Well, dear readers, we had our first dress rehearsal yesterday, and it was kind of really okay. Considering how many things could go wrong, nothing really did, which is pretty amazing. When the company arrived we first did a forty-five minute cue-to-cue for the costume changes. I came in having issued a warning to my costume designer that if any change took longer than ten seconds then it was cut and she’d have to rethink what the person was trying to put on or get out of. She was a very good egg about it, but we didn’t really have too many slow-ups, just a couple and those will be fixed for tonight’s final dress. The other major thing we added to the mix yesterday was the piano and drums. Now, you must understand, we’ve been working with tracks for the entirety of the rehearsal process. We had no stizprobe, no rehearsal with these guys – they just showed up today, set up and we did the show. Their monitor system was not working properly so they couldn’t even really hear the singers save for what was actually coming from the stage. That will, of course, be fixed but the rather shocking thing was they got through the show almost perfectly, with no stops and no really big errors, save for some tempo stuff because they couldn’t hear the vocals. It was actually mind-boggling to everyone.
We got off to a somewhat rough start because we really need to lock down the way the music is going to work until all the ladies are seated and ready to begin. There’s no way for the MD to gauge this since the stage is completely dark (he has a video feed). So, the opening octaves are just going to continue until the first cast member sings. We’ll work that today before the final dress. But after that, we were off and running and there was finally a really good energy to the scenes and the pace really began to work well, too. Yes, there’s still stuff to finesse and work on, but overall our ladies really took the ball and ran with it. It helps when we have people watching and they get their laughs and reactions. The numbers all worked really well and I was just really pleased. And there were no really big costume mishaps – we do have to simplify a few things and we’ll be fine.
After, I gave some general and specific notes, but decided to e-mail any personal notes. I think this has been an interesting experience for the cast and creative team, including the authors. I work in a very specific way and it was even more specific with this show at the very beginning. While the show is called Inside Out, I really work from the Outside In. In the same way I write (not doing an outline and discovering things as my characters discover them, especially in the mysteries), I like to go on the journey of discovery about the piece with everyone. I don’t plan much of anything. I do have a pretty good idea of what I want the show to look like visually and the pace of things. But I get to the inner stuff by beginning on the outside – the staging of the scenes and songs. I don’t talk about the characters and do endless yakking sessions about who they are and why they do things. That, for me, is an actor’s job. They bring me stuff, I watch, and then I edit and make sure everyone is doing the same show. I’m sure some actors are baffled by this, but it’s the way I work and ultimately I get exactly what I want, but in a really organic way where everyone contributes. As I mentioned, early in the process I kind of just sat there and looked befuddled when I was asked questions. I wasn’t befuddled, but I had an ulterior motive for doing it – which was to get our ladies all talking and conversing and listening to each other. And it worked – within minutes it was like they were all in group therapy, which is what the show is about. As we went on, I began to be more specific about things, but mostly I watched, saw what was working and not working and began adjusting and giving notes. I know at least one of our cast mentioned to one of the author’s that we hadn’t done a lot of scene work. Now, I really don’t like that term – it just reeks of acting class to me. In fact, we ran the scenes a lot – I just didn’t stop and pontificate because I find in the running of them things are found and foundations are laid. That and the fact that I basically blocked and staged all the numbers in five days – I had the help of the helper and one of our cast members in effecting what I saw in my head – in that way it’s kind of like Busby Berkeley – a famous choreographer who never gave a dance step in his life. I had certain steps and I’m always good about moving people around in fun ways, so we got all that done fairly quickly.
Inside Out is not a show that’s easy to read off the page. The characters tend to blend into one another just looking at printed words, and sometimes things are just not that clear from the reading of it. I rarely look at any kind of stage direction because I don’t want that stuff to impede my thinking in my own way about the staging. As the show began to take shape, I just sit and watched, watched how the relationships in the show worked, watched what the dynamics are, and began shaping it. It helps to have six really talented and smart actors in your show. Everyone got to try things and they had the safety net to try and fail and not be judged. And out of all that came a show that is now pretty easy to follow in terms of characters and dynamics. I couldn’t be happier with the pacing – like clockwork act one runs just under an hour (it will probably get two minutes added on in applause and laughs) and act two runs a very tight fifty minutes or so. I know the authors don’t agree with a couple of choices, but that’s to be expected. In the end, I have to go my own way and do what my heart and mind tells me to, and as I’ve explained, there are a thousand different ways to stage this show and interpret the show and play the show.
Afterwards, Doug Haverty and I went to the Burbank Don Cuco’s (there are actually two in Burbank, but we went to the one near our theater) and I had my usual beef taco and two cheese enchiladas. They have great salsa and very fresh chips, too. I ate way too much but I hadn’t eaten anything prior to it. Then I finally came home, the helper came by and then I relaxed, showered, and answered e-mails.
Today, I have a ton of things to get done and meetings and a meal and such, before I go to the theater. The band will be there early and I’ll probably sit in with them to hash out the scene change music and lock in the opening music and the final song’s button, which isn’t quite working yet. Then the company will arrive. I’ll clean up two little things, which shouldn’t take longer than ten minutes, then the cast will work with the MD on whatever they want to run. The sound guy will be there around six and finish up his work and the costume lady will be there finishing up and finessing her stuff. Then we do the run-through at eight. I won’t give anything but general notes after, and will send the personal notes later via e-mail. So, a long day today, but I’m hoping the show just keeps growing and getting better. I asked our producers to get a few people to sit in and watch.
Tomorrow is more of the same during the day, and then we have our first of two previews – we’re papering those performances. Friday is the second of our previews and Saturday, Valentine’s Day, we have our opening night, followed by our first Sunday matinee.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a lot o’ stuff, after which I’ll eat, then be on my way to the theater to work with the band. Then we do our final dress. 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, as our show nears the starting gate after I worked it Outside In.