having a mold taken of my face for the creation of a lifelike decapitated head for the play.....spoiler alert, I do not survive the beheading.
First day of rehearsal...and I have already had the luxury of two months with the script (with only a few authorial changes). It's already been a fun and challenging journey, just in the preparation of the journey to come.
Now I'm off to the gym to try and get myself in fighting form.....Look out Lancastrians -- York is out for blood!
Now I'm off to the gym to try and get myself in fighting form.....Look out Lancastrians -- York is out for blood!
July 26 - some stream of consciousness reflections on my work up to now: My original audition was via a taped 3 minutes of two monologs (King Henry and Longaville). I wasn't thrilled with how they turned out (I would have re-done them if given the chance, but I didn't see the final edit until a day after and the taping was free thru my SAG/AFTRA membership so I didn't feel I could impose too much on the generosity of the staff's time...and they were certainly serviceable). Anyway, it was good enough to get me a call back, so I flew down to Berkeley to read for the director and producer. That was April 10.
How time flies.....I was offered the role of York in this new collaborative effort between William Shakespeare and Lauren Jansen-Parkes of Birmingham, England. A first read-thru and meeting of the cast/management was scheduled for May 23. I used that month to start my actor's homework....reading and re-reading the play; doing outside reading on the period and the actual historic characters (much of this info I subsequently had to jettison since Shakespeare was less than faithful to the real history if it got in the way of the story he was telling); and making choices about intentions and relationships. And I started memorizing since a) I was out of practice and it is muscle-like in that it performs better if kept challenged, and b) age has taken its toll and memorizing, especially Shakespeare, isn't as easy as it once was.
Approx half of York's lines are monologs, and those are what I addressed first. I have found conversational dialog to be easier learned when I have the other actor/s voices in my head when memorizing. York, even in this play focused on Margaret, has some great speeches. In one he foreshadows Richard III, his son, in sharing his planned machinations with the audience on his plans for winning the crown. In another, he excoriates Margaret for her unwomanliness, which seems to be the ultimate sin. This makes some sense if York is seen to be coming out of an age of Chivalry where women are paragons, free of human fallibility.
The director, Libby Vega, is setting the play in post-WWII, noir-land. That may make costuming easier (no tights!) but I'm curious to see how that translates into staging the battle scenes. It has given me the insight to model York on Gen MacArthur....a very strong soldier who had little patience for ineptitude, or anyone who disagreed with him. Consequently, I will be playing with the notion of a pipe as a personal prop, and I found a faux Army class ring (like MacArthur's West Point ring) for only $4.99.
Tho' there is no mention made in the Shakespeare plays, it is known that York had a very strong marriage (to Cecily Neville), so I have also added a wedding ring to my costume. I've already started wearing it so that it feels natural by opening night.
July 26 - Just home from our first evening of table work....only made it thru the first half of Act 1. Libby (director) is really good at probing for what folks are thinking/feeling when, about what they're saying, and how they're relating to other characters. I think we all learned a lot that will make this play a deeper, richer experience for the actors and the audience. I'm getting clearer on York's shifting alliances. His espoused goal is to set up his family as hereditary rulers of England, but it all comes down to Survival....you do what you have to to get the job done, and hope to live to see the outcome. York doesn't quite make it to see his son/s become king/s, but he does get the Plantagenets a few more years in the center of power.
re: the table work....what a smart group of actors I get to work with on this project!
re: the play....it's uncanny the parallels between 16th century political machinations and the current US political drama. It seems human nature hasn't changed much in way too many aspects, e.g., grabs for power, underestimating women, manipulation of 'the people' by the elite, how cult of personality can subvert the more general welfare....
More tablework tomorrow and then we are scheduled to start blocking.....it'll be great to get this baby on its feet.
