No call for tomorrow, so I get some time off. I'm thinking I can go make some phone calls to England and to church in the morning, and then for a walk with Terry in the afternoon, and then check in with the choir at the end of their rehearsal at 6.30.
I was talking to another member of the cast last night about the perils of thinking that, because you've done some shows with community/amateur theatre, you know how to act. It is usually the case that there is not enough time in the process of those productions to really get beyond getting the lines right - this is such a very different experience.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saturday
I got some feedback last night...
Terry and I had a good day, including watching The King's Speech at the cinema (a very elderly audience at the 1.30 screening...). Great acting all round, not least from Helena Bonham-Carter. Strange to see Jennifer Ehle back on screen with Colin Firth.
Brent started the rehearsal by saying how much he had enjoyed our run-through on Thursday, and that he wanted us to work in groups on anything we felt needed attention while he gave individual notes. I did some work with Edmund and with Lear, and ran some lines in my head, but I confess that I could have done more: I'm better doing the line work on my own with the MP3 player. It's a little scary that we will start getting detailed notes on line mistakes from Monday - they want Shakespeare and not our version of what we think he should have written.
Brent did not have time to give me detailed notes before we went back to full rehearsal, but he did say that he thought I had done well, which was good. We then mostly worked on the opening scene and on the transitions between scenes, in an attempt to get the play moving.
I wonder if there will be a call tomorrow or not....?
Terry and I had a good day, including watching The King's Speech at the cinema (a very elderly audience at the 1.30 screening...). Great acting all round, not least from Helena Bonham-Carter. Strange to see Jennifer Ehle back on screen with Colin Firth.
Brent started the rehearsal by saying how much he had enjoyed our run-through on Thursday, and that he wanted us to work in groups on anything we felt needed attention while he gave individual notes. I did some work with Edmund and with Lear, and ran some lines in my head, but I confess that I could have done more: I'm better doing the line work on my own with the MP3 player. It's a little scary that we will start getting detailed notes on line mistakes from Monday - they want Shakespeare and not our version of what we think he should have written.
Brent did not have time to give me detailed notes before we went back to full rehearsal, but he did say that he thought I had done well, which was good. We then mostly worked on the opening scene and on the transitions between scenes, in an attempt to get the play moving.
I wonder if there will be a call tomorrow or not....?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Good and bad at games
We almost got through the whole play: we actually got as far as the second half of Act Four before time caught up with us. I thought it went pretty well, although some of the cast are still on book, even those with relatively few lines. I felt quite confident up to and including the blinding scene, but I did lose it a little in the scene and a half we did after that (we stopped half-way through a scene at Lear's entrance), and I need to work on that.
What was sort of odd, for me, was that there was no feedback afterwards from anyone, so I don't know how people feel I did. Nevertheless, we got to within a few lines of the end of my role, and that makes me feel more confident and ready to try acting it rather than worrying about getting the words in the right order.....
What was sort of odd, for me, was that there was no feedback afterwards from anyone, so I don't know how people feel I did. Nevertheless, we got to within a few lines of the end of my role, and that makes me feel more confident and ready to try acting it rather than worrying about getting the words in the right order.....
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Grit for pearls
An edgy night in some ways, but, I hope, a productive one.
It began with the lighting designer in a rather heated discussion with the stage manager about the problem of lighting those moments when actors will be in the auditorium rather than on the stage: this is something he will need to solve fairly quickly.
Then we found that the stocks for Kent was actually a pillory - so they will have to be re-done or several lines will make no sense.
Then I had something of an acting class from Brent, mostly about keep my gaze focussed, but also on gestures - good, helpful stuff which made me wish I had taken some acting classes rather than just learning the lines and speaking loudly.
Barry was there tonight, on pain-killers and using a stick, and there was some sense of tension between him and the director (I may be wrong in that reading), but all was dispelled when we came to the heath, and 'Blow winds...'. Barry wanted to start the speech off-stage, and that led Brent to do a voice exercise with all the lights off, and with hugely exaggerated vowels - Blooooow wiiiinds. It was absolutely electric, and Brent embellished the idea by having those of us not in the scene move our arms and bodies across the various blue safety lights in the aisles so that there was no fixed source of light at all. By the 10.00 break we were trying to find out whether health and safety regulations allowed the darkened theatre and whether the actors should or should not be speaking their lines onstage - oh, and what the rules were on acting in the aisles.
We ran out of time, which is something of a concern because we have a run tomorrow and some of the scenes are blocked only in the sketchiest fashion.
But there was a family of deer right outside the theatre as I left at 11 - happily passing through....
And I've seen the outline for the programme in which I'm listed in the Guest Artist section: I think that is very cool.....
