thought the show went pretty well. BUT...
(sigh...) I called prithee at the beginning of my cave scene with Timon. (What we say instead of "line" at ASC.)
I went blank when I discovered "yond despised and ruinous man...full of decay and failing." It was a moment when I had no idea what was coming. I considered trying to struggle through it, but it was a little soliloquy, and my attempt to patch up the memory lapse would have resulted in laborious paraphrasing and stumbling that the audience would have wince at. After some quick deliberation, I called prithee. Chris, as prompter, was primed (probably alert to the longer-than-normal pause), spoke the next two words, I immediately knew where I was line-wise. It was pretty terrifying in that instant. But I think I handled the situation as best as I could.
I don't want to call "prithee" if I don't have to (I don't think anyone wants to, really). I fully expect that to happen in Epicene (not that I'm banking on it--I just know it's possible, if not likely for this particular show). There have been some moments in Timon when I've mentally jumped to other scenes. Flavius has language in speeches that, on paper, seem very similar in others. He repeats turns of phrase often enough.
Anyway, it's out of my system. It may happen again, and I'll just keep going along.
That evening we had a large crowd for As You Like It, which was a treat. We hadn't done a Saturday evening AYLI for quite some time, and it was fun. Saturday nights are often the big ticket each week. I knew we were in store for a fun show from the very beginning when people snickered throughout at Orlando's first speech. Greg has navigated it clearly, it's full of tension and some good little parenthetical remarks. He manages to create a young man with strong convictions, but also lets his doubts slip to audience members and Adam. And there's humor in that.
No Epicene rehearsal.
We had a nice mid-sized crowd for Timon this afternoon. I thought the show went pretty well. BUT...
(sigh...) I called prithee at the beginning of my cave scene with Timon. (What we say instead of "line" at ASC.)
I went blank when I discovered "yond despised and ruinous man...full of decay and failing." It was a moment when I had no idea what was coming. I considered trying to struggle through it, but it was a little soliloquy, and my attempt to patch up the memory lapse would have resulted in laborious paraphrasing and stumbling that the audience would have wince at. After some quick deliberation, I called prithee. Chris, as prompter, was primed (probably alert to the longer-than-normal pause), spoke the next two words, I immediately knew where I was line-wise. It was pretty terrifying in that instant. But I think I handled the situation as best as I could.
I don't want to call "prithee" if I don't have to (I don't think anyone wants to, really). I fully expect that to happen in Epicene (not that I'm banking on it--I just know it's possible, if not likely for this particular show). There have been some moments in Timon when I've mentally jumped to other scenes. Flavius has language in speeches that, on paper, seem very similar in others. He repeats turns of phrase often enough.
Anyway, it's out of my system. It may happen again, and I'll just keep going along.
That evening we had a large crowd for As You Like It, which was a treat. We hadn't done a Saturday evening AYLI for quite some time, and it was fun. Saturday nights are often the big ticket each week. I knew we were in store for a fun show from the very beginning when people snickered throughout at Orlando's first speech. Greg has navigated it clearly, it's full of tension and some good little parenthetical remarks. He manages to create a young man with strong convictions, but also lets his doubts slip to audience members and Adam. And there's humor in that.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
ARS Day 34
Started off the day with an actor-scholar council. These are podcasts where some actors discuss the creativity and challenges of working on shows. Graduate students from Mary Baldwin and members of the education department attend and ask questions. I was invited to join the As You Like It round-table and provide a voice as a first-timer to the Renaissance Season. It's a mix of scholarship talk and process. I think these are pretty interesting and enjoy hearing what actors have to say about the work. When I was looking up theatres that I would like to work at, I remember listening to as many podcasts from ASC as I could. I'll let you know when the As You Like It episode becomes available.
After that, we went back to Epicene land. The idea was to go back from the beginning and work through the first half of the show. Someone mentioned that these "work-thrus" that we've been doing of late are relatively "new" to the Renaissance Season, and that when we say work-thru, we shouldn't be hesitant to stop and actually work stuff. I know I have the temptation to want to barrel through and get on with things. With that in mind, we definitely worked on stuff. The first scene is giving me some troubles. I can't quite put my finger on it. I mean, it's kind of like an episode of Seinfeld and there's some big exposition-y things going on. Jonathan and I worked on it a bit. I switched up a couple crosses and stage pictures. After that, it felt better, but something was nagging at me. Part of the trouble is that Truewit walks into the room of his good friend Clerimont with no real agenda but to waste the day away. They gossip and chatter for a while and then Dauphine enters with news that his uncle plans to disinherit him by marrying a silent woman. That's when the play kicks into high gear. The "stasis" of the world is interrupted and isn't restored until the end of they play.
Then, during a break or something someone put a bug in my ear about furniture. That's what's missing: something to sit on! I never entertained the idea of putting furniture on stage for this show. It honestly never crossed my mind. It's not that we don't use furniture at the Blackfriars. Even last year for She Stoops to Conquer, we had quite a bit. Other actors started sharing other things from past ren seasons and other shows.
I guess I had avoided the thought because it's a bit of a logistical hassle. Anyway, the more this idea reels in my head, the more I can clearly see the kind of scene I'd been hoping for with this "addition" of furniture. It's just a shame that it's dawned on me rather late in the process. So....I've been chatting with some other actors about this over break. I think there seems to be agreement that it would be helpful and that it's possible. I will broach this on Sunday when we have rehearsal again. That's the bear. Do we go back and work implementing this significant change? Or do we charge forward? (Stay tuned...)
We continued working through the first half--not getting quite as far as we'd plan. But, from my perspective, it was a necessary to slow down and solidify moments/traffic patterns/landing jokes, etc.. I mean, we probably won't get to work on these until right before we open.
That night, we had a performance of Servant of Two Masters.
After that, we went back to Epicene land. The idea was to go back from the beginning and work through the first half of the show. Someone mentioned that these "work-thrus" that we've been doing of late are relatively "new" to the Renaissance Season, and that when we say work-thru, we shouldn't be hesitant to stop and actually work stuff. I know I have the temptation to want to barrel through and get on with things. With that in mind, we definitely worked on stuff. The first scene is giving me some troubles. I can't quite put my finger on it. I mean, it's kind of like an episode of Seinfeld and there's some big exposition-y things going on. Jonathan and I worked on it a bit. I switched up a couple crosses and stage pictures. After that, it felt better, but something was nagging at me. Part of the trouble is that Truewit walks into the room of his good friend Clerimont with no real agenda but to waste the day away. They gossip and chatter for a while and then Dauphine enters with news that his uncle plans to disinherit him by marrying a silent woman. That's when the play kicks into high gear. The "stasis" of the world is interrupted and isn't restored until the end of they play.
Then, during a break or something someone put a bug in my ear about furniture. That's what's missing: something to sit on! I never entertained the idea of putting furniture on stage for this show. It honestly never crossed my mind. It's not that we don't use furniture at the Blackfriars. Even last year for She Stoops to Conquer, we had quite a bit. Other actors started sharing other things from past ren seasons and other shows.
I guess I had avoided the thought because it's a bit of a logistical hassle. Anyway, the more this idea reels in my head, the more I can clearly see the kind of scene I'd been hoping for with this "addition" of furniture. It's just a shame that it's dawned on me rather late in the process. So....I've been chatting with some other actors about this over break. I think there seems to be agreement that it would be helpful and that it's possible. I will broach this on Sunday when we have rehearsal again. That's the bear. Do we go back and work implementing this significant change? Or do we charge forward? (Stay tuned...)
We continued working through the first half--not getting quite as far as we'd plan. But, from my perspective, it was a necessary to slow down and solidify moments/traffic patterns/landing jokes, etc.. I mean, we probably won't get to work on these until right before we open.
That night, we had a performance of Servant of Two Masters.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
ARS Day 33
Another full day, but things went better for me. The nerves of the first day wiped away, and I was able to roll up my sleeves and get to work. We also had less to work on, which was helpful. Our goal was to stage all of act three and then run it at the end of that so we could spend a good two hours working on music.
The thing that tripped my comrades (Jonathan and Andrew, playing Clerimont and Dauphine) and I the most was eavesdropping on Captain and Mistress Otter. We're spying from the center curtain and tried a variety of combinations. I think what we've settled on is a "tee-pee" configuration with three heads on top of each other. It's tricky to get there, but I think we've figured out a way to do it. The more we run that, the easier it should get. We have other options, but this is the funniest.
I also revisited the big "railing on marriage" scene which is essentially two and a half pages of non-stop verbal pyrotechnics from yours truly. I also have a horn and a noose in the scene to use as "weapons" against John Harrell. Needless to say, it's a lot of fun (and an intense workout). His character, Morose, HATES noise. Much of the play is centered on creating a noisy hell for him. Bwahahahahahahahah.
By the days' end, we managed to stage the first half (1000+ lines). We've got just over 1000 to go. Fun fact, John Harrell cut this play. He had to take away a third of this play. If you're ever near a copy of Epicene, check it out and see the giant chunks of text--pages even--that some of the characters spew. It's astounding.
After six hours of rehearsal, we're pretty much spent. But we persevered and continued with some music. Greg brought in an AWESOME, incredibly catchy song by the Australian band The Cat Empire to work on. I'd heard of the band before, but I've never really listened to their music. Anyway, at the risk of spoiling some fun pre-show/interlude music, we started working up their song "Sly." I love it. There's a killer trumpet motif that I'm working up. So if you want a fun song to jam to this weekend, here it is. And, I promise, the lead singer is singing "funk-inflicted," not something else.
The thing that tripped my comrades (Jonathan and Andrew, playing Clerimont and Dauphine) and I the most was eavesdropping on Captain and Mistress Otter. We're spying from the center curtain and tried a variety of combinations. I think what we've settled on is a "tee-pee" configuration with three heads on top of each other. It's tricky to get there, but I think we've figured out a way to do it. The more we run that, the easier it should get. We have other options, but this is the funniest.
