June 21, 2011 - We finished blocking the show last night. Three rehearsals and we're done. It is always a good feeling to have a show on its feet. That's the point when you roll up your sleeves and really start to dive into the meat of the story and its characters. This show is a little different. Because of all of the references to other texts, the actual story of this piece is difficult to navigate. Just as we have the basic blocking sketched in, we have the outline of the story arc loosely defined as well. These next few rehearsals will be spent connecting the dots from moment to moment so that ever line and action is motivated within a narrative that makes sense.This process has already begun. We had the luxury of having worked so efficiently in blocking that on Thursday night there was time left over to run scenes one and three back-to-back. This was a big help as a lot of the meaning in these scene is derived from what changes and what is different between the two. You could see the actors starting to make associations. Where they end up impacts the choices they made to get them there.
As frustrating as all of this could have been, it has really been an extraordinarily fun process. Everyone has jumped in with both feet and has been willing to explore to the max. Questions aren't answered but discussed which leads to a deeper understanding of the whole play by all. And sometimes the answer we come up with in the discussion turns out not to be the right answer when we attempt to put it into practice. But the attempt and the discussion ultimately lead to us headed in the right direction. It's all a form of trial and error.
Stephen Murray
Director
