The Odyssey's just begun

I'm working on an official website. I screwed up with my domain, and I don't have the energy to deal with it/fix it right now. In any case, I've opened The Odyssey.

You can read a preview/feature about adapting the hundreds of pages of the epic poem in to a 2-hour production here.

Here's a photo of the Cyclops that I help maneuver. I'm in the right of the picture, holding the left arm and keeping Odysseus at bay. This was a photo from one of our dress rehearsals. The Cyclops' eye doesn't just have a big X in the middle of it. It actually looks like an eye now. But I think it gives a good indication.

People really seem to enjoy the show.

We're doing an 8-show week starting Tuesday:

Tuesday - Student Matinee
Wednesday - Student Matinee
Thursday - Student Matinee, Evening Show
Friday - Student Matinee, Evening Show
Saturday - Evening Show
Sunday - Matinee

I'm getting a bit tired just thinking about that. But that's how the biz goes and I'm just fortunate that the cast is a blast to work with (and hang out with afterwards).

I'm not sure about reviews. I don't think any have been published. I haven't really had a stakes in a big-time press review before, and this could be the first chance that I would (IF they mention the ensemble work in the show, which is likely because this show is all about ensemble and collaboration).

In other news, I'm starting to really get things together for grad school auditions. There's not a whole bunch left for me to work on other than reviewing my pieces and printing off my resume, getting copies of my transcripts, etc.

I also have a TON of office work to do. I'm telecommuting the whole time while I'm up in St. Paul. This means that I'm essentially working from home via the Web, and it's proved to be a daunting task. I find I'm able to get more work done in coffee shops, but that can be expensive (all those little dollars sure do add up).

Even though things are on the stressful side, I'm more than content with the projects and company I've got, and that's a wonderful thing.

Tech Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our first preview is on Friday!

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