I also revisited the big "railing on marriage" scene which is essentially two and a half pages of non-stop verbal pyrotechnics from yours truly. I also have a horn and a noose in the scene to use as "weapons" against John Harrell. Needless to say, it's a lot of fun (and an intense workout). His character, Morose, HATES noise. Much of the play is centered on creating a noisy hell for him. Bwahahahahahahahah.
By the days' end, we managed to stage the first half (1000+ lines). We've got just over 1000 to go. Fun fact, John Harrell cut this play. He had to take away a third of this play. If you're ever near a copy of Epicene, check it out and see the giant chunks of text--pages even--that some of the characters spew. It's astounding.
After six hours of rehearsal, we're pretty much spent. But we persevered and continued with some music. Greg brought in an AWESOME, incredibly catchy song by the Australian band The Cat Empire to work on. I'd heard of the band before, but I've never really listened to their music. Anyway, at the risk of spoiling some fun pre-show/interlude music, we started working up their song "Sly." I love it. There's a killer trumpet motif that I'm working up. So if you want a fun song to jam to this weekend, here it is. And, I promise, the lead singer is singing "funk-inflicted," not something else.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
ARS Day 32
Today we started EPICENE, OR THE SILENT WOMAN by Ben Jonson.
We began with a table read of the play, which was full of laughter and groaning. There are some crazy lines and language in this play (not to mention some slightly convoluted plot points).
We've got a growing list of songs (which promise to be fun).
This is my "big" show in the Ren Season. I definitely have the most lines (500+). When you've got that load, people start looking to you for leadership. Needless to say, I've got a big load on my shoulders.
Anyway, we determined to focus on getting the first half of the play up on its feet for this first week. Time is somewhat on our side with this show (since we're in full swing with student matinees and rotating rep during the weekends). I'm grateful for that. Of course, this is a tough play to split the cast up. We can't double-dip that much. Most people are needed whenever we work scenes. It's tougher to divide and conquer. That said, there's going to be a lot of downtime for other actors, which I'm sure they will appreciate.
I was overwhelmed much of the day. The tough part is figuring out with what to really concern myself. Right now it's a jumble of recalling lines, figuring out blocking, and making sure we're all on the same page with the story and what's actually happening in the scenes. A big thing about this play is characters are commenting on other characters without them hearing (and often it's not noted whether or not it's an aside). It's tricky. I'm also one to want perfection on day one, which is just setting myself up for disappointment. All that said, we've managed to get 2 of five acts on their feet within the first day. I've already got a list of things I'd like to work out.
That's the other thing that's challenging: how much to you sketch out on the first look at scenes, or how much do you try to solidify right away? I'm feeling a pressure to just slap some paint on the canvas, hoping to get the details in later. But there's another part of me that would love to explore a little more and hope more of the scene sticks. At breaks, I frantically scribbled out blocking (which is constantly shifting).
I know it's only been day one. Things will be just fine. But this show is going to be quite the learning experience.
We began with a table read of the play, which was full of laughter and groaning. There are some crazy lines and language in this play (not to mention some slightly convoluted plot points).
We've got a growing list of songs (which promise to be fun).
This is my "big" show in the Ren Season. I definitely have the most lines (500+). When you've got that load, people start looking to you for leadership. Needless to say, I've got a big load on my shoulders.
Anyway, we determined to focus on getting the first half of the play up on its feet for this first week. Time is somewhat on our side with this show (since we're in full swing with student matinees and rotating rep during the weekends). I'm grateful for that. Of course, this is a tough play to split the cast up. We can't double-dip that much. Most people are needed whenever we work scenes. It's tougher to divide and conquer. That said, there's going to be a lot of downtime for other actors, which I'm sure they will appreciate.
I was overwhelmed much of the day. The tough part is figuring out with what to really concern myself. Right now it's a jumble of recalling lines, figuring out blocking, and making sure we're all on the same page with the story and what's actually happening in the scenes. A big thing about this play is characters are commenting on other characters without them hearing (and often it's not noted whether or not it's an aside). It's tricky. I'm also one to want perfection on day one, which is just setting myself up for disappointment. All that said, we've managed to get 2 of five acts on their feet within the first day. I've already got a list of things I'd like to work out.
That's the other thing that's challenging: how much to you sketch out on the first look at scenes, or how much do you try to solidify right away? I'm feeling a pressure to just slap some paint on the canvas, hoping to get the details in later. But there's another part of me that would love to explore a little more and hope more of the scene sticks. At breaks, I frantically scribbled out blocking (which is constantly shifting).
I know it's only been day one. Things will be just fine. But this show is going to be quite the learning experience.
Monday, February 3, 2014
ARS Days 29 - 31
Well, folks, the 2014 Actors' Renaissance Season has opened three plays within a month.
That's quite the feat. The shows couldn't be more different from each other.
On Friday, we spent a bit of time looking at a couple big crowd spots, but most of the time was devoted to working up a song ("Everybody Knows"). Meanwhile, I spent some time at the theatre to work on more Epicene lines.
I was pretty nervous about opening. For whatever reason, this evening felt like a "real" opening night. There was a big home-town crowd with many familiar faces. I think the show went well. The standing ovation we received at the end was the rare "leaping out of seats" kind of ovation (which I haven't experienced for a while). People laughed a lot too. My scene with Timon at the cave had plenty of chuckles. I was startled by it (because Flavius is a pretty vulnerable situation). Afterwards, I realized that if people are laughing this late into the play at a man who has been railing against humanity for the past 45 minutes, I think we're doing something right. I'm not saying this was a laugh-riot scene, but it was energized, and people keenly listening.
The next day we had an As You Like It matinee (with 200+ people!) and then a Servant performance that evening. This was the first AYLI were people sitting in the middle section of the Lord's Room (the balcony that sits above the stage where we play most of our music during pre-show and interludes). That was a new kink into playing Hymen from above. I could only see a few actors. There was even a moment when I got on my tip-toes and had to stay up in "relevé" for a few lines. I'm not quite sure what was going on. I was most likely shouting and spitting into the ears of those young women, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Servant went just fine, I think. The long weekends of rep tend to get blurry (and I'm writing this on Monday afternoon).
On Sunday, we had a matinee of Timon. I jumped in on trumpet for "Everybody Knows." It needs some work still, but I'll get it. I wasn't thrilled with my performance. I don't wanna get bogged down by it or make excuses. But it was a long week.
I decided to give myself the rest of the night off and spend Monday (today) working on Epicene lines. I actually watched The Talented Mr. Ripley. It's been on my Netflix list for a while, and after hearing about Philip Seymour Hoffman's death, it just felt like the right thing to do (and I don't care about football). I'm always saddened to hear about the death of great artists, but this one has struck quite a nerve (one that I wasn't expecting).
That's quite the feat. The shows couldn't be more different from each other.
On Friday, we spent a bit of time looking at a couple big crowd spots, but most of the time was devoted to working up a song ("Everybody Knows"). Meanwhile, I spent some time at the theatre to work on more Epicene lines.
I was pretty nervous about opening. For whatever reason, this evening felt like a "real" opening night. There was a big home-town crowd with many familiar faces. I think the show went well. The standing ovation we received at the end was the rare "leaping out of seats" kind of ovation (which I haven't experienced for a while). People laughed a lot too. My scene with Timon at the cave had plenty of chuckles. I was startled by it (because Flavius is a pretty vulnerable situation). Afterwards, I realized that if people are laughing this late into the play at a man who has been railing against humanity for the past 45 minutes, I think we're doing something right. I'm not saying this was a laugh-riot scene, but it was energized, and people keenly listening.
 |
| I'm not above taking costumed selfies. Here's what I'm rockin' as Flavius. |
The next day we had an As You Like It matinee (with 200+ people!) and then a Servant performance that evening. This was the first AYLI were people sitting in the middle section of the Lord's Room (the balcony that sits above the stage where we play most of our music during pre-show and interludes). That was a new kink into playing Hymen from above. I could only see a few actors. There was even a moment when I got on my tip-toes and had to stay up in "relevé" for a few lines. I'm not quite sure what was going on. I was most likely shouting and spitting into the ears of those young women, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Servant went just fine, I think. The long weekends of rep tend to get blurry (and I'm writing this on Monday afternoon).
On Sunday, we had a matinee of Timon. I jumped in on trumpet for "Everybody Knows." It needs some work still, but I'll get it. I wasn't thrilled with my performance. I don't wanna get bogged down by it or make excuses. But it was a long week.
I decided to give myself the rest of the night off and spend Monday (today) working on Epicene lines. I actually watched The Talented Mr. Ripley. It's been on my Netflix list for a while, and after hearing about Philip Seymour Hoffman's death, it just felt like the right thing to do (and I don't care about football). I'm always saddened to hear about the death of great artists, but this one has struck quite a nerve (one that I wasn't expecting).
Friday, January 31, 2014
ARS Day 28
FIRST PREVIEW OF TIMON OF ATHENS!
But first, we had our first student matinee of As You Like It.
The audience was a bit of a tough crowd, to be honest. We've been spoiled with generous houses in the past weeks. I don't mean to disparage this house. It just goes to show that, as a troupe, we can't get too comfortable with the ebb and flow of response and laughter. Not every Romeo and Juliet matinee that we had last year was raucous and I don't consider As You Like It is not wild romp of a show. It's witty and amusing (and the beginning is FULL of tricky exposition and quite dark, actually), but not full of all the bawdy humor that R&J has in the first half. Anyway, It was a good lesson in picking up cues when the jokes don't audibly land on students like they do with adults. Also, there's definitely a culture about attending performances at the Blackfriars. For those who aren't accustomed to how immediate and interactive, it can be daunting. I think seeing plays here demands a lot on the audience (for the better, I believe). This is not a passive theatre-going experience. But if you're not used to that kind of thing, it can be a bit disorienting.
