I'm Mason, and I'm working on Violet, a musical by Jeanine Tesori (composer, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Shrek the Musical) Brian Crawley (librettist), and based off Doris Betts' short story "The Ugliest Pilgrim". Violet is the 1960's story of Violet Karl travelling via Greyhound from her home of Spruce Pine, North Carolina to Tulsa, Oklahoma to a televangelist to heal her scarred face. On the way she meets with various people on and off the bus including two soldiers named Flick (a black sergeant) and Monty (a white paratrooper), both of whom she loves and whom love her in very different way. This production is at North Hennepin Community College with theatre director Mike Ricci, and I'll be playing Monty.
Rehearsal actually started on the 2nd with a meet-and-greet along with a listen to the soundtrack, but I couldn't get there due to the weather. So my first day of rehearsal was the beginning of music, which we will solely look at for the first 3 weeks of rehearsal, and with the cast being 9 total I was placed into several of the ensemble pieces.
I'm not from a choir or band background, and I've only done a few musicals as the one role who doesn't sing (i.e. Lewis in Pippin), but I've done enough musicals to know Tesori composed incredibly complex music; 4-6 part harmonies throughout on individual lines spanning over 2 octaves, 2-4 key and time signature changes in nearly every song, all with Carolina accents for 2 hours. On top of this, most of the rehearsal time is sight-reading right now, another area I'm woefully undeveloped in.
My goal is to not lose my voice
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: Final update (super super super delayed)
So about the time I stopped blogging was when I was opening 4-5 mornings at the coffee shop every week on top of rehearsals almost every night that went to 10/10:30p. Kids, get sleep while you can. You quickly learn naps are amazing. Between costuming, doing shots of espresso, and running the show constantly I did survive and now will conclude my blog for the show.
Rehearsals went really well. I was constantly learning and being pushed by my director and scene partners to play, to relax, to discover. Angie Toomsen was one of the best directors I've ever worked with. People were off book about two weeks before we went up. It was quite a while past the date we were supposed to have lines down. However, not everyone had worked with Shakespeare, so it was a bit more understandable. By the time the show went up, the cast was spot on with lines and characters.
I was in charge of costuming the show, and we had about half of the costumes the week before tech. I found out then that our photographer would be coming to get pictures Sunday night (1st tech night). Even though I was "costume designer", it was very much a collaborative on the parts of both Angie and I with a lot of communication. I could tell she was super busy ad stressed, so I offered to take the credit card with my measurements sheets and scour a couple theatres and second hand shops in Iowa City. Mission success!! There were a lot of pieces that had to be altered, mainly dresses for the women. 1960 had a pretty specific style of dress and length of skirt, so I tried to alter the dresses to fit that time. In the end, there were some influences of the 40's, and my character pushed the envelope with a later 60's style. I felt the show show turned out to be very cohesive, though. Angie and the rest of 4th Room Theatre were all super happy with the outcome. I heard very positive comments every night about the costumes as well.
Tech week was crazy - aren't they always? I was at the theatre every night between 5 and 5:30 to check costumes, help set up lights, get ready, and warm up before the show started at 7p. It was a long one and ran till about 10:15. being an outdoor show, the weather really affected us on nights. If is was muggy, it was hard to bring energy up. We had a couple cooler nights and that first weekend was beautiful. I found that a small cup of coffee before the show was a good idea. Tuesday night of tech, Angie told us to surprise her with something within our character's world. She really wanted to push us to play. So if we upped the stakes, she and Kevin would cook a steak for the winner. maybe not the best tactic ever, but it must have worked. We all came the next day with energy and life in our characters. It was fun seeing and hearing what people were doing.