It began with the lighting designer in a rather heated discussion with the stage manager about the problem of lighting those moments when actors will be in the auditorium rather than on the stage: this is something he will need to solve fairly quickly.
Then we found that the stocks for Kent was actually a pillory - so they will have to be re-done or several lines will make no sense.
Then I had something of an acting class from Brent, mostly about keep my gaze focussed, but also on gestures - good, helpful stuff which made me wish I had taken some acting classes rather than just learning the lines and speaking loudly.
Barry was there tonight, on pain-killers and using a stick, and there was some sense of tension between him and the director (I may be wrong in that reading), but all was dispelled when we came to the heath, and 'Blow winds...'. Barry wanted to start the speech off-stage, and that led Brent to do a voice exercise with all the lights off, and with hugely exaggerated vowels - Blooooow wiiiinds. It was absolutely electric, and Brent embellished the idea by having those of us not in the scene move our arms and bodies across the various blue safety lights in the aisles so that there was no fixed source of light at all. By the 10.00 break we were trying to find out whether health and safety regulations allowed the darkened theatre and whether the actors should or should not be speaking their lines onstage - oh, and what the rules were on acting in the aisles.
We ran out of time, which is something of a concern because we have a run tomorrow and some of the scenes are blocked only in the sketchiest fashion.
But there was a family of deer right outside the theatre as I left at 11 - happily passing through....
And I've seen the outline for the programme in which I'm listed in the Guest Artist section: I think that is very cool.....
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Working without Lear
I have worked hard tonight...
We had our two ten-minute breaks, but I was working all the rest of the four-hour session, and I feel good after it.
Apparently Barry had a back twinge lifting Cordelia, and aggravated that last night, but he'll be OK tomorrow - I'm very glad of that.
We did some quite intensive work on some scenes which were very physical for me (including the blinding) and I feel much better that I'm off book now: it was the right time for me to be doing that and the right time for the rest of the cast to know that I have got to that stage - I felt that they just needed to know that I was on top of things. We have our preview performance three weeks tomorrow....
We had our two ten-minute breaks, but I was working all the rest of the four-hour session, and I feel good after it.
Apparently Barry had a back twinge lifting Cordelia, and aggravated that last night, but he'll be OK tomorrow - I'm very glad of that.
We did some quite intensive work on some scenes which were very physical for me (including the blinding) and I feel much better that I'm off book now: it was the right time for me to be doing that and the right time for the rest of the cast to know that I have got to that stage - I felt that they just needed to know that I was on top of things. We have our preview performance three weeks tomorrow....
Lear injury
Just had word that Barry has hurt his knee and will be out of the rehearsal tonight, so we have a new schedule. I hope he will be OK, and I wonder how this will impact on our preparation.
Let's start at the very beginning...
Hard to get songs like 'How do you solve a problem like King Lear?' and 'King Lear, I've just watched a play called King Lear' out of my mind....
We did the opening tonight, and that went well. I did some line-running with Edmund and Edgar, and we got away early. Tonight we are following through the plot line from the Fool's perspective and tomorrow from Cornwall's and Regan's viewpoint: it is an interesting approach, and I am keen to see how that works. Thursday we are set to do a full run, although it is hard to believe that we'll get through it all.
We did the opening tonight, and that went well. I did some line-running with Edmund and Edgar, and we got away early. Tonight we are following through the plot line from the Fool's perspective and tomorrow from Cornwall's and Regan's viewpoint: it is an interesting approach, and I am keen to see how that works. Thursday we are set to do a full run, although it is hard to believe that we'll get through it all.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Half-way point
We are now half-way into the rehearsal process - three weeks today we will be doing the second tech run, and the first dress is three weeks tomorrow: Valentine's Day...
I think we are making great progress. We ran Act Four and Act Five this morning, and then went back and did detailed work on the Gloucester/Edgar/Lear scenes from Act Four. I feel as if I have been through a wringer, physically and emotionally, but I'm so pleased to have that work done, and so grateful for what I have learned. It has made me all the more determined to get the lines learned - being off the book will be such a help.
Brent has had me working on a tendency I have to over-hit the pronoun at the expense of the noun which follows. So I have to get away from saying 'your power' in such a way that 'power' is not emphasised enough.
We start again on Act one tomorrow - it seems ages since we have done those scenes.
I think we are making great progress. We ran Act Four and Act Five this morning, and then went back and did detailed work on the Gloucester/Edgar/Lear scenes from Act Four. I feel as if I have been through a wringer, physically and emotionally, but I'm so pleased to have that work done, and so grateful for what I have learned. It has made me all the more determined to get the lines learned - being off the book will be such a help.
Brent has had me working on a tendency I have to over-hit the pronoun at the expense of the noun which follows. So I have to get away from saying 'your power' in such a way that 'power' is not emphasised enough.
