I've never had an opportunity to watch someone else direct the show that I had just done-so, as a thank you to my volunteering stage managers, I acquired tickets to see Beauty and the Beast in Chicago the Wednesday after our show closed.
Now, I kept in mind that we had done the Jr. version of the show, and that I would be comparing apples and oranges; they had an unlimited budget, I had 73 kids. They held auditions in every major city in the US, I had two days of "come one, come all". SO many differences...and yet, I found many similarities.
It was interesting to see the comparisons between character choices; I believe Rob Roth chose to highlight Belle's intelligence, while I focused on her stubbornness. He chose to highlight the obvious lack of social skills in Beast by portraying his many childlike tendencies and often instinctual urges, while I think our Beast was more nervous and a little awkward, but never really childlike.
Many aspects of the Chicago show chose to highlight the presentational style of their show; for the library, there was an arch, painted to look like LARGE open books, floating all over, the rose was very oversized, and the acting (for all characters) used large open gestures. Now, part of me wonders if this was done for the sheer size of the house, or if it really was to maintain the cartoonish characters.
It was really amazing to see that the idea for Belle to have a necklace that represented her family was used in both productions! While the Broadway show used a simple silver locket, we had an ornate rose necklace, but to see both using the same concept made me feel very proud :)
While I know that many similarities of our shows were because they were, in fact, the same plot line and characters, and that generally people don't change big musicals, it was still incredible to watch what someone else had done with the script. I know that there were tremendous differences, but it was still a good learning experience.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Performances, Strikes, Evaluations, and a seat in someone else's audience
LOTS to cover in this post...
Thursday, July 7
We had our last "dress rehearsal" today, although this dress rehearsal came with an audience full of camp children. This was really exciting for the students, especially since many of them knew several of the audience members. At the beginning of the day we had our first "performance pep talk". This consisted of me reminding the students of several aspects of a real performance, such as not waving to their friends in the audience, and to remember everything we had been rehearsing. I phrased these in a question form, which they have always responded well to.
The morning performance went very well for the actors. The technical aspects posed a few problems, such as microphones cutting in and out, and scene changes going a little slower than we would like. However, all things considered, the students performed very well and had a great time performing. The audience also responded well, and as far as I could tell left the audience with good experiences.
I had proposed to my production managers at the park the possibility of only showing half the show to the camp students, so that it would encourage them all to come back to the scheduled performances that weekend, but it was decided that the students had been promised the whole show and it would be unfair to change that for this year.
After the morning performance ended, I congratulated the cast on their incredible performance, and reminded them of their call times that evening. I decided to arrive at 5PM, asking the crew to all be there by 5:30. I asked that all of the leads (those with microphones) arrive at 5:30 as well, so that they could use the small dressing rooms to receive their microphones and do checks before the rest of the 72 person cast arrived at 6:00 so that I could open the house at 6:30 for the 7:00 show.
EVENING PERFORMANCE
All of the cast and crew arrived on-time as scheduled and got into costume and checked props. I decided to stay backstage for the performance, in order to be available to help anyone that asked. I'd never worked with a tech crew that was not college-aged, so I wanted to be around to help whenever needed. The high school does not have wireless headsets (nor enough of them to go around) so I wasn't on set.
The first half of the performance went about the same as the first half of the morning performance, with the same problems. It became apparent that I needed to be able to communicate with those on set, and so at half time, I took a seat at the sound booth and helped the sound technician with a few microphone issues. Unfortunately, because of the cutting in and out of the wireless belt mics, there wasn't much I could do. However, that proved to be our only technical problem, and the show went off without too much of a problem.
The students were all smiling, and very excited at the end of the performance, and raced out into the lobby to greet their audience members. Among the audience members were several little girls dressed as Belle, who were able to take pictures with her and receive hugs; she was beaming :) It was also fortunate for us that the theatrical director of the high school had cutouts of Belle and the Beast available for us to use so that audience members could take pictures with their heads on the cutout bodies. A success? I think so :)
FRIDAY, JULY 8
For this performance, I figured out that we didn't need to mic as many people as we had the previous night. This way, we could use the microphones that had a better track record of working, and put them on those that HAD to have a microphone. We rearranged the microphone assignments, and were able to sort out the problem rather quickly.
