makes things seem less...random: Polish 3, March 19

Two Hours! Jam Packed! Mayhem Ensued!

Okay, less mayhem, more productive work. But the compressed rehearsals have pros and cons. On the plus side, deadlines up the pressure and can force productivity. I am less inclined to goof. Down side: I am less inclined to goof, and I feel pressure to be productive. There is less room to let the scenes breathe. I feel the need to hit my marks, and there is less time to respond to the organic discoveries that inevitably come about when working with a cast of thinking actors.

Tonight was a good example of this - we hit Scenes 8 Restaurant and Scene 12 Postmans Park, and excellent progress was made on both scenes. In 8, the tempo of the scene needed to be quickened, and a there were new approaches to a few key mo ments. Working it, it occurred to me I need to forget that I understand the timeline - the time bend is important, and once you know it is there, you can get lost in the moment to moment work and forget the overall impact of the various reveals. It's not just what we learn, it's the order in which we learn it.

Scene 12 had less time, something which always happens in the two hour binge. I focused on the first two sections, because the last section can be worked without full cast. This part is really starting to fill in nicely. I can't take credit - A and S are each getting to the point of ownership of their characters and are comfortable enough to bounce off one another. It's always so much fun to watch actors get to that point of the rehearsal process, when the stress of line cramming and general blocking eases and the real play begins. While I may fret about getting in all the time for my precious scene work, I know that this cast and this show has a good amount of polish time, and we're making the most of it.

back pats!