Well, dear readers, our second rehearsal was fun in kind of a fun way. It was another all music learning rehearsal and everyone is learning, retaining and I hope having a really good time. Our “shared” actor situation got worse and came to a head yesterday and hopefully that will be smoother from here on in. I really like our students very much – it’s quite a different vibe from how Abner started out, with many in that cast not even wanting to be there. This cast is on time and ready to work, and they’re focused and have really good energy. So, I began figuring out who’s doing what – assigned at least two songs today. A tricky one is the opening number. I originally had the idea that it would start as a solo and maybe have a second person join in on verse two, and then maybe bring everyone on, but I just love the energy of all of the voices together on it – so I think maybe I’ll start the narration with Robert Yacko in a spotlight, but either have everyone onstage ready or enter on the vamp. I’ll begin playing with that today.
Our floor is taped out and I think it’s just going to look very interesting, but it’s going to take me a while to get used to staging on it. In fact, when they were running the opening number, I placed everyone just to see what it would look like and I liked the way it looked. Anyway, we reviewed the three we did yesterday, then did the last of the group numbers, which is the song Grant and I wrote. They really love singing that one. Then I began on the solo songs – if it’s a guy solo then all the guys run it so I can hear their voices doing that song. Same with the girls songs and the girls. We did about four of those. One of them was one of mine, called Once Upon a Time, about the movie theaters of old. And I have to say everyone likes it best and I can’t even tell you why. I guess there’s just something about the tune and the subject matter, but even though it’s a tricky song musically, they learned it instantly. In the show I’m thinking it will be a duet, but could end up a trio, a quartet, or octet. We’ll see how it develops. I’m trying to give everyone something fun to do – that’s why it isn’t fair not to have the shared actors with us at this critical time – because I’m getting to know the ones who are there, and I don’t know the ones that aren’t and I don’t want to short-shrift them. I’m sure it will all work out, and we did finally have everyone, albeit forty-five minutes later than I was told we’d have them, so only for fifteen minutes. I have everyone for an hour today, and then I’ve been promised bodies to stand in for the missing so I can block with the full cast number. It’s really fun hearing the music come to life. After hearing all the gals do one of the songs written in a very good key for their voices, I realized I might have to drop The Black Dahlia down a step, as it will probably sit better that way.
Prior to that, I’d gotten over ten hours of blessed sleep, then I did work on the computer, set a cast member for the Kritzerland show, had a brief visit with Nick Redman, and then I moseyed over to the House of Pies to have lunch. I had the eggs benedict, hash browns, and a tiny salad. I have to say there is no in between with House of Pies. The eggs benedict is either the best in town or the worst. Unfortunately, yesterday it was the worst – I mean, everything was terrible – the Hollandaise, the overcooked eggs, the burned hash browns – only the salad escaped and that was very good. After that, I stopped at a Rite Aid to get some more Claritin-D and was delighted to find they had chocolate licorice, so I bought two bags of that, too. I also did not know they still sold Thrifty Ice Cream there – I almost had a cherry chocolate chip scoop, and may stop there again tomorrow to do just that very thing.
Then we had our rehearsal, after which I came directly home. I had a lot of e-mails to answer, which I answered, and some other stuff to catch up on.
Today, I have to work on the Kritzerland show in the morning, then I’ll mosey on over towards LACC and have lunch somewhere fun that isn’t the House of Pies, then we rehearse from four to eight. My intention is to do the opening number – if I get it done, we’ll move on to a couple of the sketches.
Tomorrow I’ll actually have the full cast for at least ninety minutes. I’ll just keep blocking away. On Friday I want to begin blocking the biggie, the end of act one, which I won’t talk about because you just know the minute I reveal what it is some other person will rip it off wholesale. But it’s a huge thing to block and I want to get it out of the way. Everything else is kind of a piece of cake in terms of me blocking. Friday after rehearsal I go to Calabasas to sup and then see Sami in her show. We don’t rehearse on the weekend, so I’ll be able to really nail down the song list and everything for the Kritzerland show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, work on the Kritzerland show, hopefully pick up packages, eat, have a rehearsal, and at some point, relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear readers 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, where I shall ponder when good eggs benedict go bad.