Senior Project 2005 summer

Another productive week is finished in rehearsals for farcical "Black Comedy."

This week I seemed to be behind on everything. The cast ran the show twice and we worked specific parts. However I was preoccupied with getting a set built. I finally called a guy that will do a fine job and he is actually taking the time to do it! I can't believe it.

I'm tracking down the last few items of furniture. I know that pretty soon I will have to work on the little stuff. The set decorations that really make the set. I also know that I will have to make little additions to the set like the curtains and stuff.

My set builder is also an employee of the school so he can come in anytime to work on the set. Plus, he is an excellent designer. I'm lucky to have him. I just wish I had been able to give him more time.

I went around looking for props and furniture this past weekend. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but I will survive. I did have a short communication with the manager of a second-hand furniture store. The store was in the Ben Davis area and had the prefeect couch.
I asked if I could rent the sofa for a few weeks and then give them free mention in the program. I couldn't believe it when I was turned down. I guess some deals are too sweet.

Next week will really test all our mettle, because the cast is supposed to have their lines memorized. We'll see.

Gus

The second week of rehearsal went well.

I am discovering the pros and cons of being the group leader. First, it is a lot of responsibility. Because there is no one else to do it, I am also the show's producer, which means I'm responsible for everything off stage as well as on stage.

I have a great costume designer. I don't have a lighting designer, but the show is not really lighting intense. I have a production stage manager who is the best. He also knows how to work the light board and is very professional.

The biggest piece missing is the set designer. I don't have one. Here's where communication broke down. I thought I would be able to use the same designer that built teh set for the first show of the summer -- "The Music Man." However, that person declined to do the show. Then, my costumer told me she had someone that would do it. I called him and left messages three times; he never returned my calls. She contacted him and set up a time to meet at a rehearsal. She even came to the rehearsal to do the introductions, but he did not show. So now I'm seeking a replacement and I meet with one this week.

Communications lesson: I have learned that being an ultimate power is not the best thing in a collaborative art. Now I have never given the, "Do what I say or I will can your butt" speech, but my cast has been reticent to correct me.
For instance, I passed out rehearsal schedules and realized more than two weeks later that I failed to schedule any rehearsals for the week following July 4. No one pointed out the ommission. No one questioned it. They just thought that I was busy or something. There have been other mistakes like that. It bothered me that no one thought they could ask my reason for doing things like that.
I believe my failure was setting up an atmosphere of collaboration at the beginning of the process. Don't get me wrong, I have never tried to give off the impression that I know it all and don't need anyone's help. That's just the way the people interpreted my behavior I guess.
Non-verbally, I try to act confident because no one wants to go through a project without a clear vision of what's going on. Apparently, that has come off as cocky and unwilling to listen.
It affects the whole production because I need my actors to feel free to experiment with a character. I may not agree, but at least I will have something to work with.

Luke learns to eat! February 2005 

Daddy with a sleeping Luke in February 2005 

After read-through, my task was to set up a rehearsal schedule that would give us enough time to create a good show and not kill the cast, all of whom have day jobs.

I also had to get blocking for the show completed, find a set designer, find a lighting designer, find some rehearsal props, tape off the auditorium stage to mirror the theatre stage which we won't get until July, create a working floorplan, and anything else that I could imagine. Most of the pressure was on me so early in the process because the director needs to give the actors an idea of what to expect so that the actors may be able to visualize the blocking and make a smooth transition to the other stage.

Usually, I would spend months doing this, but I was caught off guard with the show change. I also thought I had my design team, but the set designer was not properly asked and my lighting designer, a student from ISU, has disappeared off the face of the earth and isn't answering his cell phone.

I called the local civic theatre -- an institution that has been around nearly 80 years -- to borrow some furniture props. I talked with the technical director who was very receptive to letting us borrow stuff. Unfortunately, they didn't have exactly what I want, so I will have to go out shopping soon. For now, I've got some passable rehearsal furniture that will do just fine.