We start again on Act one tomorrow - it seems ages since we have done those scenes.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Busy times
It has been a busy couple of days!
I have had quite a lot of work to do for the choir, helping to set up the Mozart concert in February and the Bach in May, neither of which I'll be singing in... hey ho!
On stage we have now blocked the whole play, at least I think we will have done so: I left after doing Act Five Scene Two last night, so I am hoping that they completed the play after that.
I wish I had taken my camera, because Vii includes a battle, and the sight of Brent, who is not a tall man, surrounded by huge warriors, was quite something.
On Thursday we blocked the not-really-falling-off-a-cliff scene, and it was very rewarding to work on that with Barry. At times he reminds me of Olivier, at other times he makes me think of my long-time comedy partner Pete Dixon - maybe the white beard, maybe the danger of unpredictable wildness, I don't know which.
I have had quite a lot of work to do for the choir, helping to set up the Mozart concert in February and the Bach in May, neither of which I'll be singing in... hey ho!
On stage we have now blocked the whole play, at least I think we will have done so: I left after doing Act Five Scene Two last night, so I am hoping that they completed the play after that.
I wish I had taken my camera, because Vii includes a battle, and the sight of Brent, who is not a tall man, surrounded by huge warriors, was quite something.
On Thursday we blocked the not-really-falling-off-a-cliff scene, and it was very rewarding to work on that with Barry. At times he reminds me of Olivier, at other times he makes me think of my long-time comedy partner Pete Dixon - maybe the white beard, maybe the danger of unpredictable wildness, I don't know which.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
not a cliff in sight
I think this may have been the latest rehearsal call I have ever had. I was called for 9.00 pm, just in time for the crew to take a break, so, by the time we got the room set out (we were using the foyer rather than the theatre) and got started, it was 9.25. We read the scene, and had only just started the blocking when we ran out of time. Maybe it was because we were off the main stage, but there was a slightly more relaxed and intimate feel tonight - Barry, Brent and I swapping stories and thinking about individual words and lines.
It seems possible that I will be able to wear knee-pads in the show itself: I had them tonight for the 'not really falling off the cliff' scene, and I felt much mote comfortable about what I was doing. As on Friday, there was a lot of care about whether I was happy with the physical stuff: it is a heartening aspect of this production that attention is paid to safety and to health - the stage manager is insistent that breaks are taken when they are due, and the show is the better for it.
I drove home under a full moon and caught sight of something dark in the road on one of the side-streets: I thought it might be a deer (we get lots of those) but it was a couple kissing - very charming.
Back in the groove
Ah, that was more like it!
A much better rehearsal of the beginning of Act Four. Some of these student actors really are such a joy to work with. If I discount my three lines in Act Five, I now have only one scene left to block - although it is the most complex scene in the play for me (and one of the most difficult in the entire play...). I can see some slow progress when we look at the 'fall' from the cliff and the encounter with the mad Lear.
I just posted my head-shot on Facebook - the copy below is bigger and scarier than I needed!
A much better rehearsal of the beginning of Act Four. Some of these student actors really are such a joy to work with. If I discount my three lines in Act Five, I now have only one scene left to block - although it is the most complex scene in the play for me (and one of the most difficult in the entire play...). I can see some slow progress when we look at the 'fall' from the cliff and the encounter with the mad Lear.
I just posted my head-shot on Facebook - the copy below is bigger and scarier than I needed!
Monday, January 17, 2011
It was bound to happen
Probably just as well to have a duff rehearsal now than later...
Having done well on Sunday in detailed work on a small scene with Edmund, I really did poorly tonight. I missed a line (having been fed the wrong cue) then cut across someone else's line, then entered too late. By around 9.00 I was ready to go home with my tail between my legs. The only mitigating aspect was that others seem to feel that they too had had a bad night: we were supposed to run Acts II and III, but only got as far as the end of Act II. I felt all night like people playing sports must feel in a game that's going badly: it's not in the legs or the arms (or, in the case of acting, in the mouth) all in the mind.
I'll really need to spend some time tomorrow preparing myself better for Act IV Scene 1 - the first of my two blind scenes.
Having done well on Sunday in detailed work on a small scene with Edmund, I really did poorly tonight. I missed a line (having been fed the wrong cue) then cut across someone else's line, then entered too late. By around 9.00 I was ready to go home with my tail between my legs. The only mitigating aspect was that others seem to feel that they too had had a bad night: we were supposed to run Acts II and III, but only got as far as the end of Act II. I felt all night like people playing sports must feel in a game that's going badly: it's not in the legs or the arms (or, in the case of acting, in the mouth) all in the mind.