On a personal note - to my dismay, I have found that so far, the speeches which I can rattle off while walking down the street or sitting with a latte, are not as well ingrained as I'd thought; as I go thru them at the table with other people (actors) around, I keep going up and having to look at my script. This is not too worrying (yet), but dismaying nonetheless. In a related side note, the night before last I had my first 'Margaret" actor's nightmare: on stage opening night and comes time for my first big monolog and I can't remember a word. So I stumble thru, getting the general message across, but very aware my words are no match for Shakespeare's.
re: the table work....what a smart group of actors I get to work with on this project!
re: the play....it's uncanny the parallels between 16th century political machinations and the current US political drama. It seems human nature hasn't changed much in way too many aspects, e.g., grabs for power, underestimating women, manipulation of 'the people' by the elite, how cult of personality can subvert the more general welfare....
More tablework tomorrow and then we are scheduled to start blocking.....it'll be great to get this baby on its feet.
On a personal note - to my dismay, I have found that so far, the speeches which I can rattle off while walking down the street or sitting with a latte, are not as well ingrained as I'd thought; as I go thru them at the table with other people (actors) around, I keep going up and having to look at my script. This is not too worrying (yet), but dismaying nonetheless. In a related side note, the night before last I had my first 'Margaret" actor's nightmare: on stage opening night and comes time for my first big monolog and I can't remember a word. So I stumble thru, getting the general message across, but very aware my words are no match for Shakespeare's.
July 27: got thru almost the whole rest of the play tonight with tablework. Did make it thru my final scene so that was a Win! ;-)
This morning I strolled over to the theatre to see if I could get in for a few minutes, just to familiarize myself with the space. I'd seen a few pix on their website, but it's not the same as intoning from the stage. It was locked and there was no one around with a key. I think I'll just have to wait until tech week to assuage that curiosity.
On my way home I planned on stopping at a local bar for a celebratory It's Scotch Day! rob roy (Manhattan made with scotch instead of bourbon), but discovered I'd left my wallet in my other pants...yikes - that would have been embarrassing - to order a drink I couldn't pay for.
In running my lines while walking to/from the theatre, I played with different intentions....a couple of speeches had been coming off like Snidely Whiplash (fun, but perhaps too broad). Today York was much more charming and ingratiating. We'll see what Libby has to say as rehearsals go on.
This morning I strolled over to the theatre to see if I could get in for a few minutes, just to familiarize myself with the space. I'd seen a few pix on their website, but it's not the same as intoning from the stage. It was locked and there was no one around with a key. I think I'll just have to wait until tech week to assuage that curiosity.
On my way home I planned on stopping at a local bar for a celebratory It's Scotch Day! rob roy (Manhattan made with scotch instead of bourbon), but discovered I'd left my wallet in my other pants...yikes - that would have been embarrassing - to order a drink I couldn't pay for.
In running my lines while walking to/from the theatre, I played with different intentions....a couple of speeches had been coming off like Snidely Whiplash (fun, but perhaps too broad). Today York was much more charming and ingratiating. We'll see what Libby has to say as rehearsals go on.
July 28: woke up much too early (4 am) so know I will need a nap before rehearsal tonight. But wanted to add a bit more from last night's table read -- tried to get some acting values (sorry, Acting!) into my about-to-die speech. Started off actually teary-eyed by death of son (crying doesn't come easy for me), and feel I got some good emotional groundwork started. Always have to be careful to keep these sorts of monologs moving forward with an intention/objective (what do I want from the other character?) so it doesn't become just an emotional typhoon. Best case scenario....I make Margaret so contrite that she lets me go. side note: Nic, who plays many smaller roles including my youngest son, is hysterically funny.....I'm guaranteed at least one guffaw each eve from their witticisms :-) I'd share one, but they are all in the 'you had to be there' category.
Nap (first?) of the day done, and it's only 10 am.....plenty of time to go to the gym, work on lines, and nap again. ok, now it's 5 pm and no second nap....I think I'll stop for a latte on my way to rehearsal tonight. side note: I had my mail forwarded since I'd be in Berkeley 2 months; just got my first envelope today - a thin one from the IRS. Ugh. I've been anxious about some income that may have been listed in the wrong column, meaning I'd owe additional $. I sat down, slowly opened the envelope and read that I was getting $150 back - that I'd over-paid. whew! Thank you guardian angel!
