"The more precisely the POSITION is determined,the less precisely the MOMENTUM is known"
Or rather, the act of observing affects the outcome.
So yesterday, Steve Stettler, one of the three producing Artistic Directors here, watched a runthrough of MASTER HAROLD. Amazing how the observation of one new person, beyond the director, the stage manager, and the asm, can cause such panic...
I thought the gang did very well. They didn't seem overwhelmed. Sure, some notes were not applied and some ACTING was going on. But all in all, it seemed like they were keying in to new moments.
I am going crazy with all the mopping. I am gonna totally minimize it.
Guiesseppe and Clifton were hitting some nice emotional stuff. Too much? Unclear. Wendell is having a hard time with his "long and heartfelt groan" after Sam gets spit in the face. The noise he's making sounds like he wants to try to catch something that is falling outside of his reach. Instead, I want it to sound like he is getting hit in the gut - almost like the sound after that thing has hit the ground. He is now hyperfocused on it so that whenever he groans, or makes his sound of groaning, he is disappointed and shakes his head in frustration.
Guiesseppe and I were trying to make sense of a line. "So go ahead and groan, Willie. You do it better than me." Why does he say it? Context: Sam has asked willie if he should hit the boy. And Willie says "no, he is just a boy, little white boy. Maybe I just go in the back and cry." I didn't exactly know what it meant, but knew it was a transitional line. I knew that it had the effect of should-shrugging, but I struggled with Guiesseppe to figure it out. And then I did: it's about race. Everything that Sam says that follows has to do with his disappointment that he didn't do a better job raising Hally as a non-racist. And that he has a choice, hally does, to walk away from the bench that says "Whites Only". So - the line, Go ahead and groan willie. You do it better than me" seems to be about how Willie deals with race (wants to hit, advises against and goes in the back and cries" versus Sam (who has tried all his life to make a difference)
So there ya go.
Steve dug the proceedings. Gave me some good and effective notes.
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2 comments:
It's amazing isn't it, the different reactions some actors have to the entrance of an "outsider" to the rehearsal process. Some really embrace it and make new discoveries and the story can take on a new, exciting clarity. Others freeze up and, as you say, regress to "acting" and "perform" the moments rather than allowing them to happen. Understanding the individual psychologies of particular actors is a great argument for the repertory company model, working again and again with the same people.
I agree with your conclusion about that line.
Kiss Clifton on both cheeks for me!
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