Piano

Today we'll be spending the first hour plus working on piano cues. Olga, who studied with the great kolijinsky, is condemned to playing at the winter garden stupid ditties. She's frequently interrupted and there's many a lotzi that involves her stopping and turning around.

If emsa, who is playing olga played piano, things might be a bit easier...bt that is not the case. There will be a lot of starting and stopping. Sound design always seems to take a bit longer than you suspect.

In the meantime, phillies play game three tonight. At home.

Outside in

Last week, I had the actors prepare two-minute scenes from philadelphia story. The idea was to pick a scene (freely available on youtube), cast themselves (regardless of gender), memorize it and replicate it exactly, mimicking the gestures, the intonations, the blocking. Wearing the similar costumes, etc.

In order to crack the style of stage door why not approach these characters from the outside in to see where it takes the actors?

I think most importantly, these guys had fun - laughing at themselves and at each other. They experienced technically how the language and voice work. Some of them detected how a facial expression informed the objective. Others felt that that "hepburn" voice really served as a way to liberate them. Still others noticed how fast the language works.
Thank god!

And of course, meanwhile, we continue to ask the basic questions from the inside out. All in all, a pleasing experiment.

Stumble through

Last night was a designer stumble through for STAGE DOOR at the new school. As I told the cast, we are precisely where we are - and where I expected us to be, having merely finished blocking the THREE ACTS. The running time was approximately 15 minutes longer than our first read through. Ouch. But also, just fine. That will all be remedied in the next two weeks.

Production mtg after rehearsal went till 11 (and thus I missed my beloved PHILLIES BEAT TAMPA BAY). Joe the scenic designer has agreed to modify the back wall so that rather than be covered by famous actresses of the past plus sarah (not sandra) bernhardt, the wall will have only frames plus sarah. She later gets replaced by jean.

Saturday we'll spend an hour and half working music cues with olga. She doesn't really play piano so we'll have to do some nifty fakin' it.

Tonight, I'll get to spend more time on act one, though the actress playing jean is still out sick.

STAGE DOOR

Sorry for the passage of time. All is well here in new york.

I've been busy the past two weeks working on STAGE DOOR at the new school. Its been quite fun.

The production consists of second year students (there are five first year students as well). I have three ADs, two ASMs and about 32 people in my cast. My PSM Dale also works at the pearl and is rachel's friend.

Its a play in three acts and surprisingly relevant since we are now in a depression like the women in this play. It is set at a boarding house for women of the theater (the footlights club). And the women are experiencing varying levels of success in their theatrical careers and their lives. Its ferber and kaufman and the writing is terrific. (Though there feels like there is a big dramaturgical whole involving the girl, Linda, who is having an affair with a married man).

The toughest part - aside from presenting this play as relevant to the students - is getting them to approach the style of the piece. It aint naturalism, and requires a bit of that katherine hepburn witty repartee. I am having them perform 2 minute scenes from PHILADELPHIA STORY - to approach the characyers from the outside in. Hopefully, this will open up the style for them.

We've completed two weeks of research presentations - while I've managed to stage the whole play. I've forced the students to be off book early - as I sense they need a little push in that department.

It will be a fun two more weeks. But what to do when the phillies games are on?