Avl[t] Rehearsal Log

So ... buy your tickets today so we can replace our car windows.

Well, we've been rehearsing The Thugs like crazy this week. And I do mean crazy. One of the most difficult days for any cast (and their director) is the first day off-book. That's the first day of rehearsal that the actors aren't allowed to carry their scripts around - they have to finally have it all memorized.

We have a shorter-than-usual process for this play, so off-book came a little fast, as it usually does. And we had our fair share of bloopers and frustration on that night.

It should be noted, however, that this is an unusually difficult script. Though it's short, it has a lot pages that look like this:

CHANTAL Um.
DIANE Yup. No.
CHANTAL Sorry.
DIANE Put this
CHANTAL Right. Right.
DIANE Yup.
CHANTAL Sorry.
DIANE Ok.
CHANTAL So then
DIANE Right.
CHANTAL Right.
DIANE Good.
CHANTAL And.
DIANE Yup.

So, here's a video for those of you who wonder what rehearsing this kind of text is like.

It actually started a few days ago when we had our traditional "first readthrough and potluck party" on Monday night. Many of the cast have worked together for a while, a few were just getting to know each other. We ate vegetarian red beans and rice, greek salad, caprese salad, beer bread, and some great deserts and listened to excerpts from Evil Dead: The Musical in-between courses.

Then again, it actually started on June 20th, when we read the play in front of a great audience at the King Avenue church, up on the too-hot or too-cold third floor. (Seriously, we love that room, despite its temperature issues). Most of the cast from that reading have returned for this production, so they've already got some chemistry going.

Anyhoo ... Last night we got started for real. We huddled around a table with scripts and notebooks and pens and highlighters and started to pull the script to pieces. (Not literally, for those who are thinking of this.) Normally our rehearsals begin with talks of listening, and spatial relationships, and tempo vs duration, and no characters to speak of. This time we started with objectives, sub-text, and status games. This play has a lot of space, and a very small words/action ratio. So, we're going to spend a lot of time figuring out what's happening in-between the words.

We don't have very many rehearsals for this show, about a baker's dozen, so every moment counts. I have total faith in this cast, though. Everyone is re-arranging their lives to make it happen, and two of them are driving from Cincinnati each night, so you know they're all dedicated. They're talented too, which helps.

More soon.
Matt

If the movie doesn't appear below, you may have a browser problem. You should be able to watch it by clicking here. (And you can download Firefox for free right here.)

This evening was our first reheasal/banquet for Tomorrow is the Question. We talked a lot about politics, watched clips from a couple of great documentaries, chatted about ourselves and bit and then read the play. I was greatly relieved to discover that it's actually pretty funny in some places, and only terribly in a couple of places. So, more work to do, but at least I know the labor put in so far has been worth it.

Here's one thing we watched.

Tomorrow night we re-convene to begin (for some, continue) Viewpoints and Suzuki training and to start staking claims to text. Stay tuned, true believers.

Oh, and here's an excerpt from the show that went over especially well.

Before the New Deal, if you got old and starved, well, tough luck. If you lost your job or your home blew down in a hurricane, too bad, Jack. If the power company charged you half your wages for your light bill; or the grain monopoly refused to buy your crop for more than the price of dirt; or if you worked 60 hours in the steel mill with no overtime pay; or if you joined a union and got busted over the head, it was that's business, buddy.

If the movie doesn't appear below, you may have a browser problem. You should be able to watch it by clicking here. (And you can download Firefox for free right here.)

If the movie doesn't appear below, you may have a browser problem. You should be able to watch it by clicking here. (And you can download Firefox for free right here.)