Well, dear readers, we had our first dress rehearsal and, as first dress rehearsals go, it was mostly pretty damn good. This is the first time the entire show was complete, save for one actor who wasn’t with us. The costumes, which we were all seeing for the first time, were all very good save for a couple of ensemble things we didn’t love and a too plain Abner, and a Daisy Mae that didn’t feel like Daisy Mae enough, so those will be worked on, none of it a major deal. The lighting was very smooth with only a few hiccups. The bigger problems were a couple of quick changes that didn’t happen quickly enough, resulting in a few missed entrances. But like clockwork, even with the hiccups, we ran exactly two hours. Usually at first dress rehearsals, the cast’s timing is not as sharp because of dealing with all that new stuff, but they did very well despite that. The funniest thing in the show was the wives seeing their newly-beautified husbands in their little trunks. It was really funny, especially Sami, who turned a funny shade of red.
After, I have extensive notes, as did Kay, and then we cleaned up some stuff, I adjusted the blocking of two scenes, and we adjusted Put ‘Em Back to play closer to center. I think everyone felt pretty good about everything, and we’ll fix anything that wasn’t working. Here are some actual photographs to tease you with. Here’s Mammy, Daisy Mae and Marryin’ Sam – Daisy’s costume wasn’t finished and it will be changing a bit.
Here are Abner and his cronies about to do If I Had My Druthers from their high platform. Note the worms on the end of their fishing poles – at the end of the number fish get attached to them.
And here’s me, Sami and Maddy Claire Parks just before I gave my notes.
And here’s me and Sami with her overture hat on.
Prior to rehearsal, I’d had some poached eggs and toast. After rehearsal, Maddy, Sami, her mom and I went to El Cholo on Western near Olympic. I believe it’s the oldest Mexican restaurant in the city. I don’t like it as much as Casa Vega, but it was very good, AND they have freshly made flour tortillas and those were amazing.
Then I came home and got all the audio clips for the two new releases done and to the web guy – I also answered e-mails and relaxed. I had only two packages in the last week, so I opened those and looked through some book catalogues that had arrived.
Today is a day of relaxation. I do have to prep the eBlast for our new releases, but other than that, I’m doing a big ol’ nothin’. At five, I’ll mosey on over to The Federal to see Terri White. I was told she had a very light crowd, so I got her a few more people and we’ll all sit at the same table.
Tomorrow, I am up at six to announce our new title, and then I’m going right back to sleep. I can relax until about two-thirty, at which point I’ll go to LACC to work on some stuff. Our final dress is at six. Tuesday I can relax until the late afternoon, then we have our preview performance and I’m really kind of hoping we have a decent sized audience for it. Wednesday is our opening night, we play two shows on Thursday, one on Friday and two on Saturday. I’m sure we’ll do something after the Saturday night show, perhaps Genghis Cohen.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, relax and then see Terri White at The Federal. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall have a dress rehearsal of my dream.