Go Tech Yourself - The Tech Weekend

I am writing this update on the afternoon of the day following the Cue to Cue (Q2Q) technical rehearsal. I would have written it last night, but I wanted to think about how far we've come, how fast, and have a good sleep before I report and muse. This time to mull was good, because it gave me the distance and perspective to really feel good about the whole weekend work.

This is a precarious time in any rehearsal process, but when we've been coping with production side issues as well, there was the potential for this weekend to blow out and limp off to the corner. Instead, we had two days of solid, focused work, and I think the show made several key jumps forward.

On Saturday, no actors were called, and it was basically sound and lights, with operators, looking at/listening to where we were and setting up what we could have in place for the Q2Q. I wanted as much ready to go for SM Sarah's sake, because there are some key areas for cueing that she deserves a chance to rehearse and set. I was very happy with the looks and feels both sound and LX are acheiving. While we have a few sound and a few more lighting looks to be completed, the direction the designers are working in dovetails with the actors and set remarkably well. It is interesting to note that the sound has kept a driving edge, but also found some softer notes and slowed tempos. The show will unfold with the sound and lights in a simple and deliberate fashion that works very well with the minimal set.

Ah, the minimal set. Hee hee hee. Alumnae hero Michael has been a godsend in the build, but we teched with 2/3 of the moving set pieces constructed, and no screens covered. Gulp! It still takes a large leap of imagination to see what this show will look like when fully executed. That said, I can see it much better now than last weekend. There is a skeleton in place, and when I squint I can fill in the blanks.

After the levels on Saturday, Sunday was the big big show: 10 am call, started working cues closer to noon (ish). By the lunch break at 1 we were 7 cues into the show. Now, this is where I start with the mitigating "But"...

First I want to publically and forever thank the cast on the internet where no file ever truly disappears for their work and patience. It is hard work to be the object of a rehearsal when you are accustomed to being the subject, and I appreciate your diligence and relative composure throughout.

Second, mad props to all the crew who joined us this weekend! Moving set, rear projections, actor quickchanges, food props, twelve time and location shifts - this show has a lot to offer in terms of interesting challenges! I appreciate how walking into a process that has embraced a great deal of chaos can make all those challenges even, um, spicier - and your work this weekend was exceptional.

Once we got the ball rolling after lunch, the afternoon went extremely well. We did work until 6:30, but took a break and managed to get a great deal accomplished. The biggest acheivement was in the area of backstage management. PJ and Ellen and Sarah worked very well to get that sphere in control, and Raizie and Roz have our props table set and running. It is a great relief to walk through the wings and see things put away in their place. Makes me want to clean my closet...

Sound had a cheeky joke that broke up the room late in the afternoon - at the transition at the end of Scene 11 Hotel, there is still a sound slot outstanding. I was expecting to dry tech it, but instead Angus slotted in a Prodigy track "Smack My B**** Up", which, while appropriate in terms of time period, was perhaps a bit too "on the nose" as a final selection. Difficult to share this joke without dropping spoilers, but let's just say it was COMPLETELY inappropriate and TOTALLY hilarious, in a black humour way. Was great to have a good laugh at that late moment of the day.

All areas are moving forward: costumes have a parade set, set is getting built, painted and finished, sound and lights are well on their way to execution. This week we have act work and runs...time to raise the baton and start conducting. Beginners, please...

Resurfacing

Coming up for air to say there are blog updates a-coming, hopefully later tonight. This is my only day off until next Sat, and I am trying to be all things to all people. But never fear, production chronicles are in the crockpot of my brain, simmering until the fall off the bone.

All Together Now - Run 3. March 25

Bumpy, but promising.

That sums up the evening nicely. We ran both acts, and the run time is 2h 17. There were enough line stumbles and other pacing issues to gauge we will get about ten minutes off the run time by opening. The next run will go without break. Keep on thinking.

The start was rougher, it took a few pages for the work to click. The Disarming/Reserved moment really shines - new goal will be to find that chemistry in the early moments. The scenes followed strongly. It was especially good to see that the notes from the earlier runs being incorporated into the work. There were two moments in particular that were crystal clear, and I had never seen before. It is awfully nice to get to the point in rehearsal where the performances have enough foundation that the detail work solidifies.

We took our break a scene early so T could run upstairs and introduce the New Ideas Festival. Peter joined us at that point, and we took an extended break to check some more costume questions. More coats, some discussion of "the shoes" and - spoiler alert - feathers....So MUCH FUN!

