Monday, July 03, 2006
Defying Unlucky Numbers: Rehearsal Number Thirteen
Lots of solid growth at today's rehearsal. Dana and Denna had been busy the night before repainting the set, so we had brighter new digs in the SAK space. We also started to play with the mic system with Dana, Matt and Charlie up in the booth and the house. We're using visible head-sets this year (very Madonna if you ask me) which have definitely boosted the vocal amplification. The SAK space is plagued, apparently, with level and balance issues when it comes to satisfying the acoustic needs of the musicians, singers and audience alike. Though these problems were by no means completely solved, there was some good headway, and it was extremely helpful for the four playing cast members to get a sense of how they needed to adjust for this component. Generally speaking, the louder men amongst us sometimes maxed out the system a little (for lack of a more technical term) when singing full out. In the group numbers, this often drowned out our female vocalist a little. I tend to sing at full a lot, and it was a good reminder to me that you need to allow for the mics when making your dynamic choices while not leaning on them too heavily to aid with diction or volume--this can be a bit of a tough balancing act.
After playing with mics and battery packs and mic belts and levels and the like... we embarked on our second full run with Mark, Darren, Kate and Ron taking the four positions. A lot of the structure is still pretty new (obviously) but there was some good progress made today, especially considering that Darren was the only public performance seasoned player from last year. While content started to slip into some pet peeve territory for me as a director--several characters were essentially summarized by their sexual orientation rather than explored in depth for example--the structure started to coagulate nicely in places (how's that for a pleasant dinnertime image!). As we all become more comfortable in the show format, the characters tend to become more complex and interesting. Act two was also considerably better in this regard.
Some exciting victories from today:
1. We workshopped the Montage song before the run and this strengthened considerably as a result. Jim and Keith really did some nice work solving the musical challenges of this number and leading us through it. We made some similar growth with the building section of the second act (I'm leaving that vague so you'll have some surprises when you come and see it!)
2. General confidence went up several notches. Mark, who had seemed a little overwhelmed in Saturday's run, was showing greater confidence and finesse, especially as the second act unfolded. He had particularly impressive patter sections in a duet with Darren as a tow-truck fanatic. Ron continues to surprise me with his organic understanding of the form's needs and opportunities--he was our "star" for the second act, and made some really inspired story choices that got us out of the land of "wondering about what to do." Kate continues to soar, providing wonderfully unexpected but connected character choices that forward the story arc. I loved her attack in a show-stopping number, "Puff, Puffing Away," sang by a tan-obsessed woman who had removed her own questionable skin blemishes with a butter knife!! Darren had particularly fun physical attack today, especially in the role of a wannabe Broadway dancer. In one of the highlights of the day, he, Mark and Ron reprised their roles as competing dancers as backup in Kate's aforementioned solo. We were literally rolling in the aisles!
3. As the above examples would suggest, general playfulness is building nicely. The form of the show can feel restrictive, but as the playfulness increases, story and character potentials explode. There were many surprising story twists today as players took the risk to make strong choices and follow them through.
4. While I haven't had a chance to truly debrief with Gina, our Assistant Director who observed for the first time today, she mentioned in passing that we were using the songs more productively. This was a particularly nice thing to hear from someone who was just (re)joining the company. We're chatting tomorrow before the third and final master class, and I look forward to further developing the process with her keen eye.
I'm keen to get into the form myself again, although it may be a couple more rehearsals before that can happen.
John finished the process of getting the flyers to the printers today. I'm having some issues going through the t-shirt ordering system online in terms of uploading our graphic and determining final prices/options before going ahead. I hope to get that sorted out and send out some emails regarding our ad packages to other theatre companies in town over the next few days.
Anyone want to place an ad in our program?!?!
Your non-Triskaidekaphobic Director, David C.
Lots of solid growth at today's rehearsal. Dana and Denna had been busy the night before repainting the set, so we had brighter new digs in the SAK space. We also started to play with the mic system with Dana, Matt and Charlie up in the booth and the house. We're using visible head-sets this year (very Madonna if you ask me) which have definitely boosted the vocal amplification. The SAK space is plagued, apparently, with level and balance issues when it comes to satisfying the acoustic needs of the musicians, singers and audience alike. Though these problems were by no means completely solved, there was some good headway, and it was extremely helpful for the four playing cast members to get a sense of how they needed to adjust for this component. Generally speaking, the louder men amongst us sometimes maxed out the system a little (for lack of a more technical term) when singing full out. In the group numbers, this often drowned out our female vocalist a little. I tend to sing at full a lot, and it was a good reminder to me that you need to allow for the mics when making your dynamic choices while not leaning on them too heavily to aid with diction or volume--this can be a bit of a tough balancing act.
After playing with mics and battery packs and mic belts and levels and the like... we embarked on our second full run with Mark, Darren, Kate and Ron taking the four positions. A lot of the structure is still pretty new (obviously) but there was some good progress made today, especially considering that Darren was the only public performance seasoned player from last year. While content started to slip into some pet peeve territory for me as a director--several characters were essentially summarized by their sexual orientation rather than explored in depth for example--the structure started to coagulate nicely in places (how's that for a pleasant dinnertime image!). As we all become more comfortable in the show format, the characters tend to become more complex and interesting. Act two was also considerably better in this regard.
Some exciting victories from today:
1. We workshopped the Montage song before the run and this strengthened considerably as a result. Jim and Keith really did some nice work solving the musical challenges of this number and leading us through it. We made some similar growth with the building section of the second act (I'm leaving that vague so you'll have some surprises when you come and see it!)
2. General confidence went up several notches. Mark, who had seemed a little overwhelmed in Saturday's run, was showing greater confidence and finesse, especially as the second act unfolded. He had particularly impressive patter sections in a duet with Darren as a tow-truck fanatic. Ron continues to surprise me with his organic understanding of the form's needs and opportunities--he was our "star" for the second act, and made some really inspired story choices that got us out of the land of "wondering about what to do." Kate continues to soar, providing wonderfully unexpected but connected character choices that forward the story arc. I loved her attack in a show-stopping number, "Puff, Puffing Away," sang by a tan-obsessed woman who had removed her own questionable skin blemishes with a butter knife!! Darren had particularly fun physical attack today, especially in the role of a wannabe Broadway dancer. In one of the highlights of the day, he, Mark and Ron reprised their roles as competing dancers as backup in Kate's aforementioned solo. We were literally rolling in the aisles!3. As the above examples would suggest, general playfulness is building nicely. The form of the show can feel restrictive, but as the playfulness increases, story and character potentials explode. There were many surprising story twists today as players took the risk to make strong choices and follow them through.
4. While I haven't had a chance to truly debrief with Gina, our Assistant Director who observed for the first time today, she mentioned in passing that we were using the songs more productively. This was a particularly nice thing to hear from someone who was just (re)joining the company. We're chatting tomorrow before the third and final master class, and I look forward to further developing the process with her keen eye.
I'm keen to get into the form myself again, although it may be a couple more rehearsals before that can happen.
John finished the process of getting the flyers to the printers today. I'm having some issues going through the t-shirt ordering system online in terms of uploading our graphic and determining final prices/options before going ahead. I hope to get that sorted out and send out some emails regarding our ad packages to other theatre companies in town over the next few days.
Anyone want to place an ad in our program?!?!
Your non-Triskaidekaphobic Director, David C.