This performance, I think, was the best we'd had so far. Of course, this is the one that didn't record as it should have. Other than some recording issues, this performance was the best we'd had so far :)
This performance was also the fullest I'd ever seen the just over 400 seat house...After counting, it was discovered that only 8 seats were left unsold :) A very exciting time for the actors (and myself)!
It was after this performance that I was approached by Steve Mortensen, the president of the park district. He offered me the job again next year!! I didn't give him an official answer, but it was certainly an awesome way of saying "job well done"!
SATURDAY, JULY 9
Today was our last performance. The students seemed a little rambunctious before the performance, but I'm guessing that was just the excitement of the last day. I gave my usual pep talk, throwing in there a few points about enjoying their last performance before I called all of the high-school aged performers out into the hallway. Now, I'm still debating on whether or not I "should have" done this, but I think it helped for some.
We talked about anticipating the need for action, and did a reduced version of the clap game. Most of the students were excited about it, and really got into the game. A few thought it was rather silly, and didn't really want to participate. I noticed that these were also the students who didn't really seem to be nervous about the performance. I'm not quite sure what that means, but it was an interesting observation.
We managed to get a full recording of this show, which was a real relief to me (having promised the students the opportunity to have copies of the show).
At the end of the performance, the actress playing Belle asked that myself, the music director, and the choreographers come up onto the stage. Much to my surprise, there were bouquets there for all of us, and all of the students had created a book for me, each having written a letter to me-it was all bound up into a book that had been decorated with "Beauty and the Beast" with a rose. This managed to reduce me to what some had dubbed "a blubbering idiot." It was an amazing feeling, looking through the book and reading my letters...that book means more to me than any award I could have ever gotten. So much more.
I had a hard time convincing the actors to get out of costume and go home after the night was over...many hugs and pictures were taken, and it was a bittersweet moment to turn out that light set.
To see all the months of work finally up on the stage for the last time was incredible...I cannot thank those involved enough for all of the dedication they put into this show, and to the company involved. You were amazing :)
STRIKE
Surprisingly, it took us a little under an hour and a half to strike the set completely, as well as to clean out the theater, lobby, house, and scene shops. We were also able to organize the tool and paint cabinets, as well as the prop shop, and the loft where the flats are stored. To do so was very important to me, because it was a really wonderful opportunity to have been able to use the space and materials there. I replaced some of the paintbrushes that had been ruined, as well. I did require every one of the students involved to help out with strike, and I had noted it on the audition sheet so that they would know before hand. Most all of the students were able to attend, and it was wonderful to see all of them helping out to get the job done.
After the strike, there was a cast party of sorts at the local public pool. The thing that I will remember most about this cast party is the total integration of all of the students; the older ones played with the younger ones, and it appeared that every cast member intermingled with everyone else...it was amazing to look out at them and see not just a bunch of little groups of cliques, but to see them all together...it was quite a teacher moment for me:) There, I gave out my awards to the students (having picked a few that I felt deserved special recognition) and as well as one gift. Pulling a few strings, I was able to let the actress playing Belle keep the big yellow dress, and she was beyond excited :)
This experience has taught me so much more than I can ever say, and has been a truly wonderful experience. I will miss these children so much (do you know how hard it is to resist a hug and "please come back again! I'll miss you!" from a six year old?!) and I can honestly say that they were the perfect cast for this show :)
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Dress Rehearsal
It's really getting down to the wire now!
With only one more "rehearsal" to go, things are coming together!
We were still missing 2 cast members today, but I have been reassured that they will be there tomorrow. Absences are a reoccuring problem that I have not yet had with a show...even when we did The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland and Number the Stars we NEVER had to contend with this amount of students gone for such a long length of time. However, I do understand that it is summer and that students go away. I am, however, having students that may end up missing performances, which is a big cause for concern for me. Apparently in the past, it has been handled as a necessary evil, but I am still not quite sure how I want to handle it...to have a person missing from the cast is a real concern for an actual performance, and one that I have honestly never had to deal with before. (Learning experience # 2,487)
I do realize that it is a community theatrical production, and that students have other obligations. I also know my hometown, and I know how important sports are to the Marengo atmosphere, so I know that I am treading on thin ice here; do I do what I want to do, and really live up to the standards that I'd like to set? Or do I go with the flow and realize that these things happen? It is difficult for me.