As much as I grumble about waking up earlier for student matinees, there is something incredibly energizing about telling these stories for students. I'm always certain that a matinee performance is the first time some have ever seen this play, possibly the first time they've seen Shakespeare live. I also bank on there being at least one kid whose life is altered by a show. And I gotta say, it's endearing to see kids sing along with a song like "Royals" during the interlude.
After the matinee, we had five glorious hours off before the preview. I took that precious time to relax.
I arrived at the theatre a half hour early and still wasn't ready for the pre-show. One of the hardest parts of this job is opening a show--especially when there's a lot of backstage business. My mind is preoccupied with finding the backstage path of least resistance. Sometimes it's actually easier to keep some costume changes in the dressing room--other times, that's just impossible. I have one major change from my messenger into Flavius (it's, thankfully, not a quick change) but then I'm shuffling around instruments and props, paging curtains, etc. With the exception of Timon and myself, it seems that everyone else in the troupe has anywhere from four to seven changes throughout the night. This routine gets exponentially easier every time we do it. So I'm not worried. But it is my world right now.
There were about four moments when I wasn't completely sure what the next line was and that dash of panic set in. But my mouth knew the words, and if I can just get out of my own way and trust the preparation, the story does come along. Timon is one of the first shows since I've been here where I have very little down time (absolutely none in the first half). Quite a change from Servant and As You Like It.
We had a talkback after the show and some folks were keen to discuss about the play's reputation. This is not a play without issues (which one doesn't though? That's part of the reason we get to revisit these stories over and over and over).
But I don't think it's a "bad" play. It helps to have a strong cut (and ours is a swift one). I think it's fascinating and think we've assembled a story that's full of sizzling, epic language. This is a play that will get people talking afterwards. And I'm honored that this production will be the first time many will have ever it. It doesn't have the interpersonal/familial relationships. It's political, but doesn't deal with the lives of royalty and kingdoms (I suppose you could argue that Athens is a kind of kingdom). There's really nothing like it in Shakespeare's canon.
We officially open tonight. We've got a block of time to sort out any remaining issues (and some songs need attention). But then, the rest of the weekend is devoted to repping three shows.
On Tuesday, we begin Epicene rehearsals. I'm thrilled and terrified for that one.
But first, we had our first student matinee of As You Like It.
The audience was a bit of a tough crowd, to be honest. We've been spoiled with generous houses in the past weeks. I don't mean to disparage this house. It just goes to show that, as a troupe, we can't get too comfortable with the ebb and flow of response and laughter. Not every Romeo and Juliet matinee that we had last year was raucous and I don't consider As You Like It is not wild romp of a show. It's witty and amusing (and the beginning is FULL of tricky exposition and quite dark, actually), but not full of all the bawdy humor that R&J has in the first half. Anyway, It was a good lesson in picking up cues when the jokes don't audibly land on students like they do with adults. Also, there's definitely a culture about attending performances at the Blackfriars. For those who aren't accustomed to how immediate and interactive, it can be daunting. I think seeing plays here demands a lot on the audience (for the better, I believe). This is not a passive theatre-going experience. But if you're not used to that kind of thing, it can be a bit disorienting.
As much as I grumble about waking up earlier for student matinees, there is something incredibly energizing about telling these stories for students. I'm always certain that a matinee performance is the first time some have ever seen this play, possibly the first time they've seen Shakespeare live. I also bank on there being at least one kid whose life is altered by a show. And I gotta say, it's endearing to see kids sing along with a song like "Royals" during the interlude.
After the matinee, we had five glorious hours off before the preview. I took that precious time to relax.
I arrived at the theatre a half hour early and still wasn't ready for the pre-show. One of the hardest parts of this job is opening a show--especially when there's a lot of backstage business. My mind is preoccupied with finding the backstage path of least resistance. Sometimes it's actually easier to keep some costume changes in the dressing room--other times, that's just impossible. I have one major change from my messenger into Flavius (it's, thankfully, not a quick change) but then I'm shuffling around instruments and props, paging curtains, etc. With the exception of Timon and myself, it seems that everyone else in the troupe has anywhere from four to seven changes throughout the night. This routine gets exponentially easier every time we do it. So I'm not worried. But it is my world right now.
There were about four moments when I wasn't completely sure what the next line was and that dash of panic set in. But my mouth knew the words, and if I can just get out of my own way and trust the preparation, the story does come along. Timon is one of the first shows since I've been here where I have very little down time (absolutely none in the first half). Quite a change from Servant and As You Like It.
We had a talkback after the show and some folks were keen to discuss about the play's reputation. This is not a play without issues (which one doesn't though? That's part of the reason we get to revisit these stories over and over and over).
But I don't think it's a "bad" play. It helps to have a strong cut (and ours is a swift one). I think it's fascinating and think we've assembled a story that's full of sizzling, epic language. This is a play that will get people talking afterwards. And I'm honored that this production will be the first time many will have ever it. It doesn't have the interpersonal/familial relationships. It's political, but doesn't deal with the lives of royalty and kingdoms (I suppose you could argue that Athens is a kind of kingdom). There's really nothing like it in Shakespeare's canon.
We officially open tonight. We've got a block of time to sort out any remaining issues (and some songs need attention). But then, the rest of the weekend is devoted to repping three shows.
On Tuesday, we begin Epicene rehearsals. I'm thrilled and terrified for that one.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Music Portal: Flavius
This is a mesmerizing video and a bit of a portal into Flavius in Timon of Athens:
...When our offices have been oppressed
With riotous feeders, when our vaults have wept
With drunken spilth of wine, when every room
Hath blazed with lights and brayed with minstrelsy
Have I retired me to a wasteful cock*
And set mine eyes at flow.
*He means a leaky faucet/tap (not some lazy rooster or something)
We've got our first preview this evening!
...When our offices have been oppressed
With riotous feeders, when our vaults have wept
With drunken spilth of wine, when every room
Hath blazed with lights and brayed with minstrelsy
Have I retired me to a wasteful cock*
And set mine eyes at flow.
*He means a leaky faucet/tap (not some lazy rooster or something)
We've got our first preview this evening!
ARS Day 27
I'm up at 7:30 am this morning. It's been a while since I've been awake this early. We've got our first student matinee of As You Like It and I'm determined to get in early and work on Epicene lines before our call. The morning has been the most productive time for line memorization.
Yesterday was a frenzy. We worked on the first half of the play, which includes all the complicated bits I've mentioned in previous posts. I tried the work-thru in half-costume, set my props and costumes where I thought they should go, and then we were off. I did my best to be as forgiving on myself as possible. This start-and-stop run of the first half was to joggle the memory and get the panic out of the way before the dress rehearsal. It's a circus backstage. I think some of the actors have three or four changes within the first 15 minutes of the play (not kidding). There's a lot of shifting props/furniture/instruments backstage. It's all quite exciting.
This is all part of the deal. Right now, honestly, it's difficult to root myself in the circumstances of the story. There are so many marks to hit. I just need to remember this is not a new feeling; the fussing over backstage traffic and other technical bits will melt away eventually and leave room for the acting.
In fact, the dress rehearsal we had today went much better than I thought. I did call "prithee" once. I'm actually glad I did that and not what I was considering: jumping 10 pages to a different scene. Already, within a day, the frenzy (for me, anyway) began to fade. Soon, it will become routine.
I'm excited for people to see this one.
Yesterday was a frenzy. We worked on the first half of the play, which includes all the complicated bits I've mentioned in previous posts. I tried the work-thru in half-costume, set my props and costumes where I thought they should go, and then we were off. I did my best to be as forgiving on myself as possible. This start-and-stop run of the first half was to joggle the memory and get the panic out of the way before the dress rehearsal. It's a circus backstage. I think some of the actors have three or four changes within the first 15 minutes of the play (not kidding). There's a lot of shifting props/furniture/instruments backstage. It's all quite exciting.
This is all part of the deal. Right now, honestly, it's difficult to root myself in the circumstances of the story. There are so many marks to hit. I just need to remember this is not a new feeling; the fussing over backstage traffic and other technical bits will melt away eventually and leave room for the acting.
In fact, the dress rehearsal we had today went much better than I thought. I did call "prithee" once. I'm actually glad I did that and not what I was considering: jumping 10 pages to a different scene. Already, within a day, the frenzy (for me, anyway) began to fade. Soon, it will become routine.
I'm excited for people to see this one.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
ARS Day 26
It's hard to believe we're almost done rehearsing (officially) Timon of Athens.
Today, we worked through the second half of the play (which is supremely less complicated for most of the troupe). This is all "Timon at his cave" stuff (which isn't to say the acting challenges aren't any less complicated).
We also spent a good deal of time working out the masque in context. I'm providing the music (bongos), but since there's no way for me to play the bongos and be on stage, I have to do an intense amount of counting backstage. For whatever reason, this is a giant challenge for me. It'll come, and we ended up in much better shape than when we started. Hooray for progress!
We also worked on a festive little ditty to start off the show. I think it will be the bridge between celebrating the fact that Timon marks the completion of Shakespeare's canon performed on stage at the American Shakespeare Center. The music is fun (but wicked for the valve/finger combos on the trumpet).
For the rest of the afternoon, we kept chugging away on music and hunting down final costume elements.
I'll have more to report on tomorrow with some rehearsal and our first dress!
Today, we worked through the second half of the play (which is supremely less complicated for most of the troupe). This is all "Timon at his cave" stuff (which isn't to say the acting challenges aren't any less complicated).