The run of the show went well. We performed all the shows that first weekend, and all were successful. I felt like we were telling a story, and though it was the same one, it was a little different every night. It had life. Everything was beautiful: setting of the house as a backdrop, costumes, the words spoken. Everyone who came loved the show. We were a little cheated on our second weekend, though we did perform our final show. Thursday was cancelled because of the rain. Friday was cancelled because of an event at the nearby football stadium we had not been told about, even though we had asked multiple times. We wouldn't have been able to compete with the noise of 5000 freshman, the marching band, and fireworks at 9p. It was frustrating, but our show Sat night made up for it. The audience was packed in, and super vibrant and responsive. In the end, an extremely successful run. I could not be prouder or more honored to be a part of this production. Angie's direction, passion, and pushing in combination with a hard-working cast made for a wonderful show.
That being said, some things I learned (by no means a complete list):
1. The combination of theatre and working an almost full-time job is super rough. Especially when you're up till 11:30/midnight and then up at 4:30a to open a coffee shop. Caffeine became my friend this summer (starting to see a worrying trend here...). With that in mind, I feel like I got a taste of the real world. You have to be super passionate about theatre to do this while also having another job so as to make a living. It's not easy. I talked to people last KCACTF, and Foss shared stories as well. But until I actually did a bit of that myself, I didn't realize how draining it is. And yet at the same time, it's amazing. I'm exhausted in every way possible, but I'm doing something I love with a bunch of great people.
2. Taking initiative, working hard, and pulling your own weight make you stand out. Because of what I gave to the show, I've made huge connections with the members of 4th Room. Angie constantly praised the work I put into the show. They all want me to come back next summer and work with them again. And if I don't have an out-of-state internship lined up, I probably will. It was an incredible experience.
3. If doing costumes again, start early. You can't start early enough. Get measurements asap, even if that means catching a cast member on lunch break. Also, make a list of everything you obtain as you get it and where it comes from. The last night of the show I was putting a list of where each costume was supposed to go (whether bought or from a theatre), and was racking my brain trying to remember some of it. So document everything.
4. Keep a rehearsal journal with notes, discoveries, character sketches, fun stuff that happens, anything. It's a good tool to have and also fun to look back on.
5. Have fun. Play. Discover. Create. Know no bounds. Don't let fear or the need of perfection hold you back some possibly achieving something wonderful. Rehearsals are meant to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.
In conclusion, this summer was amazing. It went by all too fast, but a lot of good things happened. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I will keep the experience and knowledge I gained while working in Much Ado close beside me as I continue along this path I call life.
Rehearsals went really well. I was constantly learning and being pushed by my director and scene partners to play, to relax, to discover. Angie Toomsen was one of the best directors I've ever worked with. People were off book about two weeks before we went up. It was quite a while past the date we were supposed to have lines down. However, not everyone had worked with Shakespeare, so it was a bit more understandable. By the time the show went up, the cast was spot on with lines and characters.
I was in charge of costuming the show, and we had about half of the costumes the week before tech. I found out then that our photographer would be coming to get pictures Sunday night (1st tech night). Even though I was "costume designer", it was very much a collaborative on the parts of both Angie and I with a lot of communication. I could tell she was super busy ad stressed, so I offered to take the credit card with my measurements sheets and scour a couple theatres and second hand shops in Iowa City. Mission success!! There were a lot of pieces that had to be altered, mainly dresses for the women. 1960 had a pretty specific style of dress and length of skirt, so I tried to alter the dresses to fit that time. In the end, there were some influences of the 40's, and my character pushed the envelope with a later 60's style. I felt the show show turned out to be very cohesive, though. Angie and the rest of 4th Room Theatre were all super happy with the outcome. I heard very positive comments every night about the costumes as well.
Tech week was crazy - aren't they always? I was at the theatre every night between 5 and 5:30 to check costumes, help set up lights, get ready, and warm up before the show started at 7p. It was a long one and ran till about 10:15. being an outdoor show, the weather really affected us on nights. If is was muggy, it was hard to bring energy up. We had a couple cooler nights and that first weekend was beautiful. I found that a small cup of coffee before the show was a good idea. Tuesday night of tech, Angie told us to surprise her with something within our character's world. She really wanted to push us to play. So if we upped the stakes, she and Kevin would cook a steak for the winner. maybe not the best tactic ever, but it must have worked. We all came the next day with energy and life in our characters. It was fun seeing and hearing what people were doing.