I'll really need to spend some time tomorrow preparing myself better for Act IV Scene 1 - the first of my two blind scenes.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
a bit of a break
I had a break from rehearsing yesterday, so I took a break from the blog too.
We did two contrasting scenes: one all-male scene on the heath, and then the blinding scene, and I'm really feeling that I'm not an outsider now but part of the group - indicated, perhaps by a bunch of new Facebook friend requests. It takes time going through line-by-line, but it is definitely worth it. Brent had the idea that the hovel on the house would have homeless people all around it, which could make the link with the food project all the more powerful - except that that guy has not got back to me yet...
We blocked the blinding, and I was very touched with the care everyone took making sure I was comfortable - giving me breaks, and even, at one point, a massage from the director! I think the scene will look very effective.
The half-hour of physical stuff we did on Thursday has certainly helped me - I am actually doing stretching exercises once again
The half-hour of physical stuff we did on Thursday has certainly helped me - I am actually doing stretching exercises once again
Friday, January 14, 2011
No blinding - yet
I have all my cues and lines on an MP3 player now - and I see that my total participation comes to twenty two and a half minutes - if you take the cues out, who knows what it would be....
I spent some of yesterday touting choir concerts which I won't be singing in, but which I want to support. I also had an idea about trying to make a link between this production of King Lear and the Ashland Food Project for which I volunteer: lots of stuff about homelessness and starvation in this play.
And... I sent off my contribution to the monthly magazine which the radio station publishes. I based it on my thoughts from last weekend on the Goldberg Variations.
OK, back to the play. We didn't actually do the blinding last night - the fight captain decided she should wait until after the scene is blocked, which will happen tonight - I have a funny feeling we are going to be working on Sunday afternoon on this...
So, instead, we did some movement, some tai chi, and some trust exercises, and we talked a little about how the blinding might be staged, and how we'd get from that scene to the next where Gloucester is led on blind. I may not be going to the gym myself, but Lear is - Barry and I talked about him carrying on Cordelia in the final scene, and he told me that he had been doing weight-training, and that he would start lifting Cordelia next week, gradually increasing the length of time he held her up.
We then worked on some scenes on the heath (III ii and III iii). Once again I learned such a lot - I would pay to have this learning experience. There was a play which ran here in 2009 called Equivocation which was about Shakespeare: it opened with a rehearsal of the heath scene from King Lear and Shakespeare's actors complaining that it was impossible to act and made no sense - we all recalled that scene last night as we tried to find a line through for each of us. For me, the problem is in being the only character on stage who is not in disguise, insane or a professional jester...
I'm realising a bit more about how this whole process works. The director actually did have some previous knowledge of some of the students, because they have had internships with the Festival - that interface with the University is really important and a great benefit for the students. I also realise that this is very unlike the course productions I am familiar with from Winchester. There are six productions a year here, and all of them have open auditions, so the cast is not drawn solely from one particular year-group and you don't have to use everybody from that one cohort. t seems to work - everyone in the company gets academic credit for being involved.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
January 13
It's a wet day here, but it was a mild night with no frost on the car as we left the rehearsal: I walked out to the car-park with Barry (Lear) whose parting words were "See you on the heath tomorrow night..".
It was a good evening. I had a head-shot taken before we went back into Act Two - as far as I could see, the picture was pretty good. The onstage work went well, but it is starting to get tricky to know where you are at without the actual steps there - they are marked in chalk, but that is not the same, and people kept moving into positions which would see them fall right off the stage. Nevertheless, we made good progress: I calculate that we have 22 rehearsals before the tech'.
The students are amazingly well-disciplined and committed. I spent some time last night talking to a young woman who plays one of Goneril's servants and who was concerned about the moral dilemma of her character - how to stay true to her mistress when she can see how badly Goneril is behaving.
We mostly worked on Act II Scene IV, in which Gloucester becomes totally marginalised in his own castle: Cornwall has upstaged him in II ii, and now Regan takes over from Cornwall as the principal power - great stuff!
We start on the blinding scene tonight, which we will rehears in a separate room under the guidance of the fight captain. She worked with Edgar and Edmund last night on their final sword-fight, and the result was very impressive indeed.
It was a good evening. I had a head-shot taken before we went back into Act Two - as far as I could see, the picture was pretty good. The onstage work went well, but it is starting to get tricky to know where you are at without the actual steps there - they are marked in chalk, but that is not the same, and people kept moving into positions which would see them fall right off the stage. Nevertheless, we made good progress: I calculate that we have 22 rehearsals before the tech'.
The students are amazingly well-disciplined and committed. I spent some time last night talking to a young woman who plays one of Goneril's servants and who was concerned about the moral dilemma of her character - how to stay true to her mistress when she can see how badly Goneril is behaving.
