Today we managed to make it through a "double" rehearsal: 1 to 5PM and then 6 to 8:30. We've lost three days of rehearsal because of winter weather and illness and just needed to cram in a few more hours before we start running things. Cast was incredibly flexible; no complaints, everyone good-natured and focused even after a dinner break. Really just excellent work all around--despite continued illness among my principal players! We need haz-mat suits for poor Javert, Eponine, Cosette and JVJ! Pray for Marius--that he isn't incubating a doozy of a cold.
We have 7 more rehearsals before we move into the Flynn, one of which is a full run at the theatre. Move in starts on Thursday, 3/27--the truck gets loaded with everything (EVERYTHING!) that is going to the theatre, an then gets unloaded on Friday morning. Our rehearsal Friday will be weird because we won't have any props, crates, set pieces or anything! and we've been kind of spoiled because our prop ladies have let us practice with the actual props more than once. They've made several trips with boxes of stuff so that cast can get a handle on the level of detail they'll be working with. Bravo Prop Tarts!
I have several pages of notes, but what I need to do is comb through and find the minutiae of blocking that isn't working. There's a lot that is still messy and not quite working. I keep letting the rehearsals run because I hate to stop and fix--I keep hoping that some of it will work itself out with repetition. It's not a lot, but it requires time--time to talk, practice, run, adjust.
I was moved to tears several times in rehearsal today. There are some emotional moments that are really working--the actors are committed and truthful and digging for connection with the material. It's breath-taking...and they SOUND SO GOOD! There are also moments that people are still exploring--and I 'm really hesitant to touch or fiddle with those because they literally change before my eyes as actors start to hear, see and feel things in the context of the story. They really are feeling their way and it's exciting to watch. I'm betting, gambling, really-- that there will be enough time for them to find their way ALL the way to where I need them to be. They have a ton of information and backstory and most of them are working really hard to put it into practice.
I made a deliberate decision to focus and spend my energy on MY area after Paper tech yesterday. My crews and team are all capable, talented people and I do NOT have to hold every detail of the entire show in my head. I can't. I could feel the energy draining out of me yesterday---eek! It's hard for me to let go of those pieces but I have to....the story isn't in place yet, and that is my priority. I want it to be so strongly woven together, and my actors so prepared that there is no room for error, or ok, very little room for error.
I've never thought of it that way, but the show, the story really is a "thing" that is woven from all of our efforts. It's not on the pages of the script or score and it's not the back-breaking work of backstories and motivation and notes and rhythms and blocking and choreography. It's something separate and distinct. I could almost see it at points today--some "thing" shimmering between cast members on stage..like a giant soap bubble. It's ephemeral and alive. I think it happens when actors trust--the story, each other, the pathways and roadmaps that they've built--they trust and let the story fill up the air between them. That's what I'm aiming for. That's what I 'm searching for as I take notes on the scenes: is something real happening and if not what's hampering it? That is part of the reason that I ask my actors "How does that feel?". It has to feel right or that trust can't happen.
My head is so full of images and people and ideas and emotions! I cannot adequately express how breath-taking it is to see this come to life...how much larger than each of us individually is the sum total!
Sleep, and then on to another day.
at the Barricades!
KAK
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