Much Ado About Nothing: a fun week

This week has been a whirl-wind of activity for "Much Ado About Nothing". On Monday we worked the opening sequence with a bit of blocking then went into a stumble through of what we're calling Part 1 (Top of the show thru 3:2).  It went better than expected, and Angie was really happy with it.  We were supposed to be off book on Monday, but a few people still need their scripts in rehearsals. It's a bit frustrating, but also understandable. We aren't getting paid for this and many people have families, jobs, other shows, etc. We're still 4 weeks out from the show, so in all, it's looking good.

Angie brought in Matt Weedman (a friend and voice coach/professor) on Wednesday night to talk with us, help us warm up, and give suggestions/tips.  It was wonderful.  He warmed us up vocally and physically first off, then talked about things to do to keep our voices in shape. Hydration, steam, rest, exercise, and avoiding overuse are all important.

We jumped into the text with one of my scenes first off (1:3), and Matt worked with Kevin (Don John), Gavin (Borachio), and me (Conrade). Everything he said reminded me a lot of Matt Foss. I remember him helping me pick an audition monologue for this show, and Foss talking about tasting the words. Matt Weedman didn't use that exact phrasing, but he talked about the words being important. It's so easy to just say a line because that's what supposed to come next. But there needs to be a discovery of that action/thought at the same time. In working with Matt, I realized that I often rush through the text. He encouraged me to slow down and think. Let the ideas come to mind. We also talked about breathing with the whole body - not just the chest or diaphragm. I jotted down notes over the next day and here is a bit of what I wrote to myself:
- Don't be afraid to mess up. Going back to what I wrote about a week ago, I'm was having issues with reverting back to my old habits with acting.  Finding something that worked, then sticking with that instead of exploring and trying new ideas and tactics. That's more following a formula instead of experiencing the moment.  And I want to experience and react to the present situation.
- Remember the sexy verbs and tactics from Brad Dell's Script Analysis class. Use them. Play with them. Try crazy stuff.  There is still 4 weeks of rehearsal.
- Slow down! See the tactic work or not, then retry or move on. Juggle the balls. Let things fall. Time is your friend. Savor the words.
- Enunciate and project, especially since this will be performed outside with all the distractions. If the audience cannot hear the words, then there's no point of them being there.
- Recognize the different thoughts in the text. Don't just say the words. How do the tactics change?
- HAVE FUN!!! Play play play! Stop being so serious and stop trying to do everything right. You're not  perfect, cause nobody is. Loosen up and live in the moment.  As Foss always said "Don't be correct; be excellent." Be adventurous.

Thursday was our first big choreography night.  No, we're not making "Much Ado" into a musical! But there is a party scene in 2:1.  We've set the show in 1960, so there's some great dancing going on as well as some wonderful songs from that year. Fawn Boston-Halter came in and taught us a sort of group party dance. Angie got a video, so I'm sure it'll be up on youtube at some point or a part of a promotional video. I've worked with Fawn before in "Urinetown", and I was more familiar with her style, so it wasn't too hard to catch on.  She's a fast teacher, but she's also very thorough and gives direction easily.

This morning we had a photo shoot for the show.  Angie and I figured out some of the costumes last week, then on Thursday night. We wanted a very early 60's look, and I think we did well. A few of us got to the space at 8am to start on hair and make-up.  Others arrived a bit after, and we started the shoot about 10am. The location was incredible, and we all had a lot of fun. From the excitement of the director, I can assume the pictures turned out really great.

All in all, a good week of rehearsals and stuff getting done.  I'm glad that I realized last week that I was reverting back to old acting habits. That realization coupled with the workshop night with Weedman really helped to encourage me to explore. I'm excited to see what this next week will bring. Until then!
~ Noel