TGIF

Today I ended up having a meeting with Amber Cook and Chris Golightly to talk about costume things. Kenn and Amber agreed that the dresses that were being worked on did not fit the period or fit what we wanted for the show. They were not made out of the right material and looked a little too ugly for what we were going for. Also, I’ve learned that as a director, I should not take things for granted and just go with what other’s want. I need to be able to say that something is not what I want and have an open dialogue to try and make it better. So, after talking to Amber and Chris, we have decided that we are going to buy the dresses instead of building them. We did not really have the resources to just pull from stock for this show. After looking at Chris’ ideas, we have decided on a dress to purchase for the show. The skirts are not too poufy, but have enough fabric for the girls to play with. Tonight at rehearsal, we started blocking Act II. Amanda was really sick, so we had her stay home and Ryan and I read her lines for her. Tripp has still not appeared, so we just had four of the girls. We did discuss characterization and had the girls decide what kind of drinks they would be drinking since the girls are getting progressively drunker throughout the play. Francesca said that Meredith would be drinking Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey, on the rocks. Rachel said that Trisha would be drinking a Beefeater’s martini. Lydia said that Mindy would be drinking a fruity vodka drink, so we settled on Sex on the Beach. We already know that Georgeanne is chugging champagne, so that has been decided for her. Emily said that because Frances does not drink, she will have apple juice. Since I am a bartender, and most of my cast is underage and do not know things about alcohol, it was pretty fun to give them a lesson on different alcohols, how they are made, what kind of glasses they would come in, and the kind of people that drink them. Amanda and Rachel are the only ones besides myself that are old enough to drink, but I still had to explain to Rachel what Beefeaters was. We blocked until page 46. I am really enjoying this process and am so proud of how much work we can get done in a single rehearsal. Yes, we have fun and tell stories and jokes and mess around. But as soon as either Ryan or I says hey, let’s work, they listen. It’s fantastic. I love working with this group of people. I have been a part of cast’s in the past that are never prepared to work or do not pay attention during rehearsals, or even dick around and not get enough done during a rehearsal. I hated it when I went to a rehearsal and we ended up having to change the schedule because we were not productive, then I would be at a rehearsal that I was called at, but would not be used at, which would annoy me because we have things to do other than rehearsals, since we are still students. However, my kids are nothing like that. They show up excited, energized, and ready to play and work. I am so happy that I cast it the way that I did. It is really coming together. I cannot wait until we finish blocking and get to play around with everything more. This cast is so wonderful and they really do make my job so much easier.