Saturday, July 29, 2006
Back on the Horse: Performance Number Four
It's a novel feeling to actually have some time away from the show! The build up to the opening weekend was pretty intense, but now that we're settled into our normal run, it was a little odd not to have numerous rehearsals leading up to tonight (odd, but nice!)
We had a strong house for a 10:00pm show (actually, a larger house than the 8:00pm show so I can't complain). I liked a lot of the stories and dynamics that were set up in our act one as well. Chase was a stable boy who had dreams of owning and racing his own horse. Ron was a wannabe rap artist whose great grandmother overshadowed him on the stage. Robyn was a newly-wed with a very shiny ring who had to move in with her in-laws while she saved for a house of her own. I was a truck-obsessed young man who put it all on the line with a race-off against my former scorned girlfriend. Some of the stories got a little muddied or nearly resolved in act one, which can be a little problematic, but I loved the story potentials here. Ron took the vote for the second act (my own father didn't even vote for me but for Chase's stableboy!) and we set off into the land of rap. There were some strong moments here as Ron excels in this style, although we got a little stuck in this musical genre at times. Ron got sealed in a telephone booth and was about to be exported to Spain - not something you see every day! That friend of mine, Mic, apparently raised his ugly head again and several of the cast went without amplification for much of this act.
Some listening issues popped back up tonight, but the adrenalin of a crowd often ushers in this problem. We also need to create more physically distinct environments and choices, and not rush the stage quite so much. This combination of boys can be particularly aggressive when it comes to providing a volley of offers. Act two's drive dipped a little from that of act one, but there was a lot of fun playful work and some really clever characters and character combinations. Our sound woes got us off to a slow start with our post-show debrief, but there was much to celebrate and enjoy. I'm a little wary when Gina and I lead notes, that for the sake of brevity we tend to concentrate on where we'd like to go next rather than always acknowledge how gloriously far we've come. Ah, the life of a perfectionist in an improv show...
The answer to my earlier blog question - I've started to think of IM as standing for Impossible Mission as an homage to the MI movies...
I've been told I need to retire my standard lead-in of "As musical theatre performers don't have any personalities of their own..." at the top of the show. Am I the only one who liked that...? No, seriously...?!
Your intro-tinkering Director, David C.
It's a novel feeling to actually have some time away from the show! The build up to the opening weekend was pretty intense, but now that we're settled into our normal run, it was a little odd not to have numerous rehearsals leading up to tonight (odd, but nice!)
We had a strong house for a 10:00pm show (actually, a larger house than the 8:00pm show so I can't complain). I liked a lot of the stories and dynamics that were set up in our act one as well. Chase was a stable boy who had dreams of owning and racing his own horse. Ron was a wannabe rap artist whose great grandmother overshadowed him on the stage. Robyn was a newly-wed with a very shiny ring who had to move in with her in-laws while she saved for a house of her own. I was a truck-obsessed young man who put it all on the line with a race-off against my former scorned girlfriend. Some of the stories got a little muddied or nearly resolved in act one, which can be a little problematic, but I loved the story potentials here. Ron took the vote for the second act (my own father didn't even vote for me but for Chase's stableboy!) and we set off into the land of rap. There were some strong moments here as Ron excels in this style, although we got a little stuck in this musical genre at times. Ron got sealed in a telephone booth and was about to be exported to Spain - not something you see every day! That friend of mine, Mic, apparently raised his ugly head again and several of the cast went without amplification for much of this act.Some listening issues popped back up tonight, but the adrenalin of a crowd often ushers in this problem. We also need to create more physically distinct environments and choices, and not rush the stage quite so much. This combination of boys can be particularly aggressive when it comes to providing a volley of offers. Act two's drive dipped a little from that of act one, but there was a lot of fun playful work and some really clever characters and character combinations. Our sound woes got us off to a slow start with our post-show debrief, but there was much to celebrate and enjoy. I'm a little wary when Gina and I lead notes, that for the sake of brevity we tend to concentrate on where we'd like to go next rather than always acknowledge how gloriously far we've come. Ah, the life of a perfectionist in an improv show...
The answer to my earlier blog question - I've started to think of IM as standing for Impossible Mission as an homage to the MI movies...
I've been told I need to retire my standard lead-in of "As musical theatre performers don't have any personalities of their own..." at the top of the show. Am I the only one who liked that...? No, seriously...?!
Your intro-tinkering Director, David C.