It is interesting working on a children's show with a large number of techies who are minors. I had always had college students in the technical positions before, and it is definitely a reality check for me to have to remember that they need the time to rehearse their scene changes just as much as the actors do.
Tomorrow we will have a mini audience (just a few people) who couldn't make it to the actual showtimes. I am going to attempt to step back as much as possible, and let them have their show now (which it truly is) and see how they do :)
We will have the day camp kids on Thursday morning, and we'll try to run it with all of the stops (pre-show music and all) just to let the students have a feel for a "real audience." We did that today as well, but many of the students had difficulties remembering to be quiet backstage, which was an interesting challenge...I'd like to put the students in the band room across the hall, but I am not sure if it will work out that way...I wouldn't have anyone in there to tell the children when to go off and on; I could have a parent working back there, but I also do not have sound on the moniters in the band room, which would make figuring out where we are in the script a real challenge.
For now, I know that if all else fails I can have the students stay in the dressing rooms until it is their turn to go onstage. Again, not ideal, but it will do just fine.
It is becoming a reality now...so...I guess, as a director, my job is almost done...I will give my notes as usual, and congratulate them on their triumphs, but really...its their's now. So, here goes!
With only one more "rehearsal" to go, things are coming together!
We were still missing 2 cast members today, but I have been reassured that they will be there tomorrow. Absences are a reoccuring problem that I have not yet had with a show...even when we did The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland and Number the Stars we NEVER had to contend with this amount of students gone for such a long length of time. However, I do understand that it is summer and that students go away. I am, however, having students that may end up missing performances, which is a big cause for concern for me. Apparently in the past, it has been handled as a necessary evil, but I am still not quite sure how I want to handle it...to have a person missing from the cast is a real concern for an actual performance, and one that I have honestly never had to deal with before. (Learning experience # 2,487)
I do realize that it is a community theatrical production, and that students have other obligations. I also know my hometown, and I know how important sports are to the Marengo atmosphere, so I know that I am treading on thin ice here; do I do what I want to do, and really live up to the standards that I'd like to set? Or do I go with the flow and realize that these things happen? It is difficult for me.
It is interesting working on a children's show with a large number of techies who are minors. I had always had college students in the technical positions before, and it is definitely a reality check for me to have to remember that they need the time to rehearse their scene changes just as much as the actors do.
Tomorrow we will have a mini audience (just a few people) who couldn't make it to the actual showtimes. I am going to attempt to step back as much as possible, and let them have their show now (which it truly is) and see how they do :)
We will have the day camp kids on Thursday morning, and we'll try to run it with all of the stops (pre-show music and all) just to let the students have a feel for a "real audience." We did that today as well, but many of the students had difficulties remembering to be quiet backstage, which was an interesting challenge...I'd like to put the students in the band room across the hall, but I am not sure if it will work out that way...I wouldn't have anyone in there to tell the children when to go off and on; I could have a parent working back there, but I also do not have sound on the moniters in the band room, which would make figuring out where we are in the script a real challenge.
For now, I know that if all else fails I can have the students stay in the dressing rooms until it is their turn to go onstage. Again, not ideal, but it will do just fine.
It is becoming a reality now...so...I guess, as a director, my job is almost done...I will give my notes as usual, and congratulate them on their triumphs, but really...its their's now. So, here goes!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Start of Tech Week
Tech week is here already! Wow...time has FLOWN by!
Costumes are all here and accounted for as of today with one exception-the Silly Girls. Although, ideally, they would match but be slightly different, they may have to settle for bows in thier hair instead of matching costumes because of the lack of my particular resources...I'm hoping for something relatively CLOSE and to add matching bows and/or sashes around thier waist or something.
On Friday and today we did our first run-throughs of the show! The scene changes need some tweaking and quickening up, but other than that I really do think we are starting to have a show *knocks on wood*
The actors all know their lines, dances, and even thier songs! I think this may be a tech week where I really do allow myself to focus on the tech week and minor details...
For notes, I have created a sort of mash-up of techniques. For the younger ones, now that we are into tech week, I am letting them do their show without any interuptions unless it is a major problem (which we haven't had so far) and the older ones get the little slips of paper at the end of the rehearsal. I'm not sure how well they will work, but even if the older ones don't respond well to the notes, we still have a completed show at this point and everything would work out fine.
