Your Sis and I watched the Duke/UNC game, and it was, of course, the pot boiler it always is. The refs seemed to let the kids play until they had to make a call, and I applaud that. While I enjoyed the antics of Speedo Man, it took the announcers almost five minutes to apologize for the crotch chops.
The mistress actress and I tried to set up a double-date lunch before the Sunday rehearsal, but it fell through. This practice was only for Act Two, and we repeated scenes and conversations often. At times the director would suggest a different line inflection, and other times he would hop onstage and walk through a page of dialogue to show the tone and movement he wanted. I'm not bothered by this; if a director wants a specific interpretation, and this is the clearest way to communicate it, fine. It doesn't step on my toes. In one bit, we play with timing and body movement when my character is backed up and forced to sit on the couch under the murderer's glare.
He started out by telling us where he saw us as we approached opening night, and he said I was steady from the get-go with my character. I joked it off, saying it meant I was boring. But he also reminded me he was at the auditions from the courtroom play and knew I was right for the attorney role, so much so that he said he would have had words with the director if she passed me over. The mistress tries on new outfits, and we're getting closer to her show wardrobe. I still need to go through the theatre stores and see what I can find. The tea bottles were taken home, but I find one our prop bottles (an empty Glenlivet bottle) and fill it with water. It's not til much later that I notice the black mold floating in my glass, and I hope I haven't given myself the black plaque.
The clubhouse contract may stipulate that we have to clear out by 10, a deadline we haven't kept for weeks now, and this may necessitate leaving work early so we can have a full rehearsal. The boss will be OK with that, I think. I won't be pet-sitting for the parents-in-law after tomorrow, so I can just take my lunch break at the end of the day. The kitchen is right behind a set of double doors at the back of the room, and we're constantly hearing the phone ring during the rehearsal. It builds discipline for us to maintain focus during our performances. When I'm not onstage, I watch older folks use the clubhouse driving range. A few hours later, the range hosts a herd of deer, and I even see some roadside as I drive out of the gated community.
I want to mention again what a good atmosphere this production has. Not just compared to the last, quarrelsome show but alongside other shows I've done too. Half our cast skews to the early 20s, and we have that energy all the time, combined with their experience and stage comfort. The director continues to remind us of our impending opening while he congratulates and thanks us for our work. He showed us the posters to be placed around town for the show, and unfortunately, they feature a picture from the early photo session; the image tells you nothing about the show except that it has four actors.
I read my script every day but no longer quiz myself on memorization. The lines are in my head and on call. I can even feed the other actors their lines when they blank (although I worry it looks like I'm showing off). The others are asking for a number of lines, especially the mistress, and we'll have to practice ad-libbing our way around script holes soon.
Picture of the Day
We might need to pass these out to our older patrons.
No comments:
Post a Comment