Restoring my faith in the process
I am LOVING Susannah. It's SO nice to be doing a professional show again! I cannot even begin to tell you how reassuring it is to have a full-time Stage Manager on hand! And the director! And the singers! Wow.
Tuesday was the first gathering. We watched The Songcatcher, a tale of a musicologist who goes to the Appalachian Mountains and discovers their rich ballad tradition. It's roughly the same time and geographical location as Susannah, and there are some similar themes. It got the mental wheels a-spinnin'.
Thursday and Friday were musical rehearsals. Since the show's short (90 minutes), we were able to read through the show, then work a bit on individual scenes. I rapidly discovered the challenge of my character is that the tempo almost always changes on my entrances, and the music becomes rather jarring and dissonant, making it challenging to sing.
Saturday was one of the most brilliant things ever; we did "table work." I didn't know what that meant, but rapidly discovered that it meant reading the text aloud, and then talking about what we learned in each scene. SO helpful! So many little details that I probably wouldn't have caught, as well as a lot of big-picture sorts of things I wouldn't have seen on my own. And, it allowed us to have a discussion about things. I had done a lot of this kind of work on my own before we started, but it brought a lot of things about myself, the other characters, the relationships, and the themes of the work into sharp relief.
Today, the board was invited to rehearsal. The scenic, lighting, and costume designers all gave brief talks about their elements in the show. Then, we sang through the show. Tomorrow, we start to learn the dances for the first scene's square dance.
After the rehearsal was over, the director threw a little party at his home. It was nice to have time away from rehearsals to get to know my colleagues and relax a bit. And to have a director who makes me feel valued and important? How refreshing! :-)
Tuesday was the first gathering. We watched The Songcatcher, a tale of a musicologist who goes to the Appalachian Mountains and discovers their rich ballad tradition. It's roughly the same time and geographical location as Susannah, and there are some similar themes. It got the mental wheels a-spinnin'.
Thursday and Friday were musical rehearsals. Since the show's short (90 minutes), we were able to read through the show, then work a bit on individual scenes. I rapidly discovered the challenge of my character is that the tempo almost always changes on my entrances, and the music becomes rather jarring and dissonant, making it challenging to sing.
Saturday was one of the most brilliant things ever; we did "table work." I didn't know what that meant, but rapidly discovered that it meant reading the text aloud, and then talking about what we learned in each scene. SO helpful! So many little details that I probably wouldn't have caught, as well as a lot of big-picture sorts of things I wouldn't have seen on my own. And, it allowed us to have a discussion about things. I had done a lot of this kind of work on my own before we started, but it brought a lot of things about myself, the other characters, the relationships, and the themes of the work into sharp relief.
Today, the board was invited to rehearsal. The scenic, lighting, and costume designers all gave brief talks about their elements in the show. Then, we sang through the show. Tomorrow, we start to learn the dances for the first scene's square dance.
After the rehearsal was over, the director threw a little party at his home. It was nice to have time away from rehearsals to get to know my colleagues and relax a bit. And to have a director who makes me feel valued and important? How refreshing! :-)