We mostly worked on Act II Scene IV, in which Gloucester becomes totally marginalised in his own castle: Cornwall has upstaged him in II ii, and now Regan takes over from Cornwall as the principal power - great stuff!
We start on the blinding scene tonight, which we will rehears in a separate room under the guidance of the fight captain. She worked with Edgar and Edmund last night on their final sword-fight, and the result was very impressive indeed.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Words, words, words
Here's another set-design photo
Fighting the fatigue
OK - I am feeling my age here! I was on campus from 3.00 to 11.15 yesterday - I'm so glad I don't have to work at a job as well...
The Steig Larsson event went well - room packed, and they seemed interested in what I had to say. All the technical stuff worked, and I even remembered to take the thumb-drive out of the machine at the end...
Of course, as usual there were people in the audience who I recognised but could not place or name - especially embarrassing as one of them came up to me at the end to ask if I had got the email she sent me. A frantic working of the brain and 'yes' - you are the lady with the lovely house where we sometimes go for parties, and you sent us an invitation to another party soon, but I'll have to wait to see if I'm free that night because....
We had dinner with Mike, with whom I taught last term, and then off to merry old rehearsals. We did what the director calls 'table work' for quite a while: this means we sat, read the scene, then went through talking about what each speech meant. 'Table work' could be a standard term in theatre for all I know - I have never taken a theatre class, so I don't even know the names of the curtains, so I'm trying to pick this all up as we go along. We have tremendous support: one person works exclusively on textual issues, another chart moves and gestures. Barry (Lear) was not called last night, so I fielded questions about pronunciation and meaning, many of which were really intriguing. We came across some of those words which may have been invented by Shakespeare but which never caught on - who ever uses the word 'cullionly'? (OK, I haven't looked it up and it may not be a Shakespeare invention, and many people may use it ever day - what do I know?)
We got rather hung up on the very beginning of Act Two, and I suspect that will really come together only after the fight captain works on it (she starts with us tonight, and I could be blinded by Friday evening...). So we made rather slower progress than we expected. I'll need to spend some time today firming up what we did last night, before a photo call at 6.30. I now have a schedule for the rest of the week - 7 to 11 every night, plus Sunday afternoon. This is theatre! This is theatre?
I had a nightmare in which I overheard some of the members of the cast complaining about how boring I was, and how my stories were tedious... come on Freud, what is that about?
The Steig Larsson event went well - room packed, and they seemed interested in what I had to say. All the technical stuff worked, and I even remembered to take the thumb-drive out of the machine at the end...
Of course, as usual there were people in the audience who I recognised but could not place or name - especially embarrassing as one of them came up to me at the end to ask if I had got the email she sent me. A frantic working of the brain and 'yes' - you are the lady with the lovely house where we sometimes go for parties, and you sent us an invitation to another party soon, but I'll have to wait to see if I'm free that night because....
We had dinner with Mike, with whom I taught last term, and then off to merry old rehearsals. We did what the director calls 'table work' for quite a while: this means we sat, read the scene, then went through talking about what each speech meant. 'Table work' could be a standard term in theatre for all I know - I have never taken a theatre class, so I don't even know the names of the curtains, so I'm trying to pick this all up as we go along. We have tremendous support: one person works exclusively on textual issues, another chart moves and gestures. Barry (Lear) was not called last night, so I fielded questions about pronunciation and meaning, many of which were really intriguing. We came across some of those words which may have been invented by Shakespeare but which never caught on - who ever uses the word 'cullionly'? (OK, I haven't looked it up and it may not be a Shakespeare invention, and many people may use it ever day - what do I know?)
We got rather hung up on the very beginning of Act Two, and I suspect that will really come together only after the fight captain works on it (she starts with us tonight, and I could be blinded by Friday evening...). So we made rather slower progress than we expected. I'll need to spend some time today firming up what we did last night, before a photo call at 6.30. I now have a schedule for the rest of the week - 7 to 11 every night, plus Sunday afternoon. This is theatre! This is theatre?
I had a nightmare in which I overheard some of the members of the cast complaining about how boring I was, and how my stories were tedious... come on Freud, what is that about?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Tuesday January 11th
Another wow!
We ran Act One last night and it was very good indeed. Several of the cast are already off book, and we could probably have done a pretty credible performance of those scenes for a paying audience tonight. The women are already wearing longs skirts (as might be clear from the photo below which is labelled 'In rehearsal'), and there is a really high level of engagement and commitment. The two principals about whom I had some concerns last week have come through, and it must just be their way of working to wait for the rehearsals and then go for it - credit to them.