I am once more amazing at the willingness of others to want to help with the production of this show...a pair of volunteers offered a while ago to tackle Maurice's invention, and today I was able to see the final product-and man! It is truly incredible!! It makes noise, lights up, and even blows bubbles! The best part: for the "breaking" we have a small bottle of silly string that shoots into the actor! (Safely, of course) It amazes me that anyone else would willingly spend time on this...that it really does mean at least somewhat as much as it means to me...and that is incredible :)
Tomorrow, I think may be the first day that we actually have every single cast member at rehearsal! WHICH WILL BE SO COOL! Today, we had roughly 2/3 of them (per 4th of July, which I understood and expected) and we still had a relatively smooth run through. I am excited to see the whole show with the whole cast :)
Tomorrow also marks the day that we will be finishing up the rest of the final painting details (which won't be too much of a hastle). I think that I will stay late and paint them myself if I have to.
I am excited for our first audience on Thursday, but I am also a little nervous...I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to WANT to let go yet...I have stepped away, and have kept myself firmly in a seat while I watch them go through the show (other than once to help with a dress malfunction) but its a bittersweet thing...I think that we will be fine, and that everything will work out just fine; I have some magnificent people both on and off stage, but I still get the "tech week" nerves.
I have made some awards for the students (it is a SWTA tradition) and am very pleased with those that I have come up with...it did bring to light the question of whether or not I should try to make an award for everyone, but at the same time, I didn't think that I had the time or energy to come up with SEVENTY-THREE different awards for each child...then what should happen if I forget one? But I am happy with my few; the students that I have selected more than deserve them :) I think this also makes the awards a little more meaningful as well.
That's all for now...more tomorrow!
Costumes are all here and accounted for as of today with one exception-the Silly Girls. Although, ideally, they would match but be slightly different, they may have to settle for bows in thier hair instead of matching costumes because of the lack of my particular resources...I'm hoping for something relatively CLOSE and to add matching bows and/or sashes around thier waist or something.
On Friday and today we did our first run-throughs of the show! The scene changes need some tweaking and quickening up, but other than that I really do think we are starting to have a show *knocks on wood*
The actors all know their lines, dances, and even thier songs! I think this may be a tech week where I really do allow myself to focus on the tech week and minor details...
For notes, I have created a sort of mash-up of techniques. For the younger ones, now that we are into tech week, I am letting them do their show without any interuptions unless it is a major problem (which we haven't had so far) and the older ones get the little slips of paper at the end of the rehearsal. I'm not sure how well they will work, but even if the older ones don't respond well to the notes, we still have a completed show at this point and everything would work out fine.
I am once more amazing at the willingness of others to want to help with the production of this show...a pair of volunteers offered a while ago to tackle Maurice's invention, and today I was able to see the final product-and man! It is truly incredible!! It makes noise, lights up, and even blows bubbles! The best part: for the "breaking" we have a small bottle of silly string that shoots into the actor! (Safely, of course) It amazes me that anyone else would willingly spend time on this...that it really does mean at least somewhat as much as it means to me...and that is incredible :)
Tomorrow, I think may be the first day that we actually have every single cast member at rehearsal! WHICH WILL BE SO COOL! Today, we had roughly 2/3 of them (per 4th of July, which I understood and expected) and we still had a relatively smooth run through. I am excited to see the whole show with the whole cast :)
Tomorrow also marks the day that we will be finishing up the rest of the final painting details (which won't be too much of a hastle). I think that I will stay late and paint them myself if I have to.
I am excited for our first audience on Thursday, but I am also a little nervous...I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to WANT to let go yet...I have stepped away, and have kept myself firmly in a seat while I watch them go through the show (other than once to help with a dress malfunction) but its a bittersweet thing...I think that we will be fine, and that everything will work out just fine; I have some magnificent people both on and off stage, but I still get the "tech week" nerves.
I have made some awards for the students (it is a SWTA tradition) and am very pleased with those that I have come up with...it did bring to light the question of whether or not I should try to make an award for everyone, but at the same time, I didn't think that I had the time or energy to come up with SEVENTY-THREE different awards for each child...then what should happen if I forget one? But I am happy with my few; the students that I have selected more than deserve them :) I think this also makes the awards a little more meaningful as well.
