Well "The Last Egg" has had it's run and I can now focus on "Gruesome" 100%. Reflecting on the brief, one week rehearsal/performance week for "Egg" it really was a great experience.
I learned that it's important to have a connection with the piece and with whom you are working with. Everything turned out great but it very easily could've been a huge disaster.
Communication is key. The hardest part about the 6 hours of rehearsal was that it's hard to learn how people communicate best in that short amount of time. What you voice out loud is just as important as what you don't say...it's very easy to say too much and not be able to take it back...it's already in the actor's head.
I also learned that you have to be ready for TECH. I didn't have more than three sound/light cues, but when they were shown to me, I had to be ready to say 'yes' or 'no' to them. I think it's better in a longer process when you can ask to see it a few times, but it was a good lesson to know the extreme end of decision making.
Overall, the show was a success. It was rewarded with being the 'Audience Choice' winner, which was a nice recognition, even if it was only out of four total participants:)
We had our third rehearsal for "Gruesome" last night. I feel bad because I had this bad idea to go and do a read through in a park. We walked there and found that it was swarmed with families, which just would've made it too uncomfortable and distracting to attempt to work there. Total time lost was about an hour, so lesson learned on that: control your working environment as much as possible.
When we got back to my apartment, we had yet another incredibly informative rehearsal. We're rehearsing in my apartment out of necessity right now, but hopefully we will get into the space starting tonight. It's hard to work with a dog and a cat demanding attention:)
I had Pete and Kelly do etudes, which was fascinating to watch. Little improvisation games at the start of rehearsals will be a part of our schedule each day. We worked on etudes of the characters at age 8, which is one of our biggest challenges. We want these kids to be real and not have a caricature performance. I'd rather get nitpicked for having the characters be too mature rather than slapstick goofy kids...just doesn't work for this show.
But Pete and Kelly really found some great stuff. The backstory that's organically found in these etudes provide a great foundation to the characters. And they're really doing a great job of putting themselves in the characters' shoes. It's great to see! They think/act/react in the way their characters do.
After the etudes, I always ask them what they learned and what was good/bad about the exercise. It's especially important in these early explorations to address what didn't work or what could've been better. Now is the time to make sure we don't get into bad habits or make incorrect assumptions about the characters. And I find all it takes is observations and questions to cure this. Actors, at least these actors, are very eager to get rid of their own bullshit and work to their ability. They don't want to "get away" with anything, they want to be challenged. And they're responding.
The major aspect of their characterizations that need work right now has to do with vocality and physicality. It's hard to play an 8 year old when you're 34, but that's also part of the fun. Their first etude was very general physically and I found myself watching Peter and Kelly up there. All it took was addressing/discussing it and their second etude was light years ahead. Really great to see.
We're in the thick of rehearsals now...on to blocking and table work!
No comments:
Post a Comment