We also spent a good deal of time working out the masque in context. I'm providing the music (bongos), but since there's no way for me to play the bongos and be on stage, I have to do an intense amount of counting backstage. For whatever reason, this is a giant challenge for me. It'll come, and we ended up in much better shape than when we started. Hooray for progress!
We also worked on a festive little ditty to start off the show. I think it will be the bridge between celebrating the fact that Timon marks the completion of Shakespeare's canon performed on stage at the American Shakespeare Center. The music is fun (but wicked for the valve/finger combos on the trumpet).
For the rest of the afternoon, we kept chugging away on music and hunting down final costume elements.
I'll have more to report on tomorrow with some rehearsal and our first dress!
Monday, January 27, 2014
ARS Days 23 - 25
Happy Monday "Morning" (it's morning for me because I slept in)!
This weekend was full of performances and a bit of Timon rehearsal. The exciting thing about this weekend is we had our rock star Symmonie go in for John since he was out of town for a wedding. She went on as Touchstone and Pantalone. This meant that on Friday, we devoted rehearsal for put-ins. She had the lines down, even stepped in to sing an interlude song that John sings right before we start the second half of As You Like It. It's always fascinating to play with an understudy. Things are just inherently different. In fact, I discovered some new things in my various interactions with Touchstone as a result.
We also had to do some music shuffling. John is a stalwart in the music parts of our troupe. He's mostly covering on the brand-new upright bass. I'm not sure how well it carries into the playhouse, but that instrument is critical for the ensemble in holding down the roots of all the chords. I most missed it during the interlude music during As You Like It. We did end up cutting two songs in each pre-show, which just meant that we delayed when the musicians came out to play for the audience.
All in all, it was a good weekend. It wasn't without some glitches. I'm starting to understand the true excitement of Ren Season. I'm quite used to repertory now, but rehearsing Timon for three 8-hour days and then revisiting Servant after not touching it for a week is a little nerve-wracking (and I'm hardly even in that show). I can imagine it will only get more frantic as we add the other two shows....
I had a great treat on Saturday to have my voice/text teacher, Sara, visit Staunton. It was wonderful to catch up with her. She just finished coaching Private Lives at PlayMakers Rep in Chapel Hill, NC. She has a great little interview on the URTA website for those who are looking into grad school. I owe a lot to her teaching.
On Sunday, we rehearsed for a couple hours in the evening (this is our Friday night, need I remind you...). We finished blocking the play (the epitaph scenes). Since I wasn't in those scenes, I worked on figuring out the notes to an opening "party" song that will start off the show. If all goes well, Greg and I will trade off noodling on our respective horns to help set off the festivities of Timon's great banquet. After that, we plugged everyone into the Masque. There's dancing, a leap/backbend off a table, music, and lots of revelry. I'm doing my best to play the bongos. It's about as Baz Luhrmann as you can get on the Blackfriars.
I'll provide a link to some rehearsal photos. But I will say there are some possible spoiler alerts if you'd like to keep some parts of the show a surprise, you may not want to see some of them. But here it is...
Okay, I'll leave at that. I want to see Inside Llewyn Davis today, but I only deserve that if I make uber-progress on my Epicene lines (and review all of my Timon lines).
This weekend was full of performances and a bit of Timon rehearsal. The exciting thing about this weekend is we had our rock star Symmonie go in for John since he was out of town for a wedding. She went on as Touchstone and Pantalone. This meant that on Friday, we devoted rehearsal for put-ins. She had the lines down, even stepped in to sing an interlude song that John sings right before we start the second half of As You Like It. It's always fascinating to play with an understudy. Things are just inherently different. In fact, I discovered some new things in my various interactions with Touchstone as a result.
We also had to do some music shuffling. John is a stalwart in the music parts of our troupe. He's mostly covering on the brand-new upright bass. I'm not sure how well it carries into the playhouse, but that instrument is critical for the ensemble in holding down the roots of all the chords. I most missed it during the interlude music during As You Like It. We did end up cutting two songs in each pre-show, which just meant that we delayed when the musicians came out to play for the audience.
All in all, it was a good weekend. It wasn't without some glitches. I'm starting to understand the true excitement of Ren Season. I'm quite used to repertory now, but rehearsing Timon for three 8-hour days and then revisiting Servant after not touching it for a week is a little nerve-wracking (and I'm hardly even in that show). I can imagine it will only get more frantic as we add the other two shows....
 |
| Though this picture doesn't seem like things are that frantic: William and Silvius crush some candies... |
On Sunday, we rehearsed for a couple hours in the evening (this is our Friday night, need I remind you...). We finished blocking the play (the epitaph scenes). Since I wasn't in those scenes, I worked on figuring out the notes to an opening "party" song that will start off the show. If all goes well, Greg and I will trade off noodling on our respective horns to help set off the festivities of Timon's great banquet. After that, we plugged everyone into the Masque. There's dancing, a leap/backbend off a table, music, and lots of revelry. I'm doing my best to play the bongos. It's about as Baz Luhrmann as you can get on the Blackfriars.
I'll provide a link to some rehearsal photos. But I will say there are some possible spoiler alerts if you'd like to keep some parts of the show a surprise, you may not want to see some of them. But here it is...
Okay, I'll leave at that. I want to see Inside Llewyn Davis today, but I only deserve that if I make uber-progress on my Epicene lines (and review all of my Timon lines).
Thursday, January 23, 2014
ARS Days 20-22
Let's see what I can remember about Tuesday and Wednesday...
Tuesday, January 21
And so, we begin Timon of Athens rehearsals in earnest. René (playing Timon) created a schedule for the entire rehearsal period--with the hope that we can at least work on the entire show twice before our first dress rehearsal next Wednesday. (This is similar to what we did with Servant). HOWEVER, he has not done it in order of scenes. The first day was a hodgepodge of working out of sequence. I'm sure this is just like television/film work. My first scene was a biggie, and Flavius has to weep. Oy...it's a tough one for many reasons (but oh, so cool). The rest of the day was a mix of hunting down costume possibilities, tinkering with music, and staging more scenes.
Wednesday, January 22
It was banquet day for the troupe. Timon holds two big parties in the play. The first has a lot of moving parts. The troupe is in and out of doors. Most folks are playing two characters in the first couple scenes. A large table with chairs and drinks are needed. There's even masque! It took a lot of time to figure it all out. After lunch, we moved to the "water" banquet, which is much sparser and less complicated (but it still involves a long table and stools). Choreographing all of the furniture movement is always a trick. It became immediately apparent to all of us that Timon is a show that could thrive on having a larger cast (even just three more people). The doubling is fun and a great challenge, but it can be extremely restricting for a show like this. On the flip side, without that luxury, it does hone our options and we make do with what we've got and still serving up a powerful story.
Thursday, January 23
We were supposed to have an As You Like It student matinee this morning, but it was canceled (it's FREEZING, and there was a big ol' snowfall on Tuesday, covering Staunton in snow and ice. So we got an extra four hours of rehearsal. We determined it would be best to work through the first half in sequence to get a feel for how all the scenes flow together. This was an immense gift. Otherwise, it would have been a week before we touched on those scenes again. We had some extra time at the end of the block, so we also incorporated water into the second banquet. The banquet guests got into t-shirts they didn't mind getting wet. Greg brought up a stack of towels from the costume shop, and René went on his water rampage. It was pretty stellar. I'll say no more--you'll have to see it for yourself.
The afternoon was devoted to Timon at the cave. There is one long scene (close to 500 lines) where different folks visit Timon outside the walls of Athens. René had some great ideas about the "scenery" and transforming the Blackfriars stage into a wilderness. There are tons of props that Timon uses (including rocks to throw at Apemantus).
Meanwhile, downstairs in Tyson, some of the women worked up their "cupid dance/bacchanal" with some of the gents for the first banquet. I'm providing some bongo drumming, Andrew's on the spoons, and our star ASM/intern/violinist extraordinaire, Clare, is playing a great Romanian (I believe) folk tune to accompany.
I had some time off to go costume hunting. I'm trying to find something that says "steward" within the world that René has suggested (think Capitol City in The Hunger Games). After some trial and error, I've come up with something conservative that's a little "out there." Flavius is in the serving class, but he's top tier in Timon's estate, so there has to be a kind of reserved opulence involved in the clothes. It's like the downstairs crew in Downton Abbey. The footmen, valets, and butlers are impeccably dressed in black and white. I think my Paris suit from Romeo and Juliet will be incorporated (probably not the jacket). It's sleek. I still need to figure out something for my little messenger guy in the first scene, but I've got six days to drum up something. I also managed to find a great doublet/pants combo for Epicene. The fit and color are fantastic.
Then, René and I worked on our final meeting at the cave. I'm the last visitor to appear in that scene, and I think it's quite touching. Flavius manages to get Timon out of his funk (briefly, anyway). For only running it a couple times, I'd say it's in great shape.
All in all, I think the stress of the season is starting to creep in, but the troupe powered through a giant day of work. Tomorrow, we're having put-in rehearsals for Symmonie (John's going out of town for a couple days for a wedding) and Timon music. Then we've got an As You Like It performance to begin the weekend's rotation. It seems like it's been months since we've touched on Servant, but I'm sure we'll get back into the groove quickly enough.
Tuesday, January 21
And so, we begin Timon of Athens rehearsals in earnest. René (playing Timon) created a schedule for the entire rehearsal period--with the hope that we can at least work on the entire show twice before our first dress rehearsal next Wednesday. (This is similar to what we did with Servant). HOWEVER, he has not done it in order of scenes. The first day was a hodgepodge of working out of sequence. I'm sure this is just like television/film work. My first scene was a biggie, and Flavius has to weep. Oy...it's a tough one for many reasons (but oh, so cool). The rest of the day was a mix of hunting down costume possibilities, tinkering with music, and staging more scenes.
