Saturday, September 09, 2006
Ladies Night Out: Performance Number Seventeen
Tonight was a treat in that our two women, Robyn and Kate, got to play together alongside the two men, Mark and I, who most like to play women's parts on stage! (Internally, I've been calling this the "all woman" show!) I'd originally intended to have two men and two women serve as the casting norm each evening, but I was unable to cast a company to make this possible.
We had a strong act one. Mark was the all-American Dr. Blake (no first name given), who worked in an airport parking lot, alongside Alfredo, an ardent admirer, and O'Hara, a Scottish stereotype (!). Kate provided a mature love interest, Mrs. Havelin, the richest woman in Oakland. Mark gave a great solo about what it was to be American to his Italian immigrant friend. Robyn played Rae, a young woman who desperately wanted to please her Pop Pop (Grandpa) and his nurse/lover, Madge, by pretending to be engaged to Brandon, a self-centered and unfaithful pilot. I enjoyed singing one of my softer numbers of late to Rae about how she'd know when she had found love. Kate then portrayed Sarah, a woman with a passion for cats, a LOT of cats, that caused issues for her upstairs landlady, Mrs. Oakley, and best friend since third grade, Fezzy. Her favorite cat, Mr. Fluffy, we soon learnt had been catnapped by a mysterious high-pitched laughing figure. Finally, I was David, a young man who liked to visit his sister, Shirley, at Melbourne beach, where he pursued love. On this particular day, a young woman with an unpronounceable name was swept ashore and into his life. Mark and I got to sing and dance a Disney-inspired love song thanks to the ever apt Jim Rhinehart on the keyboards.
Mark led us into the second act as Dr. Blake's life slowly unraveled as his former underling, Alfredo, tried to slowly usurp him by becoming more and more like him. Mark and Kate gave a great duet late in the act, and Robyn hit home a fun solo as her O'Hara character. We did some good work simplifying the story tonight, but struggled a little to find meaningful plot complications. Again, the audience left smiling and supportive, but the company felt a little dissatisfied in how we handled the challenge of the second act. Generally, we don't always isolate and build the star's central desire or journey and/or offer strong obstacles from the antagonistic or supporting positions. We also missed some possible cues and offers, and need to continue to make every major choice important through strong reactions, tilts and reincorporations.
There are only eight performances left... It seems so many and so few all at the same time!!!
Your energy-tweaking Director, David C.
Tonight was a treat in that our two women, Robyn and Kate, got to play together alongside the two men, Mark and I, who most like to play women's parts on stage! (Internally, I've been calling this the "all woman" show!) I'd originally intended to have two men and two women serve as the casting norm each evening, but I was unable to cast a company to make this possible.
We had a strong act one. Mark was the all-American Dr. Blake (no first name given), who worked in an airport parking lot, alongside Alfredo, an ardent admirer, and O'Hara, a Scottish stereotype (!). Kate provided a mature love interest, Mrs. Havelin, the richest woman in Oakland. Mark gave a great solo about what it was to be American to his Italian immigrant friend. Robyn played Rae, a young woman who desperately wanted to please her Pop Pop (Grandpa) and his nurse/lover, Madge, by pretending to be engaged to Brandon, a self-centered and unfaithful pilot. I enjoyed singing one of my softer numbers of late to Rae about how she'd know when she had found love. Kate then portrayed Sarah, a woman with a passion for cats, a LOT of cats, that caused issues for her upstairs landlady, Mrs. Oakley, and best friend since third grade, Fezzy. Her favorite cat, Mr. Fluffy, we soon learnt had been catnapped by a mysterious high-pitched laughing figure. Finally, I was David, a young man who liked to visit his sister, Shirley, at Melbourne beach, where he pursued love. On this particular day, a young woman with an unpronounceable name was swept ashore and into his life. Mark and I got to sing and dance a Disney-inspired love song thanks to the ever apt Jim Rhinehart on the keyboards.Mark led us into the second act as Dr. Blake's life slowly unraveled as his former underling, Alfredo, tried to slowly usurp him by becoming more and more like him. Mark and Kate gave a great duet late in the act, and Robyn hit home a fun solo as her O'Hara character. We did some good work simplifying the story tonight, but struggled a little to find meaningful plot complications. Again, the audience left smiling and supportive, but the company felt a little dissatisfied in how we handled the challenge of the second act. Generally, we don't always isolate and build the star's central desire or journey and/or offer strong obstacles from the antagonistic or supporting positions. We also missed some possible cues and offers, and need to continue to make every major choice important through strong reactions, tilts and reincorporations.
There are only eight performances left... It seems so many and so few all at the same time!!!
Your energy-tweaking Director, David C.