On the down side, we ran over so I could finish notes. I HATE running over, it is disrespectful to the creative team's time and doesn't usually add much in terms of quality. But I know I will not have a chance to give notes after the run tomorrow, and I wanted to keep building on the work this week. Especially since I expect we will have a few other stakeholders in the hall tomorrow, I have a childish need to show we are getting better and better - childish because I KNOW we are getting better, but there you are...Sarah has a long commute to rehearsal, so I want to be sure she can get to her bus from now on. We have a busy few weeks, no sense in burning out now.

I am making the shot list for the PR photo shoot tomorrow. How can you make people engaged in verbal battle look cool? Or at the very least not like every other talky talk talk promo shot, or one actor staring pained at another who stares off into the middle distance with a mournful air? Hemm hemmm haw. Show is the opposite of boring, but sometimes still images of conflict can be lame. Must find the most visually engaging bits.

No rest for the wicked!

Tea for (Act) Two - Run 2, Tuesday March 24

Our evening started with more costume delights - Peter brought in several pieces for each actor, including several key items like "the sacred sweater", and he's really hitting them out of the park. He has an excellent sense of the character and ability to dress the actors, I am so happy with the looks he's acheiving. In some cases I might even vamp the transitions a bit so we can accomodate the quick changes, the looks are worth it.

This week I am trying to decide if the intermission stays out or if we run it. I still believe the show runs great without it, but having now seen the acts separately, I need to think through the story of each section, to see if that story fits our production. I would love to let Marber's word steamroll over the crowd, but I think the running time will be close to 2 hours. Will having a breath and a pint invigorate the audience or lag them? Must continue my thinking.

The rehearsal props were a godsend as well - pacing often hangs on how long it takes to move that bag/book, whatever. Cigarettes are the next thing to bring in. I wish they could smoke onstage. I wish smoking was not the great societal evil we all acknowledge it to be. The smoking in the script is quite necessary. But not enough to spark up onstage, alas. Nowadays the smoke irritates the audience so much the distraction pulls focus from the stage. Of course, watching a non-smoker actor diligently pretend to smoke onstage without lighting up can be painfully earnest as well. Still, it's the way of the world. Fighting for the right to pollute a theatre and raise the fire risks is not the way to spend my time. There are bigger fish to fry.

Such as my delightful cast, who are all hammering away at the script with a growing ferocity. Yippee! Off book is a fact. I love that, because now I can see where the line blanks may be significant (an actor forgets a line because s/he is not clear in his/her action) rather than brain freeze. At this point in rehearsal it can be a useful signpost for me. I have less and less rehearsal time open to general work in the next few weeks, so I need to prioritize what we can push further. The rest of the week is more runs, but there is detail work scheduled for the following week. This play is a collision of moments - when the pace slips in one section it can ripple through the entire piece. I need to get the momentum right.

Amusement:

I've started noting the accent slips and bringing them forward in general notes, and L helps out by checking the pronounciation. Also, this was our first return to the infamous and sexy scene 7. The result: Notes session chiefly consisted of Laura V commenting "There's no R" and me saying "keep your boobs in his face a beat longer please".

Ah, theatre!

Still the (Act) One - Run 1, Monday 23

Let's take a minute to really feel good about ourselves, shall we?

There, isn't that great? You see, we were able to run all of the first act - scenes 1 through 6 inclusive - and there's a shape. A form. Almost a function!

Seriously, this was the first time we had revisited several scenes consecutively since the stumble on March 9. In rehearsal world, that is an ice age. yet much of the positive discoverie4s and moments were left intact. Indeed, a few new moments and impulses are being discovered and explored. Bully for us!

It was a big help that we had more of our rehearsal blocks and props available. It's amazing what a difference actual cups make to a scene where actors are pretending to drink. I will keep getting those things added in as soon as possible.

This was also Sarah's first shot at seeing large sections, and getting a sense of the scope of the project. She had very few line notes, mind you - good work actor people!

My own notes were as much to myself as anyone else - sitting back in the house I am seeing more shape adjustments and tweaks. Also, I made several strident notes regarding projection and volume for the actors - but realized in scene 6 that my ears were very plugged up, and in fact my hearing was inaccurate! AHHHHH!!! I do think they did need to be louder, but it is scary to be betrayed by one's own body and senses like that.

We did notes and checked a brief section, but I was collapsing by that time, and so I called the night around 20 minutes early. I think I will boil my ears in the hopes this improves matters. Maybe develop some enchanting mentholatum body spray. At any rate, and despite lingering ills, am bouncing with delight to think of the remaining runs this week. Fun fun fun...