Last post for today....released a bit early cause I'm not in the final scene that's being worked. Unfortunately we did not get as far tonight as was scheduled, so I will be going in for an hour on Sunday when I wasn't originally called. They did make the concession to make it the final hour of rehearsal (5 - 6) so I can still see my niece's final performance (a matinee) of "Carousel." Needless to say - if the play's needs had required me to miss Aya's show (I am seeing it also tomorrow/Friday), I would have missed it.
During a break Lauren (author) took me aside to thank me for my hard work up to now...the obvious research and time I'd already invested. However, she also warned me that it was time to let go of all the elided Shakespeare and conflicting history and commit to the world of This Play.....to drop the ballast of the Henry VI/Richard 3 tetralogy and "FLY." Other comments from her were about the popularity of York still to this day in England and his rather burnished reputation....Luckily neither I nor the general population in the US have the same familiarity with his personality, so I am able to approach him as a nearly rasa tabula.
Nap (first?) of the day done, and it's only 10 am.....plenty of time to go to the gym, work on lines, and nap again. ok, now it's 5 pm and no second nap....I think I'll stop for a latte on my way to rehearsal tonight. side note: I had my mail forwarded since I'd be in Berkeley 2 months; just got my first envelope today - a thin one from the IRS. Ugh. I've been anxious about some income that may have been listed in the wrong column, meaning I'd owe additional $. I sat down, slowly opened the envelope and read that I was getting $150 back - that I'd over-paid. whew! Thank you guardian angel!
Last post for today....released a bit early cause I'm not in the final scene that's being worked. Unfortunately we did not get as far tonight as was scheduled, so I will be going in for an hour on Sunday when I wasn't originally called. They did make the concession to make it the final hour of rehearsal (5 - 6) so I can still see my niece's final performance (a matinee) of "Carousel." Needless to say - if the play's needs had required me to miss Aya's show (I am seeing it also tomorrow/Friday), I would have missed it.
During a break Lauren (author) took me aside to thank me for my hard work up to now...the obvious research and time I'd already invested. However, she also warned me that it was time to let go of all the elided Shakespeare and conflicting history and commit to the world of This Play.....to drop the ballast of the Henry VI/Richard 3 tetralogy and "FLY." Other comments from her were about the popularity of York still to this day in England and his rather burnished reputation....Luckily neither I nor the general population in the US have the same familiarity with his personality, so I am able to approach him as a nearly rasa tabula.
July 30 - Finally slept past 4:30 (7 am)! Didn't have (official) rehearsal yesterday, but spent time with the script, of course. It'd be great to be off-book by the time we finish blocking, this Wed. Also started working with the pipe. Watched some youtube videos on the process of filling and lighting a pipe, plus any clues to using a zippo.
Getting all those actions down so it looks like a) I know what I'm doing, and b) have been doing it a long time, is like hand-choreography. And I'll be needing to do it all while talking!. For those interested: the general actions are: fill the bowl with tobacco; tamp it down, take a practice draw; repeat all three actions x 2; pass the flame over the top of the bowl for the 'false light'; tamp it down; light and puff for the real light; smoke your pipe. My concern is that such movement, interesting on its own in its specificity, will upstage my monolog :-) Will work on it more today so I am ready to present it at rehearsal tomorrow and see if the director wants to include any/all of it. I think its a fun and very period-specific character choice, but its up to her.
Side-note: I usually try to choose a song for whatever character I'm playing, some ear-worm that plays in his head. York's hasn't been easy to find, but I finally hit on "Stouthearted Men" from the 1928 Romberg/Hammerstein operetta, "The New Moon." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vjqfvZVReM
July 31: Those Women Productions has started an indiegogo campaign to help pay for this production https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/margaret-of-anjou#/ The fact that their stated goal is under $5000 out of a $20,000+ budget is kinda amazing. Don't forget, they practice "radical hospitality" which means every ticket for every performance is pay-what-you-will...so ticket sales can't be counted on to cover costs. I can't afford to directly donate towards this campaign, but I figured I am losing at least $4000 (in opportunity costs for catering jobs I won't work while I'm in CA).