That's all for now...more tomorrow!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
June 29-30
COSTUMES!!!
Yesterday marked the first sighting of our tremendous costumes! My costumer managed to find three different rental companies to work with, all of which have some amazing work :) One of which is a smaller theatrical group in town (affiliated with the private school) that offered us the use of their costumes for free if we advertised for them in the program. From them we were able to procure children's "villager" costumes, which worked out really well! Although we didn't have quite enough for everyone to go around, for the rest (which thankfully were all boys) we simply asked them to bring a white dress shirt and brown/black pants from home with brown/black shoes.
Several of the larger "object" pieces came as well today, including the wardrobe, Mrs. Potts, Lumiere and Babette. I've asked each of them to begin practicing in costume for the rest of rehearsals, as these costumes are much more difficult to manage than your average costume! The students have done well, but I think the extra repititions will really help make the acting a lot smoother.
The other costumes are set to arrive (hopefully!) tomorrow afternoon, so that we will have the whole tech week to work with them.
We also worked with many of the chorus "Be Our Guest" pieces, including the spoons/knives/plates/etc. I would have preferred to have them sooner, but having them for at least two days before tech week is wonderful. The students are definitely not used to them, but just as with the other object pieces, the repetition will really help things along I think.
I plan on sending out a note tomorrow that asks parents to send black shirts/black pants and brown/black shoes with their child to rehearsal. I sent a note out today reminding families of the practices on the 4th and 7th, as well as a reminder about the strike on the 10th and the Cast Party provided by the park.
I think I need to start pulling away from the students now-perhaps tomorrow I will talk to them (at least the older high schoolers) about giving out notes. I think that I may be stepping to much into their scenes now, and I needto start pulling myself away and giving them the show.
The lights are coming along quite nicely. The rest of the tech team is also stepping into a run crew role, and starting to do the scene changes on their own (although, with a prompt from me as they have no scripts) which is helping the younger ones get into a rhythm as well. My stage manager (the one that will be calling the show as opposed to the other stage manager who will be supervising back stage) will be here for the rest of rehearsals/show runs, which will be a comfort to have.
The reality of tech week is slowly encroaching on me...although I am quite proud of my students and think that they have created a spectacular show, I am a little nervous...perhaps it is about letting go of the control of the show, perhaps a little nervous that I may have missed something...I am not sure. I have been reassured that I have a good show, but its all a little nerve racking nonetheless.
The students are starting to get a little over zealous now. For the Mob Song, I have pulled roughly 15 different false weapons that I have designated first to the male students, and then to a few select mature girls. Before they were even within eye-sight I explained, VERY clearly, that I had a no tolerance policy for false-play or joking around with the fake weapons. Unfortunately, I had a student who did not pay attention to my warnings, and I removed his prop after today's rehearsal. I think the fact that I actually did take the toy axe away from the student made the other students realize as well the severity of what I had said, and I don't think anyone will be fooling around with them again.
I am hoping to finalize one scene tomorrow, and then I would like to continue with my run-throughs of the show. I have been doing several mini-run throughs, planning on running right through as much as I can and stopping when I hit a trouble spot to work it for a while. However, tomorrow I think I will begin my pull-back, and other than working the Battle scene with the younger boys, I think I will run all the way through and try my best to sit put in my chair and see how they do without me.
More later!
Yesterday marked the first sighting of our tremendous costumes! My costumer managed to find three different rental companies to work with, all of which have some amazing work :) One of which is a smaller theatrical group in town (affiliated with the private school) that offered us the use of their costumes for free if we advertised for them in the program. From them we were able to procure children's "villager" costumes, which worked out really well! Although we didn't have quite enough for everyone to go around, for the rest (which thankfully were all boys) we simply asked them to bring a white dress shirt and brown/black pants from home with brown/black shoes.
Several of the larger "object" pieces came as well today, including the wardrobe, Mrs. Potts, Lumiere and Babette. I've asked each of them to begin practicing in costume for the rest of rehearsals, as these costumes are much more difficult to manage than your average costume! The students have done well, but I think the extra repititions will really help make the acting a lot smoother.
