IMFourPlay

Merging Our Voices: Rehearsal Number Three

Sorry - no cute photo for today! More to come soon, hopefully. (If you have some - get them to me.) Today was an important rehearsal as it was the first and last time we'll have the full company of nine (ten with Jim) for the next three weeks... I had to front load some of the more difficult song structures, as a result, which led to both some highly memorable moments, but also a little stress as well. The group numbers of FourPlay are definitely challenging, especially when you dive into them for the first time. As there are only four voices in any given show, however, it's particularly important that we explore different ways of combining, building and showcasing vocal dynamics so that the numbers don't start to feel too similar or redundant.

Charles and Robyn had to join us a little late tonight, so we spent the first hour or so really drilling the opening choreography. What a difference two days makes! It really came a long way and already looks as strong as it often did in the production last year!!! Heather's adjustments seem to have really helped, and the company has jumped into it with both feet. Yeah!!

Then came the group songs - I don't want to spoil the surprise of these dynamics for those who haven't yet seen the show, so instead of detailing the structures, I'll just highlight some of the fun stories and characters that emerged. There were many surprising characters that would have been fun to see expand in the larger format: Darren created a particularly politically incorrect police deputy; Mark's worker in a plant nursery provided some good laughs; Chase gave voice to a fun jive-talking school student; Jay gave heart to a rather pathetic Momma's boy; and Robyn gave some chuckles with her too-soon interrupted compulsive shopper.

Several larger group numbers also started to come together quite nicely. Three stand out to me: Chase ushered in a strong underscore with Robyn and Jay as impatient children on a schoolbus, while Kate did some truly impressive patter as their frenetic teacher. Mark showed similar vocal finesse in an earlier attempt at the same form with Charles, Ron and myself providing backup support. I also particularly enjoyed working alongside Charles and Darren in a scene with Ron as a once-confident bridegroom. Charles introduced a strong chorus refrain and a fun "fast-talking" dynamic that Darren and I ran with. Ron did extremely well moving the story along becoming less and less confident at the thought of his impending marriage as some fun harmonies and vocal stylings formed behind him. While we accidentally abandoned him a little at the end of the number (oops) there was quite a fullness of sound that was fun to play within. I love it when that kind of vocal attack hits...

We were also joined by John Carollo of nakedeyestudios.com at the end of the evening. A recent recipient of one of four Best in Show awards (from a field of over 100 artists) at the Downtown Art & Living Expo, John has kindly agreed to help our humble show with some logo and graphic design work. He took some action photos of some of the company to use as reference points. Keep watching this space as I'm hoping to debut his design efforts here in the next week.

All in all, a successful rehearsal, although clearly a little frustrating at times for some of the company due to the nuances of the song formats.

Sadly, we lose Mark and Robyn to New York for the next week, but I'm sure they'll return recharged and with a rekindled passion for musicals! Three days off for the rest of us...

Time to recharge...

Your harmony-humming Director, David C.