Had to miss the last 20 minutes of "Carousel" today to make it to rehearsal. I can't say I regretted it....it was a good production and my niece was great, but her main participation was done, and the 2nd Act ballet (which I skipped) was not one of my favorite parts of this show. At my rehearsal we were able to work thru one of the missed scenes from Thursday, and I got some one-on-one time with the director on my first monolog (the one with the pipe). Marrying the pipe choreography to the speech will still take some work (on my own), but it was a good start.
Side note - The ring I have been using for my wedding ring is a tad tight and had started to irritate my finger. I'm going to try to make it a half size bigger without ruining it (thank you youtube),,,wish me luck. Having it fixed professionally would cost about $50, and the ring cost only $12.
Had to miss the last 20 minutes of "Carousel" today to make it to rehearsal. I can't say I regretted it....it was a good production and my niece was great, but her main participation was done, and the 2nd Act ballet (which I skipped) was not one of my favorite parts of this show. At my rehearsal we were able to work thru one of the missed scenes from Thursday, and I got some one-on-one time with the director on my first monolog (the one with the pipe). Marrying the pipe choreography to the speech will still take some work (on my own), but it was a good start.
Side note - The ring I have been using for my wedding ring is a tad tight and had started to irritate my finger. I'm going to try to make it a half size bigger without ruining it (thank you youtube),,,wish me luck. Having it fixed professionally would cost about $50, and the ring cost only $12.
Aug 1: RABBIT! RABBIT!
side note a) - at-home attempt to re-size ring unsuccessful....may have to wear it just for shows (like my contacts) if can't find a professional to do it for cheap.
side note b) - giving myself a day off from the gym after 8 days straight...but still walking 2+ miles.
From being a half day behind schedule, we are now a day ahead - yay! It helps to have a director with a plan, a stage manager with lightning typing skills to record everything, and professional actors that need be told something only once.
Over the course of this week, as we get the play on its feet, there have been some continued re-writes (minor edits) to further clarify the story and/or shortening the overall production and/or removing language at odds with our staging. I've had a very few lines removed and I am mostly thankful since they are ones that I was having the most trouble finding a clear meaning/intention behind. We did get rid of one death-scene trope by having my last lines delivered before I am shot instead of, with a last gasp, as I lay dying. Doesn't give me much time to gnaw on the last vestiges of scenery, but that's all to the good of the show ;-)
Anyway, York's longer speeches have remained intact so far. I credit this in part to the fact that I arrived at rehearsals with them obviously already worked on, a strategy learned more than 30 years ago playing King Henry in Henry IV, pt 1; my already-memorized King Henry speeches were left alone when the director started cutting, but Hal and Falstaff took a beating since they had been slow to learn their lines.
Aug 3 - so, last night the set designer stopped in 'cause he wanted to see how we were moving around the space.....seems we hadn't taken into account the actual dimensions of the periactoi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periaktos) that will be on either side of the proscenium. so, after re-taping the floor, we are having to re-block much of the show to account for the much smaller playing space. There goes the extra day we'd created by blocking so quickly earlier. I do wonder at the placement of the periactoi....they are so far downstage that half the stage behind them is now unusable because of affected sight lines...why make that choice?
Some good news, I have a borrowed wedding ring to wear if I can't get mine re-sized!
My push for the final bit of memorization is not going well....I feel like my memorizing brains cells are now all in use and I am having to co-opt neurons usually used for other duties, and they are slower to retain a different sort of info :-) We've been given until Aug 10 to be off book, so I'm not TOO worried yet. Anyway, worry is a great motivator!
Marketing pix at rehearsal tonight....time to suit up in my khakis, dress shirt and tie.
Some good news, I have a borrowed wedding ring to wear if I can't get mine re-sized!
My push for the final bit of memorization is not going well....I feel like my memorizing brains cells are now all in use and I am having to co-opt neurons usually used for other duties, and they are slower to retain a different sort of info :-) We've been given until Aug 10 to be off book, so I'm not TOO worried yet. Anyway, worry is a great motivator!
Marketing pix at rehearsal tonight....time to suit up in my khakis, dress shirt and tie.