Kent and Gloucester open the play by coming down the far aisle, with Edmund coming off the stage to meet them. Brent commented that we ended up under an exit sign and needed to travel down another step to avoid that: the two students immediately began taking the blame/responsibility for getting in the wrong place, and Brent had to tell them that this was nobody's 'fault' - it was a rehearsal and they could not be expected to know what was behind them...
Oh, and I did share what I was thinking about how Gloucester might relate to Edmund, and that was fine - phew!
We ran Act One last night and it was very good indeed. Several of the cast are already off book, and we could probably have done a pretty credible performance of those scenes for a paying audience tonight. The women are already wearing longs skirts (as might be clear from the photo below which is labelled 'In rehearsal'), and there is a really high level of engagement and commitment. The two principals about whom I had some concerns last week have come through, and it must just be their way of working to wait for the rehearsals and then go for it - credit to them.
Kent and Gloucester open the play by coming down the far aisle, with Edmund coming off the stage to meet them. Brent commented that we ended up under an exit sign and needed to travel down another step to avoid that: the two students immediately began taking the blame/responsibility for getting in the wrong place, and Brent had to tell them that this was nobody's 'fault' - it was a rehearsal and they could not be expected to know what was behind them...
Oh, and I did share what I was thinking about how Gloucester might relate to Edmund, and that was fine - phew!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Monday
I've added a photo of one of the set designs to give an idea of the staging. The theatre seats around 300 people.
I have discovered that my laptop has a built-in microphone and a recording program so I can record my lines and copy the files to my MP3 player - this is great!
I have discovered that my laptop has a built-in microphone and a recording program so I can record my lines and copy the files to my MP3 player - this is great!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Sunday and Sher
I have had no rehearsal calls on Thursday or Friday, so I got some time to learn lines, to prepare to chair a session on Steig Larsson on Tuesday and to go to a very fine String Trio concert on Friday night.
Perhaps most importantly, though, on the recommendation of my friend Roy, I started to read Antony Sher's The Year of the King. I was slightly put off at first by his confusion of 'compliment' and 'complement' (and later of 'lead' and 'led') but the more I read, the more the pedant in me became quiet, and the more I learned. I now have a new appreciation of how different the professional theatre is from what I am doing, and, since, both Brent and Barry have worked/are working professionally, I see that I need to be careful and be realistic about what I can and cannot do. For example, I'm not going to change my diet, and I'm not going to go to the gym, but it would make sense not to drink before rehearsing... I was so taken by parts of this book that I came close to stopping this blog altogether - it seemed too arrogant.
I have taken to heart the point about maybe not trying to learn all the lines before we've blocked the scenes - I remember showing up for the first rehearsal of Love's Labour's Lost back in 1978 having learned the whole part of Berowne, and I remember how irritated some (all?) of the rest of the cast were: they were probably right.
Reading the book also reminded me what I have lost over the years by not seeing plays when I could have done. I actually had a ticket for Sher's Richard III, but didn't use it because I was rehearsing something else, and day after day I walked by the theatre where John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert was playing (Sher played Ringo), always thinking I might get round to seeing it.
The book does not seem to mention anything about Sher's sexuality (maybe that is later in the text, or maybe he didn't feel he could come out in the mid-80s?), and his anecdote about George Harrison coming to see John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert is interestingly skewed: in Sher's version, the cast were thrilled to have him there - he doesn't mention that Harrison hated the show and left at the intermission, taking away with him the permission for it to include his songs...
It was, however, lovely to read about Pete Postlethwaite, who sadly died this last week.
I now have a call for tomorrow evening - full cast to review Act One. I am getting a sense of Gloucester and his relationships with Edmund and with the Cornwalls: the question is, should I tell Brent what I'm thinking? I've also realised that the current Duchess of Cornwall (and therefore the equivalent of Regan) is Camilla....
So I'll keep on working on lines. I listened to the Glenn Gould CD of the Goldberg last night (the one where you can hear him humming in the background). Hearing such different versions of the piece so soon after one another made me think about different interpretations of roles, and even different emphases in individual lines
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday
Got up and checked the email. I'm not called for tonight - they are still working on the scene from last night.
Oh well, more time to put in on the lines (I think I'm pretty much OK with the first two Acts now, which will constitute the first half of our show), and I can also go to a concert tonight, if we can get tickets. Ironically, the concert is just yards away from the rehearsal.
I have been thinking that one consequence of having an external director rather than a member of the Theatre Faculty, is that he truly did audition blind without having seen any of the actors either in other plays or in class - interesting....
Oh well, more time to put in on the lines (I think I'm pretty much OK with the first two Acts now, which will constitute the first half of our show), and I can also go to a concert tonight, if we can get tickets. Ironically, the concert is just yards away from the rehearsal.
I have been thinking that one consequence of having an external director rather than a member of the Theatre Faculty, is that he truly did audition blind without having seen any of the actors either in other plays or in class - interesting....
