This date was the first of two full rehearsal days in preparation for the show. The aim of this day was partially to continue our familiarisation with the structure of the show in its entirety, making use of near-professional full runs. However, its primary purpose was to establish the partnership between the company and the band; this was our first official communication and collaboration with them, aside from small group of people being sporadically called away to sing prior to this date.
Itinerary
We needed to be preparing our areas in whichever changing room we were situated in at 8:30, ready to be sat in the auditorium for a register at 8:50. Following this, we all dressed into our first costumes by 9:10, whilst the band were setting up their equipment on the balcony section of the set. Finally, by 10:00, we could begin the full song run. This lasted longer than anticipated; we ended up finishing around 18:00, and left once we had cleared everything away in preparation for the coming days.
Main Body
The full song run consisted of covering every musical cue, song and transition phrase. Most of these would be revised multiple times, in order to everyone involved to develop an appropriate familiarity with entrance cues, tempo and general musical technicalities (e.g. dynamics, harmonies etc.)
As a result of such a prolonged process, this day is considered one of the most tiring of the main rehearsals in the lead up to a show. Some actors will not be needed for a long period of time during the procedure, others may not have a break for a long time (two actors in my cast went over the same cue for almost an hour and a half!)
Therefore, a large portion of the qualities necessary for a performer in this circumstance is resilience and patience. Whether you are a character with sporadic scenes, someone with long periods between your entrances, or someone who hardly leaves the stage at all, it was essential that we were all quiet and respectful during this mammoth task.
In my case, this was a useful opportunity to fulfil a few remaining tasks that I needed to do, both in preparation for the show and elsewhere. I made sure to efficiently structure my time, so that all intended outcomes were assured.
When I was not on stage or providing backing vocals, I would be backstage working out pathways and logistics. Essentially, I would be planning the tasks I would need to complete on my off-nights, including prop distribution, set movement, and helping my counterpart and myself in our necessities as our character. When these things were successfully achieved, I was also using the time to ensure I was keeping on top of my schoolwork; being an A-Level student, this was especially important. While most of my work was finalised in the holidays afterwards, this was a very helpful head-start that meant I was revising over a longer period of time and giving myself less to do in the future, when I knew I would be feeling the effects of performance exhaustion.
Director's Commentary
''Firstly well done! So professional from you all to complete today. But! Now its time to enjoy the work that’s left to do.''
''One major thing- Everyone needs to keep raising your chins. You are looking at the middle of the seats and not always reaching the back.''
''Also as you get closer to opening night- the story of a play becomes second nature to you, but it’s the first time audience hear it, so you need to make sure vocally anytime you mention a person, thing or place its extra clear, you push the clarity, you make sure you do not de voice it and you make it clear WHO you're talking about, WHERE they are and WHAT they are doing. If you take extra care to keep the storytelling strong the audience will be with you.''
''I’ve written “LOVE IT” a lot. You’ve done so much hard work, and I know its taxing on your brain, but audiences love to see people having fun on stage, so remember to treat the show with love and treat your performance with love. Were all here to see you, so show off!''
Individual Notes
As I only covered Act 1 on this day (which I featured much less in), my notes were fewer, but still present. Firstly, I was encouraged to act more excitedly on the line, ''just think of it, future presidents could be in this very room''. To accomplish this, I condensed my body language by lifting my shoulders to my ears and bending my knees slightly, as if containing a larger amount of emotion to what Vivienne is used to. I also made sure to look upwards and outwards towards the audience, implying a sense of wonder and dreaming of possible future plans. Finally, I allowed my facial expression to be more animated just for this line (wider eyes and smile with raised eyebrows), whilst softening and lifting the pitch of my voice.
Not only this, I was instructed to establish more clearly my relationship with the actor playing Warner. It, at the time, wasn't as clear of our romantic status as characters, so we both were asked to display that more. There were a few ways that this was achieved, one or two of which were planned beforehand and some not.
Firstly, we altered the arm positioning in Scene 6; before my arm was tucked in his more formally, but we changed this to an arm around my shoulders, both to remove the awkward rigidity and make it seem more couple-like. Moreover, we closed our proxemics in the freeze frames, altering their content slightly to feel less confrontational and more intimate. What was once a rather scalding glare at Warner paired with a gesture of my arms out to my sides in angered confusion as to why he was (talking to and treating Elle in such a way) became a closer standing with the two of us looking at a folder in my hands. What was once a separation between us in the freeze frame before So Much Better, too, became a held hug in preparation for said freeze.
Aside from these decisions, most ideas were improvised and unscripted, but ended up being repeated - at least similarly - for the remainder of the renditions of the show. Generally speaking, this would include placing a gentle hand on his arm or making sure I looked at him more often. I would soften my look any time my eyes went to Warner, allowing a small smile to creep through. Finally, our quiet/mouthed ad libs as a duo became more frequent and caring during periods of dialogue from other characters. A particularly strong example of this was in Act 2, Scene 1, when we shared a small amount of silent ad lib upstage as other characters were saying scripted lines downstage. The words we spoke hardly changed at all, but the tone I used for them - as well as the harshness of my action of pulling Warner backwards after he said a specific line to Elle - softened significantly to accommodate to their dynamic at the time; they are recently engaged in this part of the story, after all!
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