Aug 5: It's a day off from rehearsal (tomorrow, too -- Union rules) but I'll still be putting in some time on that last bit of recalcitrant memorizing, plus solidifying the adjustments I got last night on my monologs. I tried to note Libby's remarks as soon as the scene was over, because it can be difficult sometimes to retain everything in the adrenaline rush of working a scene. Libby didn't make very many changes to my approach; I am pleased both with her apparent liking of what I've brought to the table so far re: York, and my ability to make the adjustments on the fly. I did get my workout last night; we ran (with side coaching), all three of my main speeches, plus some additional scene action. I only mention all this self-congratulatory-ness in my own work because we are not getting a lot of individualized kudos....I do think Libby is pleased with me so far, and it has always been the case for me that, in theatre, "no news is good news", but my actor insecurities will sometimes (read: always) override knowledge. alas.
Looking forward to Sunday's fight choreography. I certified twice in stage combat, but the certificates are only good for 3 years and mine are wildly expired (the last one was 2003).
Aug 7: Ack - woke up at 4:30 am, played some online bridge (available 24/7!) and read my New Yorker.....between then and noon fell back asleep 3 times (15 - 60 minutes each time) and now it's too late to get to the gym before fight rehearsal. I know that 2 weeks isn't enough time to guarantee seeing results, but I am a slave to immediate gratification and seeing no change in my weight or waistline measurement isn't making it any easier to stay motivated to exercise. I will say that I appear (to me) to have a bit more definition in my arms and shoulders. But I'd love to lose some (3 inches) of that belly fat and tighten up my pecs. Sigh....it'd probably take more intense workouts than I am prepared to undertake at this time.
Aug 10: A few days of fight choreography....besides the random slap, fall, or knife swipe, we also have 3 battles to portray with a max of 10 actors (and a playing space 18 x 18 at its largest. Our choreographer, Sydney, is a pro. I may be the only actor with actual stage combat training, but my battle scenes are as a mere soldier, so I don't get any of the fun hand-to-hand stuff. Since our show is set in the late 1940's, we often have pistils instead of swords, and I have found it interesting to research a bit on the correc way to hold a gun, and what sort of recoil to expect (thank you YouTube). Except for .22s in high school (counted as a phys ed credit!), I'd never shot a gun.
Last night was scary....we had a late change to the schedule, plus Libby requested we try to run our scenes off-book (a day early). Yikes! Of course the first 2 scenes we worked were the 2 I have spent the least time on...lines were iffy, but I got thru them. And I did as well as anyone else. Then we did my death scene....got thru the whole thing without calling for 'line', and was even able to 'act.' No notes yet, so I'm not sure if the arc of the speech is what Libby wants. I find, being in the moment, the speech comes out differently each time.....this may be ok with Libby, or she may want it to be more set. I hesitate to ask because I'm not sure I want the answer :-)
ok - after reading my own last paragraph, I realized I needed to just 'man' up and be a grown up, so I messaged Libby with my question. Rah rah for me being an adult - lol.
side note: it seems that my costume for York will have that WWII army look....yes, Wool and lots of it! I tend to sweat a lot anyway, and this does not bode well for my keeping a cool, collected look...there is only so much that face powder can do :-)
Line notes from rehearsal.....interestingly, I found out that in 4 different places, in just two scens, I had incorrectly memorized synonyms of the correct word, e.g., Lord instead of Liege; Aim instead of Seek; Hand instead of Fists. And as many times as I have read over those speecehes, my mind wasn't seeing that I had made the switch so that I could self-correct. Yay for an eagle-eyed ASM!
Last night was scary....we had a late change to the schedule, plus Libby requested we try to run our scenes off-book (a day early). Yikes! Of course the first 2 scenes we worked were the 2 I have spent the least time on...lines were iffy, but I got thru them. And I did as well as anyone else. Then we did my death scene....got thru the whole thing without calling for 'line', and was even able to 'act.' No notes yet, so I'm not sure if the arc of the speech is what Libby wants. I find, being in the moment, the speech comes out differently each time.....this may be ok with Libby, or she may want it to be more set. I hesitate to ask because I'm not sure I want the answer :-)
ok - after reading my own last paragraph, I realized I needed to just 'man' up and be a grown up, so I messaged Libby with my question. Rah rah for me being an adult - lol.
side note: it seems that my costume for York will have that WWII army look....yes, Wool and lots of it! I tend to sweat a lot anyway, and this does not bode well for my keeping a cool, collected look...there is only so much that face powder can do :-)
Line notes from rehearsal.....interestingly, I found out that in 4 different places, in just two scens, I had incorrectly memorized synonyms of the correct word, e.g., Lord instead of Liege; Aim instead of Seek; Hand instead of Fists. And as many times as I have read over those speecehes, my mind wasn't seeing that I had made the switch so that I could self-correct. Yay for an eagle-eyed ASM!