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Rehearsal three
A very different kind of work tonight. There were only three of the cast rehearsing in that large space, and the director worked in much more detail. I've been trying to find something which described the dimensions of the theatre, its seating capacity - maybe even a photo? - but without success. It is, however, a good space to work, with perhaps as much space on the stage as in the auditorium - which means the stage has lots of depth to it.
Although there were few actors, the technical and supporting crew were there in force, so, when the director had a query about the meaning of a line, there was someone ready to look it up instantly - most impressive.
We spent time puzzling over what 'If our father should sleep 'til I waked him' might mean (and how to convey that meaning to the audience) and whether 'revenue' should be accented in the second syllable or not.... so we ran over our time and I got home at 9.45, but I have no call for Thursday.
Although there were few actors, the technical and supporting crew were there in force, so, when the director had a query about the meaning of a line, there was someone ready to look it up instantly - most impressive.
We spent time puzzling over what 'If our father should sleep 'til I waked him' might mean (and how to convey that meaning to the audience) and whether 'revenue' should be accented in the second syllable or not.... so we ran over our time and I got home at 9.45, but I have no call for Thursday.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
rehearsal two
Wow, this was really an eye-opener. It was our first time actually standing up and moving around, blocking the opening scene, and I was really impressed, flattered and satisfied with how it went. I'll add more to this in the morning.
Wednesday morning - There were several reasons why I thought last night was so good. One was the vision which the director had for the opening scene, which was so very close to how I had always seen it (I like people who agree with me!). He has the set already peopled before Kent, Gloucester and Edmund speak, which is how I think it should look. He also had the idea that everyone expects Lear to cut the kingdom in two (di-vide??) so the split into three comes as a shock. I chipped in my idea that the play seems to be all about men until Lear throws in the word 'daughters' - an extra layer of shock...
Another reason I felt happy is that the director made it very clear that he valued my input, and encouraged the cast to use Barry and myself as resources about pronunciation, meanings etc. - and they certainly did use us! It feels good to be valued....
We finished just after 11 last night, but I should be done by 9 tonight, and may not have a call on Thursday or Friday
Wednesday morning - There were several reasons why I thought last night was so good. One was the vision which the director had for the opening scene, which was so very close to how I had always seen it (I like people who agree with me!). He has the set already peopled before Kent, Gloucester and Edmund speak, which is how I think it should look. He also had the idea that everyone expects Lear to cut the kingdom in two (di-vide??) so the split into three comes as a shock. I chipped in my idea that the play seems to be all about men until Lear throws in the word 'daughters' - an extra layer of shock...
Another reason I felt happy is that the director made it very clear that he valued my input, and encouraged the cast to use Barry and myself as resources about pronunciation, meanings etc. - and they certainly did use us! It feels good to be valued....
We finished just after 11 last night, but I should be done by 9 tonight, and may not have a call on Thursday or Friday
First rehearsal
Well, it really did last the full four hours!
I got to the theatre at about 6.55, and I was almost the last to arrive. We are in the major theatre, and there is another production (Alice) rehearsing in the smaller black-box.
We started with talks by the design people on set, costumes, sound and fighting. The set designs look wonderful, and photos were sent to the cast this morning. If I get permission, I will add them to this blog.
All the cast except Barry Kraft and myself are students, and they are getting credits for being in the play. I think they will also have supervisors from the Faculty monitoring their performances. I was impressed with most of the cast at this second read-through (we did the first in December) - there are only two of the principals that I have slight concerns about right now: I don't think they have done quite enough work on figuring out what their lines mean; the bulk of the cast, however, have worked very hard indeed.
I'm the only person with a British accent, which feels slightly odd. Barry gave some hints on pronunciation, but I don't know if I should also offer input on this (and on music?) - early days yet. Time will tell.
I got to the theatre at about 6.55, and I was almost the last to arrive. We are in the major theatre, and there is another production (Alice) rehearsing in the smaller black-box.
We started with talks by the design people on set, costumes, sound and fighting. The set designs look wonderful, and photos were sent to the cast this morning. If I get permission, I will add them to this blog.
All the cast except Barry Kraft and myself are students, and they are getting credits for being in the play. I think they will also have supervisors from the Faculty monitoring their performances. I was impressed with most of the cast at this second read-through (we did the first in December) - there are only two of the principals that I have slight concerns about right now: I don't think they have done quite enough work on figuring out what their lines mean; the bulk of the cast, however, have worked very hard indeed.
I'm the only person with a British accent, which feels slightly odd. Barry gave some hints on pronunciation, but I don't know if I should also offer input on this (and on music?) - early days yet. Time will tell.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Day One
An early start! I was up just after 4.00am - I tend not to sleep very well before a radio show. It was very cold and frosty, but I got the jeep clear of ice and made it to the station on time for what was an uneventful shift.
