Well, dear readers, I’m not quite sure how it happened, but it seems to be the last day of April. How can that be? Weren’t we just being April fools? But, tomorrow is a brand new month called May, and let me just say that it is my fervent hope and prayer that May will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. The update on my voice is – no change – so I still need plenty of those excellent vibes and xylophones. I’m also still feeling very congested and nasally and I need that to go away, too.
Yesterday was a day called Tuesday. I slept until eleven-thirty, a full eleven hours of blessed sleep. I then had to have a little hustle with my bustle, got dressed and went and had some chicken soup and a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich with no fries or onion rings. Then I picked up a couple of packages, then came back home. Then I did some work on the computer, after which I found we’d lost the actor we’d just hired to be Mayor Dawgmeat – he has personal problems that preclude him from continuing. I do wish he’d just said that from the outset, but alas. So, now we are once again on the hunt – we’re looking at some LACC alums who might fit the bill. I want it set by Friday at the absolute latest – in other words, whoever it is must be with us on Friday to get blocked into the show.
I began rehearsal with the ballet. I arrived a little early, came up with some steps to add, then put in the people who hadn’t been with us, and filled out the sparse sections with the new folks, which really helps and it seems more fun now. We ran that a few times, and the company is now getting familiar with the music and that helps them keep count and know exactly where to come in. I think if we keep drilling it, it will just keep getting better and better. The original ballet ran about seven-and-a-half minutes – ours runs just over five and that seems just right for us.
Then I moved on to Rag Offen the Bush – since Kay hasn’t been with us, I wanted to fix some stuff I wasn’t happy with, so I added a couple of new steps (and may add two more new steps today), and cleaned up the patterns and it’s better now. Again, it’s just drilling it over and over again – that’s the only way this stuff will get better. Then I went to the scene that we hadn’t finished, blocking-wise. There were seven additional pages we had to do, including Unnecessary Town and what follows it. So, I blocked that, and having blocked it, the first act is completely done.
Then we moved on to act two – I’d intended to block the little scene that comes before I’m Past My Prime, but our Marryin’ Sam had e-mailed me that he had food poisoning, so that wasn’t possible to block. Instead we began with the scene after it, and went from there all the way up to Put ‘Em Back – we didn’t get to run that number, so we still have to do that and the finale. It’s all blocked of course, but confusion runs rampant because we haven’t run it since.
After rehearsal, I came right home and just tried to relax. Again, my head felt very heavy and I just felt all nasal and congested, but hopefully that will go away today and I’ll be back to rights.
Today, I have stuff to do up until rehearsal, including some liner notes. Our Marryin’ Sam will be there an hour early and we’ll give him the blocking he missed, and then as soon as Daisy Mae gets there, we’ll do a really rough blocking of the little scene we haven’t done, so that they can at least get through it for the designer run. Then, as soon as Sami arrives, we begin the designer run. I have no doubt it will be very rough and tumble, but they’ll get the idea and I’m sure no one will be judging anything. We’re in that horrid place where actors are just off book but asking for “line” every two seconds. But I will have at least an idea of the length of act one – I’m very curious about it. Act two I know will run exactly what it should – I could tell that today – it just zooms from thing to thing, partially because of a small cut I made, and partially because it’s just shorter than act one by a lot.
Tomorrow is our second Kritzerland rehearsal, and when I’m done with that I’ll go directly to LACC. We’ll go back to act one and do another assembly of the show, so people really get used to the way one thing flows into another. Then on Friday we have our long eight-hour day, which will mostly be spent drilling the numbers, blocking but most importantly doing work on the acting of the scenes, where I haven’t really had a chance to be specific. If we do the right work that day, then we should be able to start proper run-throughs on Monday and continue them all through the week. Happily, our platforms will be in by next Tuesday and that’s going to be a huge adjustment for everyone, even though they’re taped out. It’s a whole different ball game actually negotiating them. But once they’re in, I will probably adjust a few things in the group numbers – right now the town numbers and scenes with everyone are all very similar – it was the easiest way to do it, and there’s not a lot else you can do anyway. But once I see how the risers are, I’ll be able to reposition some folks for a cleaner look, at least I think that’s what will work. Saturday is our stumble-through, and Sunday is sound check and show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do things, hopefully pick up some packages, eat, and do a designer run-through, as rough as it may be. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like, and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall hopefully arise feeling no congestion, no nasal feeling and a stronger voice.