Aug 11 - A useful rehearsal tonight....working my final (the death of) York monolog preparatory to performing it at a Library PR event on Saturday. It is emotionally draining so I have a bit of dread going into it, but it is so fulfilling once I'm done. Did it 3 times with adjustments from Libby after each, trying ot get my performance to match her vision.
We've also tentatively decided to edit out the filling/smoking of the pipe in my first monolog. As I feared, all that movement and concentration was pulling focus from the content of the speech. We'll still include the pipe, but more as a 'security blanket' for York...like Queeg's ball bearings.
We've also tentatively decided to edit out the filling/smoking of the pipe in my first monolog. As I feared, all that movement and concentration was pulling focus from the content of the speech. We'll still include the pipe, but more as a 'security blanket' for York...like Queeg's ball bearings.
Aug 14 - ok - what to add....I have been self-censoring because I don't know who may be reading this, but not all is joy and light - at least in my 'glass-half-empty' mindset. And I still won't go into specifics 'cause I still don't know who, if anyone, is my audience :-) However, I have had some lingering doubts about the show because of the difficulty of making Shakespeare accessible, and because some of the actors (at least while they have scripts in hand) haven't impressed me with what they have brought to the table so far, and because Libby isn't the type of director to provide a lot of individual positive feedback so I've had moments of self doubt about my contributions. And those moments are increasing as opening night looms.
Anyway, yesterday we had that presentation at a Berkeley library where we performed 3 scenes (including York's death). Watching the other two scenes where the actors were off-book and Performing, I had a very welcome wave of "We have a good show!" I can now honestly invite folks to see the show and not just me. I wasn't thrilled with my scene...I bobbled a line and it broke my concentration. My sister-in-law was in attendance and says she didn't notice any line problem, but neither has she said anything about my scene, good or bad.
I have a 2 hour 1-on-1 rehearsal scheduled for tomorrow to work on York's 3 monologs. I'm hoping it gets me back ontrack for self-confidence.
Anyway, yesterday we had that presentation at a Berkeley library where we performed 3 scenes (including York's death). Watching the other two scenes where the actors were off-book and Performing, I had a very welcome wave of "We have a good show!" I can now honestly invite folks to see the show and not just me. I wasn't thrilled with my scene...I bobbled a line and it broke my concentration. My sister-in-law was in attendance and says she didn't notice any line problem, but neither has she said anything about my scene, good or bad.
I have a 2 hour 1-on-1 rehearsal scheduled for tomorrow to work on York's 3 monologs. I'm hoping it gets me back ontrack for self-confidence.
Aug 20 - so - it's been a few days since my last entry....it ain't like there's been nothing going on in my head about the show, but getting it all down in black and white for all to see hasn't been high on my priority list. But to resolve the cliffhanger from my last post: I did take the opportunity to talk with Libby about my actor insecurities. She assured me that I was doing fine and would be quick to tell me if I started going off the rails. We had a very productive session working on my three main monologs, delving deeper into possible subtexts, refining blocking, and layering in more attitudes. Hopefully I'll be able to keep all that new info in my head as we go forward with rehearsal.
Anyway - this past week we started running the acts, and then the whole play. Act 1 was coming in at almost an hour and a half, so Libby decided some additional, late edits were in order. Despite all my early hard work and being one of the folks most line-ready, York really took it in the shorts with the cuts. Unfortunately, although what York has to say is pretty, and I was doing it well, he also tends to repeat himself, so that repeated info is easiest to cut. Intellectually, I think Libby did a great job in her editing as far as the storytelling goes, but I am still in mourning for my loss (just got the news late last night).