Wednesday, January 22
It was banquet day for the troupe. Timon holds two big parties in the play. The first has a lot of moving parts. The troupe is in and out of doors. Most folks are playing two characters in the first couple scenes. A large table with chairs and drinks are needed. There's even masque! It took a lot of time to figure it all out. After lunch, we moved to the "water" banquet, which is much sparser and less complicated (but it still involves a long table and stools). Choreographing all of the furniture movement is always a trick. It became immediately apparent to all of us that Timon is a show that could thrive on having a larger cast (even just three more people). The doubling is fun and a great challenge, but it can be extremely restricting for a show like this. On the flip side, without that luxury, it does hone our options and we make do with what we've got and still serving up a powerful story.
Thursday, January 23
We were supposed to have an As You Like It student matinee this morning, but it was canceled (it's FREEZING, and there was a big ol' snowfall on Tuesday, covering Staunton in snow and ice. So we got an extra four hours of rehearsal. We determined it would be best to work through the first half in sequence to get a feel for how all the scenes flow together. This was an immense gift. Otherwise, it would have been a week before we touched on those scenes again. We had some extra time at the end of the block, so we also incorporated water into the second banquet. The banquet guests got into t-shirts they didn't mind getting wet. Greg brought up a stack of towels from the costume shop, and René went on his water rampage. It was pretty stellar. I'll say no more--you'll have to see it for yourself.
The afternoon was devoted to Timon at the cave. There is one long scene (close to 500 lines) where different folks visit Timon outside the walls of Athens. René had some great ideas about the "scenery" and transforming the Blackfriars stage into a wilderness. There are tons of props that Timon uses (including rocks to throw at Apemantus).
Meanwhile, downstairs in Tyson, some of the women worked up their "cupid dance/bacchanal" with some of the gents for the first banquet. I'm providing some bongo drumming, Andrew's on the spoons, and our star ASM/intern/violinist extraordinaire, Clare, is playing a great Romanian (I believe) folk tune to accompany.
I had some time off to go costume hunting. I'm trying to find something that says "steward" within the world that René has suggested (think Capitol City in The Hunger Games). After some trial and error, I've come up with something conservative that's a little "out there." Flavius is in the serving class, but he's top tier in Timon's estate, so there has to be a kind of reserved opulence involved in the clothes. It's like the downstairs crew in Downton Abbey. The footmen, valets, and butlers are impeccably dressed in black and white. I think my Paris suit from Romeo and Juliet will be incorporated (probably not the jacket). It's sleek. I still need to figure out something for my little messenger guy in the first scene, but I've got six days to drum up something. I also managed to find a great doublet/pants combo for Epicene. The fit and color are fantastic.
Then, René and I worked on our final meeting at the cave. I'm the last visitor to appear in that scene, and I think it's quite touching. Flavius manages to get Timon out of his funk (briefly, anyway). For only running it a couple times, I'd say it's in great shape.
All in all, I think the stress of the season is starting to creep in, but the troupe powered through a giant day of work. Tomorrow, we're having put-in rehearsals for Symmonie (John's going out of town for a couple days for a wedding) and Timon music. Then we've got an As You Like It performance to begin the weekend's rotation. It seems like it's been months since we've touched on Servant, but I'm sure we'll get back into the groove quickly enough.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
ARS Days 17 - 19
Friday, Jan 17
Opening Night!
We had a short rehearsal. Some folks wanted to look at a few spots in the show, and then we worked on music for a while. I was able to get out of rehearsal a good 90 minutes early (and able to get some much-needed grocery shopping done).
Then, it was showtime! The house was pretty big and very generous. The pay-what-you-wills are always a nice hometown crowd at the Blackfriars.
Afterwards, some of us got drinks and a lovely couple who had just seen the show paid for our tab. We were able to shout a thanks to them after they left (and we found out about it from our server). It was such a nice gesture. And on the chance that you're reading this blog (I don't know their names): THANKS AGAIN!
And for no reason, here's an incredible cover of "I Want You Back." We've been jamming to this in the men's dressing room:
Opening Night!
We had a short rehearsal. Some folks wanted to look at a few spots in the show, and then we worked on music for a while. I was able to get out of rehearsal a good 90 minutes early (and able to get some much-needed grocery shopping done).
Then, it was showtime! The house was pretty big and very generous. The pay-what-you-wills are always a nice hometown crowd at the Blackfriars.
Afterwards, some of us got drinks and a lovely couple who had just seen the show paid for our tab. We were able to shout a thanks to them after they left (and we found out about it from our server). It was such a nice gesture. And on the chance that you're reading this blog (I don't know their names): THANKS AGAIN!
And for no reason, here's an incredible cover of "I Want You Back." We've been jamming to this in the men's dressing room:
Saturday, Jan. 18
Two show day, but now we're repping! (I'm getting really spoiled by doing theatre in repertory. The prospect of just doing one show is becoming foreign to me) The afternoon was As You Like It. We hadn't done it in a week--which is a long time, especially when our brains and bodies have been concentrating on Servant. But I think we got into a groove.
Then we jumped back to Venice in the evening. It was another good crowd with some familiar faces. I'm beginning to understand the rhythm of my track for the show. I reviewed Timon lines in the first act (which I'm not in at all--it's strange to do a set of music and the pre-show speech and then have at least 45 minutes "off"). After the bell rings for the first interlude, it's go-time for me.
Sunday, Jan. 19
We had a good-sized crowd for the As You Like It matinee this afternoon. The music went much more smoothly than the night before, I thought. I can't believe we've been performing this show for three weekends already. This season is going to pass quickly.
After a dinner break, it was time to begin work on show number three (!): Timon of Athens. This show will mark the completion of Shakespeare's cannon at the ASC (and quite nice that it happened during it's 25th Anniversary). I'm excited about this show.
We just did a read-thru, and it clocked in at 1:50 minutes or something like that. We'll probably add some more time, but the cut is quite swift. Critics seem to hate this play. I don't understand it. No, it's not perfect, it's not without its issues (but, you can say that with most of Shakespeare's plays). The language is percussive and oozing with brilliant imagery (it's biting and often ferocious). There are some great, iconic scenes and images. I think it'll leave audiences with plenty to think and talk about, and I think we're already headed in a great direction. I can already "see" this play in my mind after this first reading with the troupe (plus Rene's great idea for the "world" he'd like to create--he's playing Timon). I'll keep mum about any more details for now.
Tomorrow's a glorious day off. I'll have to set aside at least a couple hours to work on Epicene lines, but you can bet I'm gonna sleep in and do a hefty amount of lounging.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
ARS Day 16
It's the day of the show, y'all!
We had a longer-than-usual morning meeting. The big debate was about interludes. We've settled on having two ten-minute interludes that fit nicely within the three-act structure of this play. Each interlude has two songs, it really only adds five minutes to the total running time, which isn't too bad because this show is likely our shortest of the season. I think it clocks at just over two hours if you include the interludes.
The other gigantic change (it is for me, anyway), is that we have done away with the B sign for Brighella's inn. An outside observer said it's more confusing to have it. I'm totally fine with this, and I was about to bring it up if no one else would. This eliminates the amount of time I have to run up and down the stairs. I was willing to be a trooper, but now I have an entire act to work on lines before I go on stage. Music and pre-show speech aside, I don't have to enter on stage for a good 50 minutes or so.
We spent the afternoon chunk spot-checking some scenes and working on the music full-tilt.
Then: the first preview. It was a good crowd, and they seemed to love the show. That's the next element we need, methinks--especially with comedies, figuring out where jokes and bits need to land. It's a big ol' experiment (like a lot of this season).
We have more time for rehearsal tomorrow, and then the show is off and running. Two down, three more to go!
(Note: I've allowed comments on the blog now. It was only restricted to blogger users, but we'll try this out if anyone has questions or remarks they'd like to make)
We had a longer-than-usual morning meeting. The big debate was about interludes. We've settled on having two ten-minute interludes that fit nicely within the three-act structure of this play. Each interlude has two songs, it really only adds five minutes to the total running time, which isn't too bad because this show is likely our shortest of the season. I think it clocks at just over two hours if you include the interludes.
The other gigantic change (it is for me, anyway), is that we have done away with the B sign for Brighella's inn. An outside observer said it's more confusing to have it. I'm totally fine with this, and I was about to bring it up if no one else would. This eliminates the amount of time I have to run up and down the stairs. I was willing to be a trooper, but now I have an entire act to work on lines before I go on stage. Music and pre-show speech aside, I don't have to enter on stage for a good 50 minutes or so.
We spent the afternoon chunk spot-checking some scenes and working on the music full-tilt.
Then: the first preview. It was a good crowd, and they seemed to love the show. That's the next element we need, methinks--especially with comedies, figuring out where jokes and bits need to land. It's a big ol' experiment (like a lot of this season).
We have more time for rehearsal tomorrow, and then the show is off and running. Two down, three more to go!
(Note: I've allowed comments on the blog now. It was only restricted to blogger users, but we'll try this out if anyone has questions or remarks they'd like to make)
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
ARS Day 15
January 15
Surprise, surprise: I'm tired.
I got to the theatre early to hammer out a solo horn section for Belafonte's "Jump in the Line." I believe the original is a trio (?) of screaming trumpets. We're working with two clarinets and two trumpets. I divided it into three parts. The tricky part was modifying the rhythms. It's a calypso-y song that works on a lot of up-beats and syncopation. (Not my expertise). Anyway, I got it figured out, and we were able to plug it in during music rehearsal.
Working on music is really what fries my brain in these rehearsals. We work at a pace that is faster than what I'm used to. I'm also not a theory/composition master. And most of the musicians in the troupe play by ear. Or they're able to print off guitar tabs and just roll with it. I can sing out parts till I go blue in the face, but the trumpet music needs to be written down, and I often have to work on it by myself (not always), which means getting more homework done with the music. For whatever reason, working on chords--even when I'm playing piano on the occasional song--is so much easier. I'm not sure why. Well, part of the reason is I don't have to transpose with the band when I'm on piano...
