IMFourPlay

Dancing Our Cares Away: Rehearsal Number Two

We stepped back from the joys and challenges of song construction today to dive into some character and relationship work. (Much thanks to the Rollins College Department of Theatre and Dance for providing a rehearsal space.) A primary device of FourPlay is the use of asides by several select characters in order to "jump start" relationship dynamics and story potentials. While the format is definitely a musical comedy, I'm interested in exploring and heightening the dramatic (read "sincere") aspects of the format. I loved the moments last season when we went from thunderous laughter to soft "awwwes" - it gives the show a more surprising arc. Why give the audience what they're expecting when you can also sneak in a little of what they're not expecting!?! We also found that sometimes the easier laugh or, dare I say, gag moment on stage could deflate the energy or stakes of a scene or a character journey. In shortform, such a choice can be annoying, but relatively benign. In longform, if you continually deflate the risk factor that faces the characters, it can make it very difficult to truly craft a meaningful, interesting or entertaining journey. Ultimately good longform, in my humble opinion, demands a certain level of connecting empathy. If everyone is just a whacky caricature, the audience can quickly disconnect from the action. My own personal aesthetic also craves characters that explore meaningful and personal issues - even if this is done with a healthy wink and dose of playful parody.

This is all very well and good in theory, but a little more difficult to achieve in reality, though we made some good headway Sunday afternoon. To set a style for the asides, we worked a little describing real people in our own lives through this device. This was surprisingly difficult (for me at least) but also very interesting. Not only did I get to learn a lot about my partner for this little exercise, Kate O'Neal, but it also made me think a little about my own relationships. I'd like to explore this tactic further. As we moved this style into a rudimentary version of the show format, some of the "pimping" returned, but I think the company became more aware of the untapped potentials of these moments. Some fun bold endowments are definitely part of the game, but the show can withstand some more heart-felt moments here also.

And then we danced!! Heather joined us around 4:30 and we started to (re)choreograph the opening number, taking into account our earlier discoveries discussed in my earlier blog: "Three Lessons I Learnt from FourPlay." It's definitely a unique challenge re-learning choreography! Your body can't help but go back to what it once knew. The changes Heather made, though, have already amped up the playfulness level, and while (generally) our newcomers understandably feel less comfort with the steps, I think we're well on our way to meeting our revised goals. However, as the photo above amply illustrates, I am still well aware that I'm no Baryshnikov!

Time to leave my office and rejoin the land of the living!

Your left-footed but right-hearted Director, David C.