The other costumes are set to arrive (hopefully!) tomorrow afternoon, so that we will have the whole tech week to work with them.
We also worked with many of the chorus "Be Our Guest" pieces, including the spoons/knives/plates/etc. I would have preferred to have them sooner, but having them for at least two days before tech week is wonderful. The students are definitely not used to them, but just as with the other object pieces, the repetition will really help things along I think.
I plan on sending out a note tomorrow that asks parents to send black shirts/black pants and brown/black shoes with their child to rehearsal. I sent a note out today reminding families of the practices on the 4th and 7th, as well as a reminder about the strike on the 10th and the Cast Party provided by the park.
I think I need to start pulling away from the students now-perhaps tomorrow I will talk to them (at least the older high schoolers) about giving out notes. I think that I may be stepping to much into their scenes now, and I needto start pulling myself away and giving them the show.
The lights are coming along quite nicely. The rest of the tech team is also stepping into a run crew role, and starting to do the scene changes on their own (although, with a prompt from me as they have no scripts) which is helping the younger ones get into a rhythm as well. My stage manager (the one that will be calling the show as opposed to the other stage manager who will be supervising back stage) will be here for the rest of rehearsals/show runs, which will be a comfort to have.
The reality of tech week is slowly encroaching on me...although I am quite proud of my students and think that they have created a spectacular show, I am a little nervous...perhaps it is about letting go of the control of the show, perhaps a little nervous that I may have missed something...I am not sure. I have been reassured that I have a good show, but its all a little nerve racking nonetheless.
The students are starting to get a little over zealous now. For the Mob Song, I have pulled roughly 15 different false weapons that I have designated first to the male students, and then to a few select mature girls. Before they were even within eye-sight I explained, VERY clearly, that I had a no tolerance policy for false-play or joking around with the fake weapons. Unfortunately, I had a student who did not pay attention to my warnings, and I removed his prop after today's rehearsal. I think the fact that I actually did take the toy axe away from the student made the other students realize as well the severity of what I had said, and I don't think anyone will be fooling around with them again.
I am hoping to finalize one scene tomorrow, and then I would like to continue with my run-throughs of the show. I have been doing several mini-run throughs, planning on running right through as much as I can and stopping when I hit a trouble spot to work it for a while. However, tomorrow I think I will begin my pull-back, and other than working the Battle scene with the younger boys, I think I will run all the way through and try my best to sit put in my chair and see how they do without me.
More later!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
June 28
(It's been a while as well as hectic...)
Today marks the second day into the last week of rehearsal before tech week!!!!!
SO much has been accomplished in the last few days...towards the end of last week it became apparent that my actor on wheels needed railings to help him get up the ramps on either sides of the set. Thanks, once again, to my awesome parent volunteers, those were able to go up this weekend, and the actor is now in full swing!
I have noticed, rather unfortunately, that the students have begun to develop a knack for tuning out what I have to say the SECOND after I am done speaking. Perhaps this is a misgiving on my part, and maybe I am not communicating as effectively as I could, but I have noticed a trend that more often than not the students know that since the techies working on the set or backstage are allowed to talk that they find it easier to get away with chatting amongst themselves if they feel like it can be disguised as techies talking for necessity. I HAVE noticed, in the past few days, however, that if I reward their work on stage that they talk less...I find this very interesting.
I think, also, that they become rather bored just sitting backstage/in the audience waiting for their turn on stage. While I give many of them the option of going to play a theatrical game with one of the stage managers, many would rather stay and watch the show or have entrances soon. So, it becomes a problem of how do I occupy them when I cannot send them out of the room? I have yet to actually answer this question.
The students have REALLY delved into their characters lately. One actor in particular presented me with a rather extensive character analysis, using several different methods and including the work of several other actors as well. Ever since the off-book date from the last post, I have been able to delve deeper into the story and really work out some details and deeper work.
I have been told by my students that they really enjoy my directing style...this made me feel beyond incredible :) One more big checkmark next to the reasons why I love what I am doing and hope to do it forever!
I have had two students drop the show at the last minute unexpectedly in the past few days, both for different reasons. Although I have had students drop the show earlier on, I have never had one leave so close to opening. So, again, another learning experience for me (as well as for the students who now have to accommodate for their now absent cast member).
