Well, dear readers, we are in the final throes of run-throughs prior to our first preview on Monday night. Frankly, I’m petrified. As Mr. Oscar Hammerstein so aptly put it – we’ve gone about as fer as we can go. It’s now up to the actors to lock in what’s working and fix what’s not working. I keep giving the same notes – we keep working through them – and then, certain things improve, while other things stay the same or get worse. Today, if I have my way, we shall have three complete run-throughs – I’m hoping that will help solidify things. Only time will tell, and frankly, time is keeping its mouth shut right now. Yesterday, I had to get up very early and begin dealing with everything I was ranting about in yesterday’s notes. We got some things straightened out, and a lot of stuff will be happening this morning, prior to our one o’clock start, so that’s good. Then, Tammy’s bro came over and we imported all the video into iMovie and then burned it onto a DVD. Then, Tammy and our actor, Greg, came over and we took a photo of them by the pool, for use on the set. I must say, Tammy looked excellent in her bikini, and the day looked very summery. After that, I headed over to the El Portal. We did a paper tech, and then attended to some other details. At five, my actors arrived and we spent two hours working through notes from the previous evening. Everyone seemed to “get” what was needed, and then at seven we began our first tech. There are only a handful of light cues, and other than adjusting levels and adding some instruments and fixing the opening cue of the show, everything worked just fine. We had most of our sound effects, and, while we didn’t have video (that gets set up this morning), we had the audio from the DVD, so the actors could at least react to that. Tammy’s costume has some problems that have to be fixed today. Some of the things we’d just worked on played very well, while other things just fell flat – partly because of energy problems, partly because people sometimes just zone out on what’s been working and do something that doesn’t work, and partly because the actor who is having the most trouble took five steps backwards. He’s been getting better each night, but last night he just went back to his old bad habits – this is what frightens me most – that he will not be consistent. I stop being nice about all of this as of today. I’ve never yelled, never raised my voice, never done anything but be as helpful as I can be – but, I’m afraid that I’m going to have to do whatever it takes to get the consistency that’s needed. It’s not an easy play – it requires a certain style, a certain energy, a certain focus, and it requires sharpness and expert timing. It veers from comedy to thriller in the bat of an eye, and then it walks a tightrope of laughter and tenseness. Sometimes we get it and it’s great, and sometimes we don’t, and it just sits there like so much fish. It’s not bad, but being middling isn’t something I’m willing to settle for. I do think we need an audience – that will energize everything. The play is mercifully short, so that’s always a plus. And the end of act one is very strong, and that’s always a plus, too. I guess it all boils down to what Doris Day sang so beautifully – Whatever Will Be, Will Be. We shall need all your most excellent vibes and xylophones from now through opening. Send ’em along.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get my beauty rest and then hie myself to the theater for a very long day.
I have gotten weary of having to be tough over the last few days. I don’t enjoy it, and it gives me heartburn. I much prefer to be a nice man, and I’m hoping that everyone does their jobs and that they deliver what’s been promised – then I can be a nice man. Then the nice man cometh.
We’re supposed to resolve the set problem today. I realized we have one other set problem, which I didn’t know would be a problem until I saw the lighting. However, I came up with a simple and easy solution and we’re hoping to have it in place by Sunday. The video projector should be up and running as well, and we now have all our costumes in place. We’re still finessing the sound cues – there is continuous rain falling outside throughout the entire play, so the sound of rain is quietly present from beginning to end (my favorite part of the set is the window out of which we can see pouring rain for the entirety of the play). I’m not so happy with the thunder sound we have, so were having new ones done for tomorrow. We also have to reshoot the video we did the other night; this time with the actor hopefully doing it word-perfect.
Won’t it be nice once the play opens? Then I’ll actually talk about other things again. I also need to eat a decent meal one of these days – it’s been a lot of fast food recently, although yesterday I had some interesting macaroni and cheese (not conventional mac and cheese, but very tasty nonetheless).
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a very long day and evening doing three run-throughs, whilst we try to whip this baby into good enough shape to begin previews. Today’s topic of discussion: What are the wackiest diets you’ve ever been on? What were the most successful? Which were the least successful? Tell us everything about your diets. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and let’s hope I don’t have to be nasty, so that the nice man cometh and so everything can be peachy and perfect.