The run of the show went well. We performed all the shows that first weekend, and all were successful. I felt like we were telling a story, and though it was the same one, it was a little different every night. It had life. Everything was beautiful: setting of the house as a backdrop, costumes, the words spoken. Everyone who came loved the show. We were a little cheated on our second weekend, though we did perform our final show. Thursday was cancelled because of the rain. Friday was cancelled because of an event at the nearby football stadium we had not been told about, even though we had asked multiple times. We wouldn't have been able to compete with the noise of 5000 freshman, the marching band, and fireworks at 9p. It was frustrating, but our show Sat night made up for it. The audience was packed in, and super vibrant and responsive. In the end, an extremely successful run. I could not be prouder or more honored to be a part of this production. Angie's direction, passion, and pushing in combination with a hard-working cast made for a wonderful show.
That being said, some things I learned (by no means a complete list):
1. The combination of theatre and working an almost full-time job is super rough. Especially when you're up till 11:30/midnight and then up at 4:30a to open a coffee shop. Caffeine became my friend this summer (starting to see a worrying trend here...). With that in mind, I feel like I got a taste of the real world. You have to be super passionate about theatre to do this while also having another job so as to make a living. It's not easy. I talked to people last KCACTF, and Foss shared stories as well. But until I actually did a bit of that myself, I didn't realize how draining it is. And yet at the same time, it's amazing. I'm exhausted in every way possible, but I'm doing something I love with a bunch of great people.
2. Taking initiative, working hard, and pulling your own weight make you stand out. Because of what I gave to the show, I've made huge connections with the members of 4th Room. Angie constantly praised the work I put into the show. They all want me to come back next summer and work with them again. And if I don't have an out-of-state internship lined up, I probably will. It was an incredible experience.
3. If doing costumes again, start early. You can't start early enough. Get measurements asap, even if that means catching a cast member on lunch break. Also, make a list of everything you obtain as you get it and where it comes from. The last night of the show I was putting a list of where each costume was supposed to go (whether bought or from a theatre), and was racking my brain trying to remember some of it. So document everything.
4. Keep a rehearsal journal with notes, discoveries, character sketches, fun stuff that happens, anything. It's a good tool to have and also fun to look back on.
5. Have fun. Play. Discover. Create. Know no bounds. Don't let fear or the need of perfection hold you back some possibly achieving something wonderful. Rehearsals are meant to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.
In conclusion, this summer was amazing. It went by all too fast, but a lot of good things happened. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I will keep the experience and knowledge I gained while working in Much Ado close beside me as I continue along this path I call life.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Blind Sculpture Project Pt.II
Following my time in Chicago, I returned to Ames to continue working on the music for The Blind Sculpture Project. I've been using Logic Pro to manipulate and edit the sound clips. The microphone on my laptop works incredibly well, and (as of right now) the extent of the internship was to create the recurring theme within the play which my current hardware handles well enough. Oddly enough, some of the preliminary recordings include the sound of traffic from cars outside which only seemed to enhance the ambiance of the track.
Logic Pro has a number of different "guitar pedals" which adds distortion to any sound that travels through the computer's microphone. Each track follows sculpture-inspired poetry, and each track needed to reflect that feeling. Using a metal sheet, I was able to distort sounds to create an echoing clang behind a distorted violin melody. The ukulele becomes a powerful source of sound with added reverb, along with heavy distortion, and it becomes the central instrument to provide orchestration for several sections.
The internship was relatively short compared to the ongoing project. I will continue to work on the play as a whole and, over time, adjust the music as needed.
Logic Pro has a number of different "guitar pedals" which adds distortion to any sound that travels through the computer's microphone. Each track follows sculpture-inspired poetry, and each track needed to reflect that feeling. Using a metal sheet, I was able to distort sounds to create an echoing clang behind a distorted violin melody. The ukulele becomes a powerful source of sound with added reverb, along with heavy distortion, and it becomes the central instrument to provide orchestration for several sections.