I have chosen, because of absences, to cast two understudies. Both of which, have been an amazing find! Each of the students has taken their roles as understudies very seriously and put a lot of hard work into their added responsibilities. Today I was able to see them both in their roles, and each of them has had only a few days to put it all together, and they really surprised me with how much they've already learned. It kind of makes me wish I had another role to give them too, because they've more than done the work to deserve it!
I have been told that I will have costumes tomorrow. Apparently a good majority of them were picked up today, and the rest will be in on the 4th. I'd like to be able to have more time with them in their costumes because they are large object pieces, but because of renting them a week at a time, the budget simply does not allow for it. So, we will do our best with the time that we have!
The set is (with the exception of one small piece) complete! Other than needing to paint the library/fireplace flat and attaching one more backing flat, we are done! I cannot wait to see it all come together! :)
We have begun to run through the show as much as possible. Although I do some stops and starts, at least I can have this week to do much tweaking and allow the students to fall into a routine of how the show will function on the "big day".
We are having a large group of children come in to see the show the morning before opening night. While they have been promised the entire show, in the future I would like to show them only half the show (since they are seeing it for free) and that way it would encourage them to come back and see the rest of it later on that evening. Again, things I would do differently if I were to do this once more,
That's all for now-more to come later!
Today marks the second day into the last week of rehearsal before tech week!!!!!
SO much has been accomplished in the last few days...towards the end of last week it became apparent that my actor on wheels needed railings to help him get up the ramps on either sides of the set. Thanks, once again, to my awesome parent volunteers, those were able to go up this weekend, and the actor is now in full swing!
I have noticed, rather unfortunately, that the students have begun to develop a knack for tuning out what I have to say the SECOND after I am done speaking. Perhaps this is a misgiving on my part, and maybe I am not communicating as effectively as I could, but I have noticed a trend that more often than not the students know that since the techies working on the set or backstage are allowed to talk that they find it easier to get away with chatting amongst themselves if they feel like it can be disguised as techies talking for necessity. I HAVE noticed, in the past few days, however, that if I reward their work on stage that they talk less...I find this very interesting.
I think, also, that they become rather bored just sitting backstage/in the audience waiting for their turn on stage. While I give many of them the option of going to play a theatrical game with one of the stage managers, many would rather stay and watch the show or have entrances soon. So, it becomes a problem of how do I occupy them when I cannot send them out of the room? I have yet to actually answer this question.
The students have REALLY delved into their characters lately. One actor in particular presented me with a rather extensive character analysis, using several different methods and including the work of several other actors as well. Ever since the off-book date from the last post, I have been able to delve deeper into the story and really work out some details and deeper work.
I have been told by my students that they really enjoy my directing style...this made me feel beyond incredible :) One more big checkmark next to the reasons why I love what I am doing and hope to do it forever!
I have had two students drop the show at the last minute unexpectedly in the past few days, both for different reasons. Although I have had students drop the show earlier on, I have never had one leave so close to opening. So, again, another learning experience for me (as well as for the students who now have to accommodate for their now absent cast member).
I have chosen, because of absences, to cast two understudies. Both of which, have been an amazing find! Each of the students has taken their roles as understudies very seriously and put a lot of hard work into their added responsibilities. Today I was able to see them both in their roles, and each of them has had only a few days to put it all together, and they really surprised me with how much they've already learned. It kind of makes me wish I had another role to give them too, because they've more than done the work to deserve it!
I have been told that I will have costumes tomorrow. Apparently a good majority of them were picked up today, and the rest will be in on the 4th. I'd like to be able to have more time with them in their costumes because they are large object pieces, but because of renting them a week at a time, the budget simply does not allow for it. So, we will do our best with the time that we have!
The set is (with the exception of one small piece) complete! Other than needing to paint the library/fireplace flat and attaching one more backing flat, we are done! I cannot wait to see it all come together! :)
We have begun to run through the show as much as possible. Although I do some stops and starts, at least I can have this week to do much tweaking and allow the students to fall into a routine of how the show will function on the "big day".