Anyway, I'm underestimating the time it takes. I think for the future shows in the Ren Season, I'm going to have to re-adjust my prior standard of "only working on music during rehearsals." Plus, I've got a lot more stage time in Timon and Epicene.
When I have the notes figured out and written down, I can fly (it's very similar to knowing lines). Okay, enough about that.
We had about 2 1/2 hours to get through the back half of the show. A big debate among the troupe is when our interlude will take place. We're considering having two, even. This play is structured in three acts, and the end of act 1 and 2 is really clean. Our proposed interlude is clocking in at well over an hour (which is asking a lot of an audience). I think we may lean toward two ten minute breaks (or maybe a 15 and then a quick 5). We'll see. Another option is to have the interlude end right after the dinner scene, but it's still pretty late in the play.
Dress Rehearsal Time:
We're quite the marvelously eclectic bunch. You'll have to wait for pictures next week. I'd post a selfie (I have no shame), but I honestly look like any waiter at a modern restaurant. Black pants, white shirt, a white apron thing, and a maroon-ish tie. I experimented with parting my hair down the middle (because Josh, playing the innkeeper Brighella is). My hair's pretty short (and thinning...) but I did what I could.
The big fun in the run was Greg and I managed to jump a fair amount in the Dinner Scene. It had never happened before, but we had also never run that scene with the whole front half of the play before us. (Truffaldino is a GIANT responsibility, and Greg's doing a great job.)
I was SO CLOSE to improvising a bit to get us back on track, but went ahead, dashed offstage and told everyone back stage that we jumped. This is the closest I've ever felt to what I think it must be to be a quarterback--making snap decisions. I don't claim to have any athletic propensities whatsoever (especially football), so this is a risky simile.
Thankfully, it turned out A-OK. I think I made the right decision. If a major collision to happen in this scene, I'm not sure what would happen. I'll just be light on my toes and be ready for anything (and trust in the precision of my scene partners).
We've got our first preview tomorrow night. This is the first time this play has ever been done at the Blackfriars.
Surprise, surprise: I'm tired.
I got to the theatre early to hammer out a solo horn section for Belafonte's "Jump in the Line." I believe the original is a trio (?) of screaming trumpets. We're working with two clarinets and two trumpets. I divided it into three parts. The tricky part was modifying the rhythms. It's a calypso-y song that works on a lot of up-beats and syncopation. (Not my expertise). Anyway, I got it figured out, and we were able to plug it in during music rehearsal.
Working on music is really what fries my brain in these rehearsals. We work at a pace that is faster than what I'm used to. I'm also not a theory/composition master. And most of the musicians in the troupe play by ear. Or they're able to print off guitar tabs and just roll with it. I can sing out parts till I go blue in the face, but the trumpet music needs to be written down, and I often have to work on it by myself (not always), which means getting more homework done with the music. For whatever reason, working on chords--even when I'm playing piano on the occasional song--is so much easier. I'm not sure why. Well, part of the reason is I don't have to transpose with the band when I'm on piano...
Anyway, I'm underestimating the time it takes. I think for the future shows in the Ren Season, I'm going to have to re-adjust my prior standard of "only working on music during rehearsals." Plus, I've got a lot more stage time in Timon and Epicene.
When I have the notes figured out and written down, I can fly (it's very similar to knowing lines). Okay, enough about that.
We had about 2 1/2 hours to get through the back half of the show. A big debate among the troupe is when our interlude will take place. We're considering having two, even. This play is structured in three acts, and the end of act 1 and 2 is really clean. Our proposed interlude is clocking in at well over an hour (which is asking a lot of an audience). I think we may lean toward two ten minute breaks (or maybe a 15 and then a quick 5). We'll see. Another option is to have the interlude end right after the dinner scene, but it's still pretty late in the play.
Dress Rehearsal Time:
We're quite the marvelously eclectic bunch. You'll have to wait for pictures next week. I'd post a selfie (I have no shame), but I honestly look like any waiter at a modern restaurant. Black pants, white shirt, a white apron thing, and a maroon-ish tie. I experimented with parting my hair down the middle (because Josh, playing the innkeeper Brighella is). My hair's pretty short (and thinning...) but I did what I could.
The big fun in the run was Greg and I managed to jump a fair amount in the Dinner Scene. It had never happened before, but we had also never run that scene with the whole front half of the play before us. (Truffaldino is a GIANT responsibility, and Greg's doing a great job.)
I was SO CLOSE to improvising a bit to get us back on track, but went ahead, dashed offstage and told everyone back stage that we jumped. This is the closest I've ever felt to what I think it must be to be a quarterback--making snap decisions. I don't claim to have any athletic propensities whatsoever (especially football), so this is a risky simile.
Thankfully, it turned out A-OK. I think I made the right decision. If a major collision to happen in this scene, I'm not sure what would happen. I'll just be light on my toes and be ready for anything (and trust in the precision of my scene partners).
We've got our first preview tomorrow night. This is the first time this play has ever been done at the Blackfriars.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
ARS Day 14
Confession, I'm writing this after completing Day 15 (1/15), and I'm a little fried. I'll see what memory I can muster.
I believe we determined that we would work from the Dinner Scene through the end of the play--stopping and starting as needed. John suggested that we add some underscoring during the scene to keep an extra current of energy flowing through it. I think it's a good touch. It's not very loud, but still noticeable. We're still figuring out the details but it's going well.
Chris, our props man extraordinaire, has taped down plates and the non-edible food to the platters (there are six in addition to the silverware, dishes, glasses, breadbaskets, and clean and dirty napkins. We're doubling props when possible, but there's not a whole lot. To facilitate the backstage flow, we've got plans for handing off dishes to each other. Sarah (playing Clarice) is on stage left door duty. Because of all the flying about, she sits behind the door to keep it shut when it needs to be shut. This allows the actors who don't have time to carefully shut the big wooden doors to breeze in and out of the scenes with ease. I'm in a fight with the big center curtains at times, but it's kind of a funny obstacle to workthrough. When my hands are full, I'll either use my feet or rear end to open doors from on stage--which is what waiters do. I know, I've been one.
We spent a good chunk going through that scene today. It got better every time. I think we're in the position to add in an audience, which is good because they're coming on Thursday night for our first preview!
The last half of the morning block was devoted to music. The core band worked on "One Headlight" by The Wallflowers while John and I worked out Dionne Warwick's "Always Something There To Remind Me." The song has two key changes. John was thinking about raising the song up a step, which was okay with me, but it does prevent me from playing the trumpet stuff up an octave (it gets too high). After some noodling around, we brought it back to the original key. Now the song's stuck in my head again.
LUNCH!
Once we finished working through the last half of the show, we went back to the top (I could be mistaken; it's all a blur) for the afternoon. I made a little post upstairs offstage from the balcony and reviewed Timon lines.
After that, we put together "Always Something..." with the whole band. It's a lot of fun. You'll have to come to a show and see for yourself.
Tomorrow's dress rehearsal day. I can't wait to see what people have chosen for their costumes. It's going to be all over the sartorial map, but I think that's fitting for this zany show.
I believe we determined that we would work from the Dinner Scene through the end of the play--stopping and starting as needed. John suggested that we add some underscoring during the scene to keep an extra current of energy flowing through it. I think it's a good touch. It's not very loud, but still noticeable. We're still figuring out the details but it's going well.
Chris, our props man extraordinaire, has taped down plates and the non-edible food to the platters (there are six in addition to the silverware, dishes, glasses, breadbaskets, and clean and dirty napkins. We're doubling props when possible, but there's not a whole lot. To facilitate the backstage flow, we've got plans for handing off dishes to each other. Sarah (playing Clarice) is on stage left door duty. Because of all the flying about, she sits behind the door to keep it shut when it needs to be shut. This allows the actors who don't have time to carefully shut the big wooden doors to breeze in and out of the scenes with ease. I'm in a fight with the big center curtains at times, but it's kind of a funny obstacle to workthrough. When my hands are full, I'll either use my feet or rear end to open doors from on stage--which is what waiters do. I know, I've been one.
We spent a good chunk going through that scene today. It got better every time. I think we're in the position to add in an audience, which is good because they're coming on Thursday night for our first preview!
The last half of the morning block was devoted to music. The core band worked on "One Headlight" by The Wallflowers while John and I worked out Dionne Warwick's "Always Something There To Remind Me." The song has two key changes. John was thinking about raising the song up a step, which was okay with me, but it does prevent me from playing the trumpet stuff up an octave (it gets too high). After some noodling around, we brought it back to the original key. Now the song's stuck in my head again.
LUNCH!
Once we finished working through the last half of the show, we went back to the top (I could be mistaken; it's all a blur) for the afternoon. I made a little post upstairs offstage from the balcony and reviewed Timon lines.
After that, we put together "Always Something..." with the whole band. It's a lot of fun. You'll have to come to a show and see for yourself.
Tomorrow's dress rehearsal day. I can't wait to see what people have chosen for their costumes. It's going to be all over the sartorial map, but I think that's fitting for this zany show.
Monday, January 13, 2014
ARS Days 10 - 13
I thought this was going to be a daily endeavor, but there's not too much to report (and there's no denying: I'm busy). We also had a full weekend of As You Like It performances. Here's a photo:
You can see more production photos here.
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Letsee...on Sunday night, we met for a couple hours to solidify more music for Servant. I'm jumping on accordion for a song--an instrument I've never played. But the licks I'm playing aren't too bad. I think I'll get the hang of it. The song I've been doing the trumpet transcription for is going over quite well. Many fellow troupe members have been complimentary for that. I've got some more notes to work out for a couple other songs, and I think the bulk of the work is done! We'll be in good shape to preview Servant on Thursday (if I have the schedule correct).
