Introduction
From this point, unless there is a drastic change in the structure and/or features of the rehearsal process, I will not bore you with my repetitiveness!
However, this rehearsal did indeed differ significantly! Being one of the Assistant Directors for this show as well as playing a character, I was put in charge of directing Act 1, Scene 8: the iconic scene in which Elle arrives at Whitney's student party dressed as a Playboy Bunny.
Context
This scene immediately follows Vivienne inviting Elle to the party in question, intentionally sabotaging her arrival by misleading her into thinking it is a Costume Party (hence why Paulette offers her the Playboy outfit.
In terms of staging, the general idea our main director is planning is that it is set outside (Whitney's Garden?), and as such the wings lead off into the main house in various directions; the upstage wings are all characters' main point of entrance, whereas the downstage wings can be for temporary absences.
Process of Direction and Intentions
I will separate my process for this scene into several key elements, which in turn have been effective in establishing different themes and ideas between the characters:
-Opening (principals only)
-Reset with addition of Supporting
-Introduction of Elle
-Serious (reprise)
-Altercation
-Resolve
Opening
The scene begins with Vivienne and Warner entering the party, and the former engaging in a conversation with Whitney, the host.
As mentioned prior, all new guests enter from upstage - in this case USR - and Whitney begins CS as the host. Vivienne immediately walks to meet her friend and begin the conversation face-on (with slight angles to prevent a lack of visibility to the audience), with Warner purposefully stuck in the middle facing directly forward.
This central staging, for starters, ensures that these characters with the dialogue can be the primary point of focus with no obstructions, as well as keeping the downstage area empty (more on that later.) The placement of Warner in the middle of the conversation with his lack of dialogue begins to cement his awkwardness within the setting; Whitney is someone he is not familiar with, and he is engaging for Vivienne's sake instead of his own. This then links to his ultimate decision at the end of the show to distance himself from the Law field; he never felt it resonated with him to begin with!
Following Whitney's exit from this are into SL (where she will begin to interact with other ensemble), Vivienne unintentionally furthers Warner's issue by moving into Whitney's place and blocking him from the rest of the room to which he is facing. However, this begins t be remedied as she begins to lead him downstage...
Ultimately, this DS strip is intended for the more intimate moments between characters, as it is where the later Serious (reprise) takes place, thus creating an as of yet unknown parallel. Therefore, this direction into the more secluded are of the stage implies a softer moment between the two characters, speaking of exciting aspirations and work they can do together...
...that is, before Vivienne unknowingly spoils it by continuing her spiel about other students and the study group.
Reset with addition of supporting cast
Having laid out this facet of the scene and rehearsed it several times to work out the tweaks, we slotted in member of the older ensemble cast to pose as the other Harvard students. For this, I needed people (and they were allocated as such) who I knew could remain engaged and alive onstage, without drawing too much attention away from the dialoguing principals.
I was relatively lax with this aspect of the directing process, dotting people around the stage and having a degree of trust in them to come up with their own storylines, whilst posing a few suggestions. I, as well as the main director, made it clear at the start - however - the context of the scene. More specifically, the more dignified, stuck-up characters that they would be playing, despite the setting of a house party potentially causing ulterior assumptions without the correct information.
Introduction of Elle
While I have spoken prior about the general importance of character entrances, this one in particular is highly impactful as a moment in the show as a whole.
While I was unable due to set logistics to have Elle enter through the USC doors as originally planned, she still enters from the upstage wing hidden behind students, only to be revealed in front of said doors. The rest of the students by this time have formed a sort of gangway in their clumps (whilst still leaving DS apron empty), for Elle to later walk down the middle and approach the now stunned (and slightly off-centre CS) Warner.
The true beat moment of noticing Elle occurs when Vivienne - who had previously exited casually into what will be the house backstage - returns, and spots Elle and Warner herself. Before Elle drives downstage towards Warner, there is an audio cue of the music halting abruptly and all characters on stage blatantly staring at her in a mixture of shock, disgust and glee.
Serious (Reprise)
The interactions between Elle and Warner - who have now finally moved to the DS apron as mentioned prior - was not blocked by me; I left this task to the comfort of the actors involved, as well as the main director who already had some parallels from earlier in the show they wanted to implement.
However, it was my initiative to instruct the rest of the ensemble. I decided to have them all continue their previous characterisation and interactions following Elle's reveal (with the implied addition of conversation and motivation that came with that), with the only alteration being the speed slowing down dramatically - pun not intended... This way, as at the start of the scene, the audience would maintain their focus on Elle and Warner downstage, and the atmosphere would not be broken by disengaged ensemble.
Altercation
By the end of the song, ensemble slowly begin to converge on the downstage area, creating a sort of menacing huddle around Elle. However, they still leave the frontmost area for Elle and Warner to not break the energy generated just yet.
That is, aside from Vivienne, who shows no hesitation in driving downstage and breaking the previous connotations of this area of the stage. Moreover, these three characters being the only ones in this section, with Warner in the middle and the two women either side, is a reflection of the current romantic turmoil that makes up one of the show's many subplots. Vivienne driving into this space is a direct representation of how Elle felt when she initially heard the news of her and Warner's breakup, followed swiftly by his announcement of his relationship with Vivienne.
The ensemble continue to converge, now breaching the edges of this space, and react with according spite and teasing towards Elle at each of Vivienne's comments (and also partially towards Vivienne when she is insulted, but this is slightly less defined as Vivienne still holds status within the scene at this point.)
Resolve
However, the atmosphere is rapidly shifted when Elle springs into action, taking the glasses of Enid (who is slightly further forward than the other ensemble and positioned centrally), and insisting that her costume held a more intellectual value.
This is a significant moment, as Elle begins to strip away Vivienne's authority in the scene and bestow it upon herself. Therefore, as Elle delivers her final target towards Vivienne, she storms away in the opposite direction, with people actively parting before she even walks through them! Meanwhile, Vivienne is slowly squashed into the DSR area, before eventually storming off, thoroughly beaten down.
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