The internship was relatively short compared to the ongoing project. I will continue to work on the play as a whole and, over time, adjust the music as needed.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
How To Succeed, debrief
It's now several weeks later, and my time away has given me perspective. Was it an artistically charged and groundbreaking theatrical experience, and did I grow as an artist? Other than having a greater appreciation of trained craft and the chance to practice observing scenes from a passive character role, not especially.
But.
As I mentioned in my first post, I've been slowly gaining an awareness of the community at large and what it means to operate for that community. It's good hard work to make a play you love come up, but it's a much more complicated work understanding what an audience will accept and love. The risks for a single production have much higher consequences within a community theater in comparison to a collegiate theater, and choosing a season is one of the most challenging risks.
Another is the importance of community within a production. I realized how much excited I wasn't bringing to productions when surrounded by a tightly-knit cast excited to have fun with each other and play around on stage. It was an eye-slapping moment to find out how jaded I had become.
I became more aware due to my experience in How to Succeed in Business of not only my role as an element in a play but of the play's role as an element of the community, both inside and outside a production.
But.
As I mentioned in my first post, I've been slowly gaining an awareness of the community at large and what it means to operate for that community. It's good hard work to make a play you love come up, but it's a much more complicated work understanding what an audience will accept and love. The risks for a single production have much higher consequences within a community theater in comparison to a collegiate theater, and choosing a season is one of the most challenging risks.
Another is the importance of community within a production. I realized how much excited I wasn't bringing to productions when surrounded by a tightly-knit cast excited to have fun with each other and play around on stage. It was an eye-slapping moment to find out how jaded I had become.
I became more aware due to my experience in How to Succeed in Business of not only my role as an element in a play but of the play's role as an element of the community, both inside and outside a production.
How To Succeed, the production
Cast in the ensemble, we began rehearsals in the April 21st and went until June 12th. Aside from fellow ISU students joining the cast were several regulars of Actors within both the cast and crew I've worked with: I was in a very familiar and comfortable environment. During this time we worked very closely with the music director and choreographer as well as the artistic director to learn (and retool) the music and staging for each scene. No surprises, but what's different from working in ISU is the absence of time spent on script analysis or table work. I suspect this connects with Actors' season philosophy of choosing shows with high community acceptance, which could be harder to sustain if they chose shows complex or difficult enough to demand table work.
Rather, How to Succeed felt like a manufactured machine in its efficiency and pragmatism. Rehearsals were scheduled down to 30-45 minute blocks and organized to dismiss cast members quickly, off-score and off-book dates were announced soon after casting, and there was frequent reminders from the production team to not fool around. I feel this is a very strong reaction against last year's musical, Pippin: while not a poor show run, the production process was, in nearly every aspect, horrendously inefficient and stressful to the point many cast and crew weren't treated respectfully. Fearing this, I feel H$2's mission statement was to avoid these mistakes with significant preplanning and constant communication from the director and producers (who at Actors also function as rehearsal stage managers). The director's previous experience as an IBM auditor definitely came in to play (ha). Rehearsals went smoothly and we met all deadlines along with having time to retool the blocking choices (IBM didn't help there), and while the constant reminders to keep focused (regardless of said focus) were dulling we were treated professionally.
The cast of actors was a mix of ISU Theatre students, Actors regulars, and a surprising amount of theatrically inexperienced people. This composition resulted in a solid performance foundation with plenty of neophyte exuberance and a desire to have fun, which was very appreciated after such a work-intensive spring semester. Frequent food donations and planning for cast parties, show quotes and puns shared, and an overall strong camaraderie within and for the show was more prevalent than any other show I've worked on. While sometimes a little put off by their verve, I'm still impressed by how strongly a show that we at ISU could call simple can succeed so well in creating an ensemble. While the crew was unfortunately very removed from rehearsals for the most part, once we began seeing them more frequently towards tech week they were included in the fold.
We opened the show on June 13th for a three weekend sold-out run, one of the highest grossing shows Actors has done in 20 years. The show was a near 3-hour behemoth that always ended sweaty and exhausted, but much of the audience took the time to congratulate the cast on specific highlights for them (they especially appreciated Carter Roeske looking like someone about to have a nervous breakdown in the background), and was overall a well received show for crew and audience.