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For the past couple years, I've been using Pinterest to collect images (and some videos) that have some kind of link to the shows I'm working on. Often, they are photos from other productions. But paintings from the era or ones that evoke the right tone appear too. There's also costumes and locations that offer pathways to more imagination. Here's my AYLI board (which includes a lot of pins from when I was playing Touchstone back in grad school).
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Other than that, today I've been enjoying the day off, working on more lines and other odds n' ends.
We start back up tomorrow with a full day of Servant rehearsal, which reminds me, I need to work on the pre-show speech for that (more on that later).
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| Sarah Fallon (Celia) and Tracie Thomason (Rosalind). Photo by Pat Jarrett. |
You can see more production photos here.
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Letsee...on Sunday night, we met for a couple hours to solidify more music for Servant. I'm jumping on accordion for a song--an instrument I've never played. But the licks I'm playing aren't too bad. I think I'll get the hang of it. The song I've been doing the trumpet transcription for is going over quite well. Many fellow troupe members have been complimentary for that. I've got some more notes to work out for a couple other songs, and I think the bulk of the work is done! We'll be in good shape to preview Servant on Thursday (if I have the schedule correct).
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For the past couple years, I've been using Pinterest to collect images (and some videos) that have some kind of link to the shows I'm working on. Often, they are photos from other productions. But paintings from the era or ones that evoke the right tone appear too. There's also costumes and locations that offer pathways to more imagination. Here's my AYLI board (which includes a lot of pins from when I was playing Touchstone back in grad school).
--------------------------------------
Other than that, today I've been enjoying the day off, working on more lines and other odds n' ends.
We start back up tomorrow with a full day of Servant rehearsal, which reminds me, I need to work on the pre-show speech for that (more on that later).
Thursday, January 9, 2014
ARS Day 9
As of today, we've blocked out the entire play.
I spent a good chunk of the morning on EPICENE lines. Then, the whole cast assembled to discuss transitions. We've decided that there are some big leaps of scenery within the play and we can help the audience out a bit with music and one bit of "scenic design" a banner with a B that serves as branding for Brighella's Inn. Anytime a scene occurs inside or outside the inn, the B will be flipped over the balcony. Major shifts in space (whether it's the inn or not) are accompanied by some "Italian" music (usually accordion, mandolin, and guitar).
Anyway, since I work at the inn and I'm not in a lot of scenes, I volunteered to flip the sign up and down when needed. This significantly alters my track for the show. I have to be "on call" about every 175 lines or so. I think I'll be setting up "camp" in the stairwell by the musician's balcony for most of the show with my other scripts. Once I get better at tracking the show aurally, I'll be able to know when my cues are coming. I've made a cue cheat sheet, but what I really need to know is a major cue to help out with when I need to be on deck. This will all come in time. But I'm impatient and want to have it all figured out now.
That last paragraph was exciting, wasn't it?
In the afternoon, we ran the dinner scene out of context, and then plugged it into the context of the show. It's a doozy. It's even more of a doozy for Greg (playing Truffaldino). I'm a bit concerned about how funny the scene is right now--not my job, I know. There were some earnest chuckles from troupe members and stage management. (There were also some unintentional crashing dishes backstage...I'm surprised there hasn't been more.) The key is to get it clean and machine-like. The humor can only live with the precision, which is coming along.
As You Like It is stretching my acting muscles with variety in playing multiple characters. Servant is stretching technical skill and agility. Timon will offer me more flex on a mental/dramatic/emotional side (and very tricky verse). And Epicene will try all of these and more. I haven't even thought about Maid's Tragedy, and I am just fine with that--keeps me saner, I believe. That's three plays from now.
Tomorrow, we've got a four-hour block to work more Servant, and then review some As You Like It, because there's a performance in the evening! Rep, rep, rep.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
ARS Day 8
Today we worked through the big dinner scene. Once we figured out the main entrance of the waiters, and an onstage table, it went pretty smoothly. We've got a great system and my other waiters along with Abbi have been immensely helpful in handing off props or receiving them. This will just take reps and more reps.
We also worked through the other scenes I was in--not too major, but I did end up calling "prithee" for every line I had in one scene. Not my proudest moment. I'll be sure those are worked out cold.
Other than that, I kept plugging away with the trumpet duet transcription for this one song we're planning to do. It'd be easy if it was just one trumpet, but we've got the players and it's a beautiful line. This is not a skill that comes easily, and it's been tedious (especially when I consider how much other work there is to be done). Still, I'm confident it will be awesome. Chris and I were able to check some of the phrasing in the afternoon, and it made all that work begin to pay off.
This does bring up another interesting issue: how much work does one do outside of work? It's tough. Our rehearsal days are eight hours long, and we manage to crank out a lot. But there's always more to be done. Right now, I'm working on lines outside of rehearsal (there's no other way), but when it comes to music--especially trumpet stuff--I'm devoting time I have off during regular rehearsal hours to commit to that. We still have another week before SERVANT has dresses and previews. I think we're managing to get through the skeleton of two songs each day. This should get us on track for next week's opening.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
ARS Day 7
Yesterday, I had a much-needed day off. I slept in, got a haircut, bought groceries, watched Sherlock. I also worked on lines, primarily some big speeches I have in Epicene, and I also memorized Flavius's big soliloquy in Timon of Athens.
Today was our first big day to work on The Servant of Two Masters. Alli (playing Smeraldina) provided a schedule for the day. The only commitment I had to the rest of the group was to talk over the props with the other waiters (Traci and Andrew) about the big restaurant scene were Truffaldino serves to both his masters. It involves a lot of props (my posts on Servant will likely revolve around this scene, so get ready). We figured out which props could be doubled and decided that one prop table should work backstage. The minute it comes back stage, it will return to its home whether we use it or not again in the scene (like the soup tureen--a dish that is called for both Beatrice and Florindo--we'll just use the same one).
Music rehearsal was set for the end of the day. I stayed at the theatre and worked on music the whole time. Troupe members offer suggestions for songs on a white board. I created a YouTube playlist for all the songs, so everyone had easy access. As always, it's an eclectic mix. I'm pretty sure I'll be doing a lot more trumpet for this show. A big project was transcribing a haunting trumpet duet line from a song (I'll keep the songs a secret for now). If it's a trickier line, I will sit at a piano with the song on my iPad and plunk out the notes. This still requires transposition--the trumpet is a whole step lower than the piano and other C instruments. But for this song, I think Greg wants to bring it down a half step. So I will only need to transpose these lines up a half step. I'm nearly finished with the initial C transcription.
Oh yes! I managed to track down my costume today. This show is going to cover a wide span of time periods. The waiters have decided on a pretty classic (modern) look: black dress pants, white dress shirt, an apron, and some ties. We found matching ties in the costume shop, so we've got ourselves a nice little uniform going on.
I also volunteered to work on the pre-show speech for this show. I think my fellow waiters and I can work up some restaurant/service industry gags for that.
While all this is going on, the rest of the troupe managed to get through what I think is the first third of the show. We're going to tackle the big restaurant scene first thing tomorrow, which will be a lot of work. Most of the cues are visual cues, rather than vocal cues. Timing and coordinating the backstage flow is going to be key (as well as memorizing the sequencing). I better review all of that tonight before I go to bed and again tomorrow morning.
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| The ASC posted this photo of me on Facebook today. In celebration of the 25th anniversary, you'll see some photos of ASC actors in 1988. I call this my Titus Andronicus audition. |
Today was our first big day to work on The Servant of Two Masters. Alli (playing Smeraldina) provided a schedule for the day. The only commitment I had to the rest of the group was to talk over the props with the other waiters (Traci and Andrew) about the big restaurant scene were Truffaldino serves to both his masters. It involves a lot of props (my posts on Servant will likely revolve around this scene, so get ready). We figured out which props could be doubled and decided that one prop table should work backstage. The minute it comes back stage, it will return to its home whether we use it or not again in the scene (like the soup tureen--a dish that is called for both Beatrice and Florindo--we'll just use the same one).
Music rehearsal was set for the end of the day. I stayed at the theatre and worked on music the whole time. Troupe members offer suggestions for songs on a white board. I created a YouTube playlist for all the songs, so everyone had easy access. As always, it's an eclectic mix. I'm pretty sure I'll be doing a lot more trumpet for this show. A big project was transcribing a haunting trumpet duet line from a song (I'll keep the songs a secret for now). If it's a trickier line, I will sit at a piano with the song on my iPad and plunk out the notes. This still requires transposition--the trumpet is a whole step lower than the piano and other C instruments. But for this song, I think Greg wants to bring it down a half step. So I will only need to transpose these lines up a half step. I'm nearly finished with the initial C transcription.
Oh yes! I managed to track down my costume today. This show is going to cover a wide span of time periods. The waiters have decided on a pretty classic (modern) look: black dress pants, white dress shirt, an apron, and some ties. We found matching ties in the costume shop, so we've got ourselves a nice little uniform going on.
I also volunteered to work on the pre-show speech for this show. I think my fellow waiters and I can work up some restaurant/service industry gags for that.
While all this is going on, the rest of the troupe managed to get through what I think is the first third of the show. We're going to tackle the big restaurant scene first thing tomorrow, which will be a lot of work. Most of the cues are visual cues, rather than vocal cues. Timing and coordinating the backstage flow is going to be key (as well as memorizing the sequencing). I better review all of that tonight before I go to bed and again tomorrow morning.
Monday, January 6, 2014
ARS Day 6
Sunday - January 5
Got to the theatre a bit earlier than call to do a good ol' fashioned voice and body warm up. My voice was pretty tired. I'm glad I took the time to do that. I don't really have a pre-show ritual at the ASC. Each show requires different preparation. More often than not, it depends what my voice/body needs and what show it is.