We are having a large group of children come in to see the show the morning before opening night. While they have been promised the entire show, in the future I would like to show them only half the show (since they are seeing it for free) and that way it would encourage them to come back and see the rest of it later on that evening. Again, things I would do differently if I were to do this once more,
That's all for now-more to come later!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
June 21-22
TUESDAY (21)
I finally managed to get a more direct understanding of one of my lead's work schedules. Knowing now that she will have to miss many rehearsals, I cast an understudy. I now have two understudies for two different lead roles, which is apparently a really exciting experience for both girls. Each of them is proud to have not 3, but now 4 roles to play in the show!
Having so many chorus members meant I had a choice-I could have split all of them into about 6 different groups, one for each of the choral numbers of the show. However, I decided to make sure that each of them was in at least 4 of the numbers (making sure they were all in the first number and the last, and splitting up the younger ones to be in either one of the 2 groups or the other and having the older chorus members in all 6) It also means that more often than not, I have a LOT of students working on one number at a time, and it makes me extremely thankful for the large auditorium that I have to use. I had forgotten just how big that stage was, after working in the Wells Theatre at Monmouth for the past dozen shows or so, and it was a pleasant surprise.
The large stage allowed me to have a much more straightforward set design. I was able to use the front half of the stage for a majority of the scenes, including the village, the tavern, and the forest, and I used the second half of the stage to have a stationary platform for the castle. This way, I do not have to move the 16 foot wide platform, and could simply open the curtain to reveal the bigger, more elaborate set piece.
WEDNESDAY
I'm not sure if I will come to regret this decision or not, but I have decided to work my rehearsals, as much as possible, around the availability of my actress with the work scheduling issues. I have understudied her, but I still want to make sure that I give her every opportunity to perform her given role.
Set construction, with the extremely generous help of my own family and friends as well as that of those of the cast, has made great progress in the last few days. As of now, we have to attach and paint the backing platforms of the castle, make and attach the ramps, and finish painting a few details on the periactoids before we'll be DONE with the set!! Which is extremely exciting!
We have pulled all of the props needed for the show-I only have to acquire a glass cover for the rose and find a way to make it stand up in the casing, which, if I create a false bottom shouldn't be too much of a problem.
We are meeting at 4:30 today to hopefully finish some more set construction as well as again tomorrow after rehearsal gets out. I am beginning to get more and more excited! Only 2 and a half weeks until opening night!
I finally managed to get a more direct understanding of one of my lead's work schedules. Knowing now that she will have to miss many rehearsals, I cast an understudy. I now have two understudies for two different lead roles, which is apparently a really exciting experience for both girls. Each of them is proud to have not 3, but now 4 roles to play in the show!
Having so many chorus members meant I had a choice-I could have split all of them into about 6 different groups, one for each of the choral numbers of the show. However, I decided to make sure that each of them was in at least 4 of the numbers (making sure they were all in the first number and the last, and splitting up the younger ones to be in either one of the 2 groups or the other and having the older chorus members in all 6) It also means that more often than not, I have a LOT of students working on one number at a time, and it makes me extremely thankful for the large auditorium that I have to use. I had forgotten just how big that stage was, after working in the Wells Theatre at Monmouth for the past dozen shows or so, and it was a pleasant surprise.
The large stage allowed me to have a much more straightforward set design. I was able to use the front half of the stage for a majority of the scenes, including the village, the tavern, and the forest, and I used the second half of the stage to have a stationary platform for the castle. This way, I do not have to move the 16 foot wide platform, and could simply open the curtain to reveal the bigger, more elaborate set piece.
WEDNESDAY
I'm not sure if I will come to regret this decision or not, but I have decided to work my rehearsals, as much as possible, around the availability of my actress with the work scheduling issues. I have understudied her, but I still want to make sure that I give her every opportunity to perform her given role.
Set construction, with the extremely generous help of my own family and friends as well as that of those of the cast, has made great progress in the last few days. As of now, we have to attach and paint the backing platforms of the castle, make and attach the ramps, and finish painting a few details on the periactoids before we'll be DONE with the set!! Which is extremely exciting!
We have pulled all of the props needed for the show-I only have to acquire a glass cover for the rose and find a way to make it stand up in the casing, which, if I create a false bottom shouldn't be too much of a problem.
We are meeting at 4:30 today to hopefully finish some more set construction as well as again tomorrow after rehearsal gets out. I am beginning to get more and more excited! Only 2 and a half weeks until opening night!
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