Directing this show is fun. FUN! I'm liking this whole "controlling how the rehearsal process goes." I decide what we do. I decided what we don't do. I think that's one of the rewards of directing...same thing with owning your own business...I'm the boss. I don't want that to sound self-centered or megalomaniacal, but it's one of the perks. Now I can bring certain aspects of other rehearsals for different shows into this one. The result is that I'm enjoying what I'm doing.
Next week is a big week for us. We are completely blocked and I'm happy to be done with that...took some major discipline to not chime in with table talk last night because we had half of the play to block in about 2 1/2 hours.
But now it's time to get to the real work...the fun work.
Next week is about asking ourselves every question and really challenging ourselves to find good, clear actions for every scene. The week after will be about answering questions, but this week is about understanding the play and how each character fits into it.
It's also a crucial week for my chalk ideas. Watching rehearsals and reading the play is really starting to make me understand HOW to use the chalk for scene transitions. Words, images, etudes, improvisations are really bringing to light the best ways incorporate the chalk organically. Tracing footsteps or hands...building a mosaic during the entire show...a mosaic that will be different every night and thus make each performance that more special is our goal.
Transitions will be important to work on. We have to start playing with makeup for scars and injuries. Part of the technical, but it just can't wait until tech rehearsals. We have the advantage of rehearsing in the space so we can get a good sense of how the show will flow. Marking the blocks movement, what needs to be in which box, how they have to be oriented will taken care of much sooner than normal.
But above all else I gotta see good acting. I would rather see the transitions suffer than have the actors up there schmacting, giving bullshit performances. We're slipping into that a little bit still, but because Peter and Kelly are seasoned actors, all I have to do is call them on it and they work towards fixing it.
Case in point: Kelly has a bad habit of slapping her thighs when the character is frustrated. And when the character is worked up, she starts stuttering the start of her lines. "I...I...I..." "We...w...we...we...". It's an actor thing that's a natural thing to do, but it needs to be fixed. She doesn't have the lines down yet so she's fighting that a bit so I haven't grilled her on it yet. But it's something to begin identifying and fixing.
No comments:
Post a Comment