Coincidentally I was just telling an actor friend yesterday that one of my early discoveries when I worked with her back in the 80s was just how much I loved being on stage (I was playing a character that was not happy to be onstage, and I was finding that difficult to play). So losing 10% of York's lines (yes, I have counted my lines) has me depressed for that lost stage time. I expect I'll make it to Acceptance (without overtly exhibiting Denial, Anger, or Bargaining) pretty quickly, But again, it would help me if Libby (or someone) could give me some major ego-soothing strokes on what I have been left with.
Another library performance today, and then 3 days of tech. Union rules require a day off, so that'll be Wed, with Preview on Thur, Opening on Friday. Our Margaret is gonna be great, and she definitely carries the show, so I think we'll be ready....if we can get all the technical (especially some really quick costume changes) in place. Fingers crossed.
Anyway - this past week we started running the acts, and then the whole play. Act 1 was coming in at almost an hour and a half, so Libby decided some additional, late edits were in order. Despite all my early hard work and being one of the folks most line-ready, York really took it in the shorts with the cuts. Unfortunately, although what York has to say is pretty, and I was doing it well, he also tends to repeat himself, so that repeated info is easiest to cut. Intellectually, I think Libby did a great job in her editing as far as the storytelling goes, but I am still in mourning for my loss (just got the news late last night).
Coincidentally I was just telling an actor friend yesterday that one of my early discoveries when I worked with her back in the 80s was just how much I loved being on stage (I was playing a character that was not happy to be onstage, and I was finding that difficult to play). So losing 10% of York's lines (yes, I have counted my lines) has me depressed for that lost stage time. I expect I'll make it to Acceptance (without overtly exhibiting Denial, Anger, or Bargaining) pretty quickly, But again, it would help me if Libby (or someone) could give me some major ego-soothing strokes on what I have been left with.
Another library performance today, and then 3 days of tech. Union rules require a day off, so that'll be Wed, with Preview on Thur, Opening on Friday. Our Margaret is gonna be great, and she definitely carries the show, so I think we'll be ready....if we can get all the technical (especially some really quick costume changes) in place. Fingers crossed.
Aug 26 - well, it's been a tough week....many tech challenges meaning we never had a complete, full run-thru of the show before last night's preview. Scary, Especially since dealing with tech meant we got little chance to hone the acting aspects. In the spirit of "we're all in this together," I volunteered some non-actor activity: helped with the initial load in at the theatre; put up costume hooks since there are not enough for all the costumes on the rolling racks; swept the stage twice since many of us are dying in all that dust; opened the theatre on our day off so Maria (the lead) could rehearse on her own; bought extra hangers for costumes; provided my own "blood" which is usually a theatre expense, but there was talk of cutting it and I wanted to give them a chance to see it before it wasn't used (director loved it). Of course all this helpfulness has a secondary motivation, too: showing that I am a useful actor to have around so hoping it makes it more likely I get cast again. After all, just because being helpful isn't self-less doesn't make it less helpful - right?
Last night's preview went surprisingly well. Well enough that I think we'll be ok tonight (opening). I felt good about my 3 monologs (have yet to hear from Libby, however), and my other scenes were acceptable (plenty of room for improvement, especially on a couple of line exchanges -- I'm still not as fluid as I'd like on some of those lines). Now that we're into running, I don't get much opportunity to listen to Maria. She's been anxious (feeling underrehearsed) so I've done all I can thru the whole rehearsal process to reassure her....it's a huge role and I honestly think she's doing great.
Opening tonight....hope we have a good house -- supposed to be some critics there, too. Yikes.
Last night's preview went surprisingly well. Well enough that I think we'll be ok tonight (opening). I felt good about my 3 monologs (have yet to hear from Libby, however), and my other scenes were acceptable (plenty of room for improvement, especially on a couple of line exchanges -- I'm still not as fluid as I'd like on some of those lines). Now that we're into running, I don't get much opportunity to listen to Maria. She's been anxious (feeling underrehearsed) so I've done all I can thru the whole rehearsal process to reassure her....it's a huge role and I honestly think she's doing great.
Opening tonight....hope we have a good house -- supposed to be some critics there, too. Yikes.