7th Rehearsal

YEA!!! A night in the space we are actually going to perform in!! It was great! We spent the first couple hours working the space, some key scenes, any blocking issues, etc. We are working with new tables and chairs, too. There is still some things to be worked out this weekend in tech, buut overall I think it will work out great.

We had a small audience for our run-thru--Jeff Church, the Artistic Dir., Joette Pelster, the Executive Dir., and Designers David Kiehl (sound) and Art Kent (light). Honestly, it was a little nerve-racking. Not just because their presence, but the timing of their presence--First night in space, new blocking issues, voice projection issues, to name a few. Regardless, they seemed to love it and it was great to have some genuine laughter, if for no other reason but to give us an idea of where the laugh lines are.

It was a wonderful night all around. It capped a day I would have to rank in my top two or three this year. Nothing special happened. Everything just went according to plan today. There were no hiccups and no issues that couldn't have been averted. I don't get many of those kinds of days so I like to acknowledge them when they happen. I think that positive energy took me right into rehearsal.. My troubled scene-where I've struggled with the lines-went very well last night. My Carl scene is still a work in progress but I don't think I'm going in the wrong direction. I think I'm getting too wrapped up in making him something unusual. Maybe if I throw it all away something will emerge. That happens a lot with characters I play. I jack with something for a period of time, get frustrated, walk away from it, then discover something new when I come back. We'll see what happens tonight.

I have been trying to find phrases and '70-'80's drop in points in the script. I've been getting some good ideas from friends of phrases to uses. I've got a few I'm tinkering with too. I can envision Vernon going off on some "Drop-in" tangent for 5 minutes, leaving the students just dumbfounded, staring at him! It probably won't go that far but it could!

Brian (Alex Saxon) cracked me up last night. He had a moment that was so FUNNY that I was still laughing, out loud!, at it 4 hours later! Even this morning it makes me smile thinking about it. It was so honest and real, it was brilliant. That character really is the comic relief in this show.

Ron gave us the night off an hour and a half earlier, which was a welcome surprise. Tonight we are back at the Coterie. Time to keep tinkering....