I have a 12-minute walk to the theatre, which is a great time to listen to any songs that I need to do a lyrics brush-up on or listen to music that helps focus me on the show--a soundtrack of sorts.
Last fall, I went through all of my lines before every Troilus & Cressida performance. We usually only did it once a week, and I had a couple big speeches and scenes I needed to keep cycling through my voice and head.
Here, there's so much activity going on before a show: props and costumes to set, instruments to warm-up and tune, fight/dance/music call. Often, we all get to the theatre 90 minutes before the show begins (and don't forget, we've got the pre-show music). Now I have to add graying out my beard for this show. I'm considering just having a goatee for this season; it's less gunk to put on my face.
After the show and a dinner break, we returned to the theatre for our first The Servant of Two Masters rehearsal. Part of the evolution of the Ren Season (I guess) is to hold a Sunday evening read-through of the next play. It gives the troupe a chance to get a sense of where people are headed with their characters and such.
This play is FUNNY. It's also never been done on the Blackfriars stage before. (A bit of trivia, with the exception of As You Like It, the rest of the plays for this ARS are Blackfriars premieres!) I think people will love this. It has some challenges, of course, and I will likely elaborate on those as we dive into rehearsals.
After the read, we got on the same page with the pronunciation for the Italian proper names (and I have the pleasure of saying "Singor Pantalone dei Bisognosi"). I believe some folks started work on the fights afterward. I'm just bracing myself for the big restaurant scene and learning a lot of music. This is the smallest role I have in the whole season, which will be nice given that I still have quite a lot of lines to learn for Epicene (which is definitely on my homework list for Monday).
Got to the theatre a bit earlier than call to do a good ol' fashioned voice and body warm up. My voice was pretty tired. I'm glad I took the time to do that. I don't really have a pre-show ritual at the ASC. Each show requires different preparation. More often than not, it depends what my voice/body needs and what show it is.
I have a 12-minute walk to the theatre, which is a great time to listen to any songs that I need to do a lyrics brush-up on or listen to music that helps focus me on the show--a soundtrack of sorts.
Last fall, I went through all of my lines before every Troilus & Cressida performance. We usually only did it once a week, and I had a couple big speeches and scenes I needed to keep cycling through my voice and head.
Here, there's so much activity going on before a show: props and costumes to set, instruments to warm-up and tune, fight/dance/music call. Often, we all get to the theatre 90 minutes before the show begins (and don't forget, we've got the pre-show music). Now I have to add graying out my beard for this show. I'm considering just having a goatee for this season; it's less gunk to put on my face.
After the show and a dinner break, we returned to the theatre for our first The Servant of Two Masters rehearsal. Part of the evolution of the Ren Season (I guess) is to hold a Sunday evening read-through of the next play. It gives the troupe a chance to get a sense of where people are headed with their characters and such.
This play is FUNNY. It's also never been done on the Blackfriars stage before. (A bit of trivia, with the exception of As You Like It, the rest of the plays for this ARS are Blackfriars premieres!) I think people will love this. It has some challenges, of course, and I will likely elaborate on those as we dive into rehearsals.
After the read, we got on the same page with the pronunciation for the Italian proper names (and I have the pleasure of saying "Singor Pantalone dei Bisognosi"). I believe some folks started work on the fights afterward. I'm just bracing myself for the big restaurant scene and learning a lot of music. This is the smallest role I have in the whole season, which will be nice given that I still have quite a lot of lines to learn for Epicene (which is definitely on my homework list for Monday).
Sunday, January 5, 2014
ARS Day 5
Opening night!
We had two "pay-what-you-will" previews today: a matinee and then opening night, and I think they went rather smoothly.
We changed the end of the wrestling match after the matinee. Orlando's language says that he's ready to keep fighting after he takes down Charles. For the first two previews, the audience gave Orlando a big cheer before he says those lines. We had some action that indicates the fight is clearly over. So we cut some business to make the end of the match a little more ambiguous before Duke Frederick officially declares him the winner.
For the evening show, Greg suggested to me that I enter first in the beginning and immediately head downstage. He has been entering first (since he's the first to speak), I hang up stage a bit and then make my way downstage. Admittedly, that cross has been feeling weird for the couple shows we've done. This solution has solved two problems. The Ren Season allows for changes, even after we've opened (something that usually doesn't happen).
I don't really have anything else to report. There was a fun opening night party in the Cutaia Lounge after the show. It was fun to chat with the audience (and eat some delicious smoked Gouda).
We had two "pay-what-you-will" previews today: a matinee and then opening night, and I think they went rather smoothly.
We changed the end of the wrestling match after the matinee. Orlando's language says that he's ready to keep fighting after he takes down Charles. For the first two previews, the audience gave Orlando a big cheer before he says those lines. We had some action that indicates the fight is clearly over. So we cut some business to make the end of the match a little more ambiguous before Duke Frederick officially declares him the winner.
For the evening show, Greg suggested to me that I enter first in the beginning and immediately head downstage. He has been entering first (since he's the first to speak), I hang up stage a bit and then make my way downstage. Admittedly, that cross has been feeling weird for the couple shows we've done. This solution has solved two problems. The Ren Season allows for changes, even after we've opened (something that usually doesn't happen).
I don't really have anything else to report. There was a fun opening night party in the Cutaia Lounge after the show. It was fun to chat with the audience (and eat some delicious smoked Gouda).
Saturday, January 4, 2014
ARS Day 4
It's the day of the show y'all!
We had a morning meeting to go over what we would do for the next four hours. It amounted to about one hour of scene work/blocking issues and then three hours for music. Chris managed to learn how to play "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones in twenty minutes, so that was plugged into our pre-show lineup. I spent some time before rehearsal to transcribe the guitar/sax solo in the funk song "Couldn't Get It Right."
I had a good hour to work on my own while everyone else was rehearsing other songs I wasn't in, so I used that time to look at my big Flavius soliloquy in Timon of Athens ("O the fierce wretchedness that glory brings us!"). At a first glance, it looks like a long list of saying the same thing over and over. That is dangerous. But as I looked at the language/verse more closely, I realized that Flavius changes his mind toward the end and fully commits to sticking with Timon, even though both of their lives are essentially ruined. So, Flavius blasts away the compounding factors of Timon's downfall. Navigating those shifts will help memorizing and keep the drama pumping in a seemingly "speechy" play.
Anyway, after a 90 minute break, everyone returned to the playhouse to get prepped for our first "Pay-What-You-Will" Preview. HOLY COW! There were at least 200 people in the house. Greg (playing Orlando), told me he startled a bit right after saying the first line of the play ("As I remember, Adam..."). He plays the drums for the pre-show music and can't really see the crowd.
I've opened quite a few shows in my young professional acting life, and it's always nerve-wracking to step on stage and say the words the first time for a full house. I only have three lines in the first scene, but I admit I was relieved getting offstage after that first scene.
I guess a few "prithees" were called (what we say instead of calling "line"). But the audience doesn't seem to mind. Yes, we have a prompter sitting just to the side of the stage for the Ren Season. There are some legendary "prithee" moments in past Actors' Renaissance Seasons. Perhaps we'll have our own; it's all part of the fun.
Tomorrow, we have two more previews (with the official opening on Saturday night). We're actually done rehearsing As You Like It. The music still needs some work; luckily, we always have a music call before each show, which will give us time to work out the kinks. With the first show, this is the most time-compressed we are for music. The others have some more time to let the songs marinate.
Out-of-context quote of the day: "Are those supposed to be sheep noises? Because they don't sound like sheep."
 |
| Photo by Jay McClure, which he snapped while I was rehearsing a scene as William. |
We had a morning meeting to go over what we would do for the next four hours. It amounted to about one hour of scene work/blocking issues and then three hours for music. Chris managed to learn how to play "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones in twenty minutes, so that was plugged into our pre-show lineup. I spent some time before rehearsal to transcribe the guitar/sax solo in the funk song "Couldn't Get It Right."
I had a good hour to work on my own while everyone else was rehearsing other songs I wasn't in, so I used that time to look at my big Flavius soliloquy in Timon of Athens ("O the fierce wretchedness that glory brings us!"). At a first glance, it looks like a long list of saying the same thing over and over. That is dangerous. But as I looked at the language/verse more closely, I realized that Flavius changes his mind toward the end and fully commits to sticking with Timon, even though both of their lives are essentially ruined. So, Flavius blasts away the compounding factors of Timon's downfall. Navigating those shifts will help memorizing and keep the drama pumping in a seemingly "speechy" play.
Anyway, after a 90 minute break, everyone returned to the playhouse to get prepped for our first "Pay-What-You-Will" Preview. HOLY COW! There were at least 200 people in the house. Greg (playing Orlando), told me he startled a bit right after saying the first line of the play ("As I remember, Adam..."). He plays the drums for the pre-show music and can't really see the crowd.
I've opened quite a few shows in my young professional acting life, and it's always nerve-wracking to step on stage and say the words the first time for a full house. I only have three lines in the first scene, but I admit I was relieved getting offstage after that first scene.
I guess a few "prithees" were called (what we say instead of calling "line"). But the audience doesn't seem to mind. Yes, we have a prompter sitting just to the side of the stage for the Ren Season. There are some legendary "prithee" moments in past Actors' Renaissance Seasons. Perhaps we'll have our own; it's all part of the fun.
Tomorrow, we have two more previews (with the official opening on Saturday night). We're actually done rehearsing As You Like It. The music still needs some work; luckily, we always have a music call before each show, which will give us time to work out the kinks. With the first show, this is the most time-compressed we are for music. The others have some more time to let the songs marinate.
Out-of-context quote of the day: "Are those supposed to be sheep noises? Because they don't sound like sheep."
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