Floating Ah-rs, Softer tees and other accent-dental adventures - Polish 5, Sunday March 22

We are on London, in the 1990s. We have four people from diverse backgrounds. They all speak English. And not our colonialist rubbish - they speak the Queen's English. But...no one would actually speak like the Queen. And come to think of it, they wouldn't speak exactly like one another. And as a company we are moving rapidly through the polish phase of work, so it was time to sit down with a celebratory box of TimBits and figure out how we sound.

We have a resident UK expert on the team, as L has something of a working knowledge of the way people in England speak. (I'm being silly again). So I asked L to look over the script and think about the rehearsals to pull out the accent slips that bug her the most. On the whole, I do want to give back pats to the intrepid Canadians on cast who are clearly doing good work in getting the voice down - in some cases relearning phonetically. Still, we can all improve and so we went over the common problems and worked on shifting focus from the from to the rear of the mouth, to dampen the t's and float the "r"s. Also good to keep in mind: when asking a question the pitch drops rather than our North American habit of going up a tone to indicate a question. I must say, reinforcing that speech habit alone made a big difference to the way I heard Scene 6. In other accent news, we can no longer say the word DOCTOR because it now sounds absurd - you know, when you repeat a word over and over until it loses all meaning? Try it, it's weird. dawc-tah. Weird. Big thanks to Laura for lending us her ears.

With the accent talk out of the way, I only had full cast called for the morning work sessions so we hopped right into work-through mode. It was a speedy but productive morning that brought a bit more gleam to scenes 5 and 6.

The afternoon was all about Anna and Larry. For once, I had UNDERBOOKED rehearsal time! Instead of just doing a moment to moment spit polish on 4 (Aquarium) and 9 (Museum), we were able to spend considerable time on the Anna/Larry section of the exquisitely horrible scene 6 Domestic Interiors. Larry's emotional collapse is such a specific and damaging moment. We found news ways to make it hurt. Yay! I mean, good work.

Sunday was our first rehearsal with our brand new SM - SARAH! Huzzah! For me, I was still getting used to having someone to give line notes, so it was a very welcome addition to have her in the room.

Rehearsal was followed by a Production Meeting, and we had a chance to realize that progress is being made in all quarters - my focus has been with my little chicks in the cast, and it was great to get all ther other stakeholders together to see that we really are making leaps and bounds forward. Also, I can now set the schedule for April with greater confidence. GAK! APRIL!!! So soon?

On the sniffle front. Um. yes. Don't drink from my soda can yet, ladies and gents. I will recover. I will recover. I will recover. Affirmations are good. Affirmations are good. Affirmations are g....

Pointed Toes are Sexy - Polish 4, Friday March 20

This night was an extra special rehearsal, as we had an invited guest to work with L on her dance moves and physical presence in the Club scene. Carolyn, a friend of D's, is a local director and instructor whose background includes exotic dancing - and her eye and coaching were a terrific help to the staging of the scene. Scene 7 had been roughed in, blocking-wise, but there were a few key hurdles - actor confidence in unfamiliar shoes and movement, questions of the look and polish of the dancers in this sort of close quarter dancing, and the question of how to keep her active, moving and sexy while she is engaged in a LOT of complex dialogue. No mean feat!

Working with L, Carolyn was able to give her a nice overview of the movements and physical approaches to dancing in a one-on-one situation. The movements she coached gave a much better physical vocabulary for detailing the scene. Also, we learned that newbie dancers draw attention to their crotches, while experienced dancers keep the customer's focus moving and distracted with light and sexy movements through the hips, thighs and legs. Not to mention the bosoms. I don't need to mention them because it has become abundantly clear that I will be giving far more notes on breast positioning than I have for any other show, ever. It's fun to do new things.

I felt a little for S over the course of the evening - the focus was really on developing the physical story being told by Alice's body. As the only fella in the room, it was a bit like falling down the rabbit's hole to an Amazonian place where women discuss thigh placement and breast jiggle with the precision and intensity more classically reserved for complicated risotto recipes. But he was a trooper (insert sly winky face here) and managed to endure two hours of saucy ladies making alarming comments and naughty gestures. Bully for him!

The work here will need plenty of reinforcement, practice as well as rehearsal - and Carolyn (who was a godsend!) has graciously offered to come back and do a revision later in the process - an offer I certainly plan to take her up on! In the meantime, stand tall, shoulders back, and lead with the ladies...