Well, dear readers, today was the first day of double duty directing and I got through it fine although I’m quite tired. It helps that I have two hours between rehearsals, so I can have a leisurely meal and relax, and I may even decide to come home between rehearsals to relax and have a sandwich here. I’m really less than ten minutes away so it’s pretty easy to do.
Rehearsal one was very good – we began at the top of the show and I did lots of detail work, smoothing out staging, giving a few directions to actors – it was very productive. I have one actor struggling a bit – kind of making things much more difficult than they need to be, which some actors I’ve worked with do as part of their process – analyzing, overanalyzing, and overthinking. So, I have to help in whatever way I can – mostly explaining things clearly so the actor can just step out of the way and let the performance just happen naturally. When I was an actor I never thought about stuff – I learned my lines, spoke them, and created a character based on the text and what felt natural to me. I always knew if I was going astray my director would help me, but the fact is for most of my professional career directors never said two words to me, so that must mean I was doing something right. But every actor is different and goes through different things to arrive at the character and performance – I’m patient as can be as long as I begin to see the light at the end of the actor tunnel.
After we finished, Kay and I went to the Coral Café for a meal. We worked on a scene that’s still causing the actors a bit of trouble – by moving a few lines and adding a few little things I think we pretty much solved the problems and made it work, story-wise so that it will be easier to play. I had a big boy breakfast – three eggs over medium, toast, hash browns, two sausages, two bacon strips, and two pancakes, of which I only ate one. It was very good.
After that, I went to the Group Rep, had a little production meeting, then our cast arrived. We did the meet and greet and I began to give some little changes we’re doing, but that was going to slowly so instead I just dove in and began to block. I had a little thing in my head about how to block the show (there’s a lot of sitting, so I wanted the standing/crossing stuff to have a point and be like a dance, a cat and mouse dance), and that was fun to do. By the end of our rehearsal of two-and-a-half hours, I’d blocked all but five pages of act one, so pretty good. It’s going to be a swell cast.
Then I came home and answered as many e-mails as I could, then had to start writing these here notes. I really need to get as much sleep as I can so no more super late nights for me.
Today, I’ll stop at the mail place before rehearsal and pick up whatever’s there. Then we do our rehearsal for the musical, after which I’ll either come home or have a nice dinner some place near the theater. Then we’ll have our evening rehearsal, then I’ll come right home.
Tomorrow is exactly the same schedule. Friday is the day rehearsal then seeing some concert at the Pantages at night. Saturday is just the musical rehearsal and a dinner with the co-author of the show. Sunday is rehearsal and I’ll have the evening off and Monday is our day off for both shows.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the ham chunks and the cheese slices, let’s all dance the Hora or the old-fashioned waltz, for today is the birthday of our very own dear reader Jeanne. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own dear reader Jeanne. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN DEAR READER JEANNE!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, pick up mail, have a rehearsal, eat, have a rehearsal, and relax. 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, tired from my first day of double duty directing.