Some Things You Just Have to Laugh at

Today was our second rehearsal in the space. We still do not have walls, and due to another production occurring in the Bedell, we really did not have any of our furniture either. Yesterday was supposed to be our load in, yet apparently, we found out yesterday that the shop was not actually adding our show into their to do list, we have to come up with our own build people and schedule and time to do it. That would have been nice to know a few weeks, or even a month ago. I am currently sitting in the scene shop writing this journal and working on paperwork as Ryan, Patrice, and one of her friends paints our walls. The rehearsal itself went really well though. We actually had a really fun time today running Act II. We ran it once, and it was kind of a mess. There were a lot of line problems, and breaking the fourth wall, and trying to back up and start a conversation over. We discussed it, figured out that the problem was definitely being off for a week, and Act II has always been more difficult for them since the subject matter is a little deeper, and longer. After a ten minute break, we tried it again. It was honestly one of the best runs of Act II I had ever seen. We had barely any line calls, the fights between Trisha and Frances, and the one between Trisha and Tripp flowed so well. All of the actors were making new choices that fit really well with the characters and the story we are trying to tell about the relationship between these wonderfully different women. I was really proud of them today. I was also laughing really hard which is always a good thing. We’ve been working with food props of course so they can all get used to eating while having a conversation, and passing the plate around. During one part, Francesca and Amanda were sitting next to each other on the bed, Amanda had the plate of food which currently had pretzels and smarties on it. One of the smarties had rolled off the plate and went across the floor, and since an unspoken rule of theatre is that if a prop gets dropped, it must be picked up soon or else it will distract the audience. So therefore, Amanda and Francesca both stood up, looked at each other, and raced each other to the smarties. Amanda won, but when they got back to the bed, it had fallen off the plate again. When they both went for it again, Amanda ended up spilling all of the pretzels onto the floor. It was such a comedic moment. I wish that I could put something similar into the show, however it would most certainly upstage the action that was already going on. But I am really enjoying their instincts to hash out these characters even more. I am certainly noticing that they are all getting more comfortable exploring now that we are in the space. There is just something about being in a theater that is magical. Something changes inside of you as an artist. Even with me sitting behind the table I felt it. Tomorrow I am going to invite the cast/crew of An American Hero to both the Wednesday and Thursday rehearsals since I know that a chunk of them wanted to see it, but are leaving for New York on Saturday.