Rather, How to Succeed felt like a manufactured machine in its efficiency and pragmatism. Rehearsals were scheduled down to 30-45 minute blocks and organized to dismiss cast members quickly, off-score and off-book dates were announced soon after casting, and there was frequent reminders from the production team to not fool around. I feel this is a very strong reaction against last year's musical, Pippin: while not a poor show run, the production process was, in nearly every aspect, horrendously inefficient and stressful to the point many cast and crew weren't treated respectfully. Fearing this, I feel H$2's mission statement was to avoid these mistakes with significant preplanning and constant communication from the director and producers (who at Actors also function as rehearsal stage managers). The director's previous experience as an IBM auditor definitely came in to play (ha). Rehearsals went smoothly and we met all deadlines along with having time to retool the blocking choices (IBM didn't help there), and while the constant reminders to keep focused (regardless of said focus) were dulling we were treated professionally.
The cast of actors was a mix of ISU Theatre students, Actors regulars, and a surprising amount of theatrically inexperienced people. This composition resulted in a solid performance foundation with plenty of neophyte exuberance and a desire to have fun, which was very appreciated after such a work-intensive spring semester. Frequent food donations and planning for cast parties, show quotes and puns shared, and an overall strong camaraderie within and for the show was more prevalent than any other show I've worked on. While sometimes a little put off by their verve, I'm still impressed by how strongly a show that we at ISU could call simple can succeed so well in creating an ensemble. While the crew was unfortunately very removed from rehearsals for the most part, once we began seeing them more frequently towards tech week they were included in the fold.
We opened the show on June 13th for a three weekend sold-out run, one of the highest grossing shows Actors has done in 20 years. The show was a near 3-hour behemoth that always ended sweaty and exhausted, but much of the audience took the time to congratulate the cast on specific highlights for them (they especially appreciated Carter Roeske looking like someone about to have a nervous breakdown in the background), and was overall a well received show for crew and audience.
Friday, August 8, 2014
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, going in
Hello all!
I've been cast as an ensemble singer-dancer in Actors Community Theater's production of "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" back in early May. While I find it slightly ironic my internship is in one of my lowest-involvement projects since I started in the major two years ago, it's already presented a great opportunity to sit back and learn from an outside-ish perspective.
Little bit about me and Actors: this will be my 8th show there since I started in 2012. I've gotten to become friendly with most of the board of directors and the regular contributors, and during my previous stints I've been an actor, set designer, lights operator, assistant director/stage manager, constructor, painter, usher, and once went in a blue ruffle suit to the Women's Convention for publicity. Other than having the chance to indulge in technical and backstage theatre, I've learned about what community actually means in community theater.
Community theater isn't educational theater in that it's not about the cast/crew's experience but the audience's: this may seem complimentary to what we're taught how important the audience is at ISU, but we worry more about the 'ethics and aesthetics' and 'successful failures'. ISU can operate that way since we're only minutely funded by ticket sales, but Actors' grants and sponsorships don't adequately cover the overhead cost to ignore financial decisions when making creative ones. This means they have to pick shows balanced between popular with crowds and cheap on copyright, scout out and depend on regulars to carry productions well ahead of season announcements, and repurpose and maximize technical design efficiency for the convenience of the few designers frequently available and low quantity/quality of set pieces. Another thing is that anyone on the board of directors can helm a show, which means in the eight shows I've done I've only worked with one director twice; the huge amount of directors available means you experience vastly different mindsets, personalities, and competencies of directors that requires you to adapt to a new theatre relationship show by show. As such, what I've learned from Actors is less about theatrical technique and more about working with opposing people and developing a relationship with the community.
So I auditioned and entered into "How to Succeed"...
I've been cast as an ensemble singer-dancer in Actors Community Theater's production of "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" back in early May. While I find it slightly ironic my internship is in one of my lowest-involvement projects since I started in the major two years ago, it's already presented a great opportunity to sit back and learn from an outside-ish perspective.