Before I went I checked emails, and there were two to do with Lear, one of which had an attachment I could not open! I got in touch with Rob, the stage manager, who set it back in a different format, but it didn't actually apply to me anyway: it was a list of readings tonight for those who are looking to play Knights, Servants, Gentlemen etc, so it is looking like tonight may be an extension of the casting process.
I did pick up a script (and signed a waiver exonerating the University if I have an accident): quite a few of my favourite lines have gone, but how else are we going to get the running-time down to three hours!
I'm resting now before going into the theatre at 7.00 - let the fun begin.....
Before I went I checked emails, and there were two to do with Lear, one of which had an attachment I could not open! I got in touch with Rob, the stage manager, who set it back in a different format, but it didn't actually apply to me anyway: it was a list of readings tonight for those who are looking to play Knights, Servants, Gentlemen etc, so it is looking like tonight may be an extension of the casting process.
I did pick up a script (and signed a waiver exonerating the University if I have an accident): quite a few of my favourite lines have gone, but how else are we going to get the running-time down to three hours!
I'm resting now before going into the theatre at 7.00 - let the fun begin.....
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Sunday afternoon January 2 2011
This is a blog describing my experience of the rehearsal process of a production of Shakespeare's King Lear at Southern Oregon University in 2011.
I'm trying to tie up some loose ends today before rehearsals start. Essentially, I'm dropping in on a rehearsal of a different kind - the first of the New Year for the Southern Oregon Repertory Singers - just to show that I've not forgotten them, even if I won't be singing with them until the autumn.
Tomorrow will be a long day. I have to be up at 0500 to do a radio show, so I'm hoping to get a break in the afternoon before the evening's rehearsal. There are lots of people in the cast and crew, hardly any of whom I know, but, no doubt, there will be several whom I'll know well by the end of February.
The schedule calls for rehearsals from 7 to 11 Monday to Friday, but I don't yet know how that will translate into reality. It may well be that this week we block one act each night, which would mean a slightly inefficient Friday for me, because I only have three lines in Act Five (and I'd be glad to see the last of those cut!).
I'm not teaching this term, but I do have some other commitments, including a talk on the Steig Larsson novels next week.
I'm trying to tie up some loose ends today before rehearsals start. Essentially, I'm dropping in on a rehearsal of a different kind - the first of the New Year for the Southern Oregon Repertory Singers - just to show that I've not forgotten them, even if I won't be singing with them until the autumn.
Tomorrow will be a long day. I have to be up at 0500 to do a radio show, so I'm hoping to get a break in the afternoon before the evening's rehearsal. There are lots of people in the cast and crew, hardly any of whom I know, but, no doubt, there will be several whom I'll know well by the end of February.
The schedule calls for rehearsals from 7 to 11 Monday to Friday, but I don't yet know how that will translate into reality. It may well be that this week we block one act each night, which would mean a slightly inefficient Friday for me, because I only have three lines in Act Five (and I'd be glad to see the last of those cut!).
I'm not teaching this term, but I do have some other commitments, including a talk on the Steig Larsson novels next week.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Two days before rehearsals start
It is New Year's Day, and rehearsals start at 7pm on Jan 3rd.
I've been reading a text of the play most days for the past three weeks, but I can't actually learn any of Gloucester's lines until I get the approved script on Monday. The other part of my 'preparation' has been to let my hair and my beard grow: I am hoping that some decisions on hair-styles will be taken soon so I can look a little more presentable.
This is what the publicity says:
The all-powerful Lear makes a fatal decision when he misinterprets his youngest daughter’s silence as disloyalty. Cordelia flees to safety in France and marriage to the French monarch. When she brings French forces to protect her father from her ruthless sisters, the ruin of several families is set in motion. Directed by Brent Hinkley from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with Barry Kraft of OSF playing King Lear. More information is available at sou.edu/theatre/calendar.
I've been reading a text of the play most days for the past three weeks, but I can't actually learn any of Gloucester's lines until I get the approved script on Monday. The other part of my 'preparation' has been to let my hair and my beard grow: I am hoping that some decisions on hair-styles will be taken soon so I can look a little more presentable.
This is what the publicity says:
The all-powerful Lear makes a fatal decision when he misinterprets his youngest daughter’s silence as disloyalty. Cordelia flees to safety in France and marriage to the French monarch. When she brings French forces to protect her father from her ruthless sisters, the ruin of several families is set in motion. Directed by Brent Hinkley from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with Barry Kraft of OSF playing King Lear. More information is available at sou.edu/theatre/calendar.
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