Little bit about me and Actors: this will be my 8th show there since I started in 2012. I've gotten to become friendly with most of the board of directors and the regular contributors, and during my previous stints I've been an actor, set designer, lights operator, assistant director/stage manager, constructor, painter, usher, and once went in a blue ruffle suit to the Women's Convention for publicity. Other than having the chance to indulge in technical and backstage theatre, I've learned about what community actually means in community theater.
Community theater isn't educational theater in that it's not about the cast/crew's experience but the audience's: this may seem complimentary to what we're taught how important the audience is at ISU, but we worry more about the 'ethics and aesthetics' and 'successful failures'. ISU can operate that way since we're only minutely funded by ticket sales, but Actors' grants and sponsorships don't adequately cover the overhead cost to ignore financial decisions when making creative ones. This means they have to pick shows balanced between popular with crowds and cheap on copyright, scout out and depend on regulars to carry productions well ahead of season announcements, and repurpose and maximize technical design efficiency for the convenience of the few designers frequently available and low quantity/quality of set pieces. Another thing is that anyone on the board of directors can helm a show, which means in the eight shows I've done I've only worked with one director twice; the huge amount of directors available means you experience vastly different mindsets, personalities, and competencies of directors that requires you to adapt to a new theatre relationship show by show. As such, what I've learned from Actors is less about theatrical technique and more about working with opposing people and developing a relationship with the community.
So I auditioned and entered into "How to Succeed"...
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Much Ado About Nothing: it's looking like a show!
A lot of things were accomplished this past week with the show, and it's starting to look like one now. People are either off book or close to being so. I'm getting costumes finalized with the director. Everyone is delving into their characters and having fun (at least they are when it's not 90+ degrees during an outside rehearsal).
Monday was hard core scene work with one of my scenes (1:3). It was the first time Angie had Kevin and I work it since Matt came in for the Shakespeare workshop. She had us go through it once, then asked us questions and gave us things to think about. We then broke the scene down and went through it again. After that, she broke it down even further, and we went line by line to find the emphasis, juicy words, inflection, meaning, etc. It was great - I love digging into a text like that and really understanding it. I feel that it's important too, especially for Shakespeare. So Kevin and I worked out that scene. Then I worked a bit with Gavin on 3:3. At this point, I feel that the latter is the weaker one of the two. Kevin is easy to play with and try new things. It's different with Gavin. I don't want to arrive at a "rehearsed" feeling, but I'm not sure how to keep playing when my partner does the same thing almost every time. At least it's making me think about my own acting, and how I can be a good scene partner to others. Oh - and it was extremely buggy outside on Monday.
Wednesday was a later call time, and the cast worked through 2:1. It's the masked ball scene. Choreography had already been started, so we reviewed and taught the people who hadn't been there the first time. We then worked it from the top of the scene up until where we had stopped the dance. Angie is pleased with how that's looking, so it's encouraging. Note to self: whatever costumes the cast is wearing during that scene need to be moveable and comfortable.
Saturday was our longest day yet. Since we're performing our show outside, we had to build the stage. Fourth Room Theatre still had their platforms from last year, but we needed to raise them to specific heights: 16", 12", and 8". We met a little after 9a and brought everything out of the barn, then spent 1.5 hours screwing the legs on and positioning the platforms for the show. It's going to be really neat. I had an idea of angling a couple of the platforms, so they weren't flush edge-on-edge, and Angie really liked the look. We had a bit of a break and then were back for rehearsal at 12:30. Fawn worked through the remaining choreography for the dance, then taught Kevin and I a bit for our scene together. It really adds to our characters and their relationship. Once Fawn was done with the choreography, we ran the show from the top and got through almost the whole thing. Energy was down because of the work morning, high humidity, and bugs. So the plus side is that we stumbled through. Negative side is that it wasn't pretty. But I feel that's normal for the first time in the space. And we still have almost 3 weeks till we open. Angie isn't worried from what I can tell.
Today Angie and I met at the Coralville Center for Performing Arts to look through City Circle's costumes. We've gotten a lot figured out already with the items she pulled from Iowa City Community Theatre. We went in looking for some specific clothing pieces and accessories and found some ties, gloves, hats, a couple outfits, and shirts. So our collection is growing! It's fun to see everything coming together. I really do love costumes. And vintage pieces make me really happy.
Oh - forgot to say that we've been hanging posters around the area. I took some to North Liberty, and I hope they pique peoples' interests. It's hard, though. I've been brain-storming different marketing and PR things for the show, just because I want people to know we're doing this. I mean, it's not a matter of ticket sales and making the show worth our while. We're doing this for free for the community. We want people to come and have an enjoyable evening. That's why I want so many people to know about this. In working with so many community theatres over the years, I've noticed a lack of good marketing and PR. Maybe I should think about a minor...
Anyway! That's all folks! Until next time,
~ Noel
Monday was hard core scene work with one of my scenes (1:3). It was the first time Angie had Kevin and I work it since Matt came in for the Shakespeare workshop. She had us go through it once, then asked us questions and gave us things to think about. We then broke the scene down and went through it again. After that, she broke it down even further, and we went line by line to find the emphasis, juicy words, inflection, meaning, etc. It was great - I love digging into a text like that and really understanding it. I feel that it's important too, especially for Shakespeare. So Kevin and I worked out that scene. Then I worked a bit with Gavin on 3:3. At this point, I feel that the latter is the weaker one of the two. Kevin is easy to play with and try new things. It's different with Gavin. I don't want to arrive at a "rehearsed" feeling, but I'm not sure how to keep playing when my partner does the same thing almost every time. At least it's making me think about my own acting, and how I can be a good scene partner to others. Oh - and it was extremely buggy outside on Monday.
Wednesday was a later call time, and the cast worked through 2:1. It's the masked ball scene. Choreography had already been started, so we reviewed and taught the people who hadn't been there the first time. We then worked it from the top of the scene up until where we had stopped the dance. Angie is pleased with how that's looking, so it's encouraging. Note to self: whatever costumes the cast is wearing during that scene need to be moveable and comfortable.
Saturday was our longest day yet. Since we're performing our show outside, we had to build the stage. Fourth Room Theatre still had their platforms from last year, but we needed to raise them to specific heights: 16", 12", and 8". We met a little after 9a and brought everything out of the barn, then spent 1.5 hours screwing the legs on and positioning the platforms for the show. It's going to be really neat. I had an idea of angling a couple of the platforms, so they weren't flush edge-on-edge, and Angie really liked the look. We had a bit of a break and then were back for rehearsal at 12:30. Fawn worked through the remaining choreography for the dance, then taught Kevin and I a bit for our scene together. It really adds to our characters and their relationship. Once Fawn was done with the choreography, we ran the show from the top and got through almost the whole thing. Energy was down because of the work morning, high humidity, and bugs. So the plus side is that we stumbled through. Negative side is that it wasn't pretty. But I feel that's normal for the first time in the space. And we still have almost 3 weeks till we open. Angie isn't worried from what I can tell.
Today Angie and I met at the Coralville Center for Performing Arts to look through City Circle's costumes. We've gotten a lot figured out already with the items she pulled from Iowa City Community Theatre. We went in looking for some specific clothing pieces and accessories and found some ties, gloves, hats, a couple outfits, and shirts. So our collection is growing! It's fun to see everything coming together. I really do love costumes. And vintage pieces make me really happy.
Oh - forgot to say that we've been hanging posters around the area. I took some to North Liberty, and I hope they pique peoples' interests. It's hard, though. I've been brain-storming different marketing and PR things for the show, just because I want people to know we're doing this. I mean, it's not a matter of ticket sales and making the show worth our while. We're doing this for free for the community. We want people to come and have an enjoyable evening. That's why I want so many people to know about this. In working with so many community theatres over the years, I've noticed a lack of good marketing and PR. Maybe I should think about a minor...
Anyway! That's all folks! Until next time,
~ Noel
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