The first two weeks of any rehearsal process are boring and tedious. Blocking is the process of positioning the actors and basically telling them what to do. Actors really depend on a director to put them in just the right place at just the right time so they can do they're stuff. Blocking is one of the more challenging aspects of directing to me. You have to begood enough to give them a good idea of where they will be in a given scene, but you also know that if a better idea comes along later in the process, you must give in to it, almost always. The trick is communicating that with confidence to your cast. Most of the people in my cast have worked with me before and are aware of my style. Collaborate until opening night!

We rehearsed Monday through Thursday. Monday, we sat around and talked about characterizations and objectives, scene and overall, and obstacles to these objectives.

It's called table work at ISU and it sets up the work ahead. It basically puts the director and the actor on the same page as far as characterization. Working toward similar goals is always important. It also saves a lot of heartache later. Tuesday and Wednesday we blocked a few scenes.

Thursday we worked on projection of vocals. This show will be done without body microphones or lavaliers. Therefore it is imperative that the cast be able to speak loudly and clearly so the entire audience may hear the story.

We also worked on physical aspects of the show. This is a very specific type of show. The audience will only see the actors when the lights are off or the actors are blind. Having been through a few power outages in my life, I know that your movements in the pitch dark are very specific. They are also different than if you were an actor portraying a blind person. So we did a lot of exercises blindfolded. I would give them a target to reach and then place obstacles in their path. I asked the cast to pay careful attention to how they hold themselves when they are relying on the other senses to steer them around the room. Many thought it was a good exercise.

The last time I directed this show, I did this, but not enough. I thought I could've have done this more. This time I dedicated a whole rehearsal to it.

This week is all blocking. We will be joined by the rest of the cast who have been out, unable to attend.

The second rehearsal was a new approach for me. In my former directing stints, I would usually begin with blocking right away. We would discover character through repeated viewings of the script. But I had a change of heart with my advanced directing class I took Spring 2005 semester with ISU Theatre Department chair Arthur Feinsod. I learned about table work which was a new term for me. I was doing a little table work but Arthur convinced me that for a full-length show, you could spend several days just sitting around a table discussing character motivations and angles that the play can take.

It was beneficial to start the process of discovering a character from very early in the process instead of "discovering" it during the final dress rehearsals. Granted, these were early shadings, but at least it was a starting point and everyone was on the same page. It was interesting from a communications standpoint because there was an implicit contract formed this evening between me and the actor. There was no misunderstanding as to what I wanted and what the actor was expecting in getting. It set up expectations without any pulling of rank. (Pulling rank is also difficult in a volunteer setting.)

The entire cast was present and I talked with each actor about their character and their motivations. Thes were group talks. Everyone listened. I did that on purpose because I wanted everyone to know what all the other actors were doing. This helps the collaborative process.

For instance, Mark Meyer and I determined that Brindlsey's character would avoid confrontation at all costs. He would lie, cheat, steal and would do ANYTHING to avoid a confrontation. He had no morals, no scruples. It's a very hard part because the audience shouldn't like him, but I stil had to try and gain sympathy for him. I had to make the audience want him to succeed. So can you imagine how crappy the other characters have to be?

This worked well. I think everyone enjoyed to group discussion and realized that this was a very serious approach to community theatre. It was not a place to blow off steam and have fun. This was going to be work.

First time the whole cast is getting together.

This is where the whole process begins. It is a big day for me as the director because it is really important that I establish some expertise in being the director for this project.

The director/actor relationship is similar to the thearpist/patient relationship in that I must convince the actors that I am a trusted and skilled professional in my approach to the play.

This is covered very well in an article by Sydell Weiner, Ph.D. and theatre professor at California State University.

The comparison is great because it is necessary that in order to get a proper emotional performance the actors must trust that I know what I am doing. WHile our first encounter was the audition process, this is truly where the rubber meets the road. Also added to the dynamic is the whole "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" fiasco. So everyone there was either called by me and told that the show they auditioned for was not the show that they wer cast for. It was the ultimate, artistic bait and switch.

The only thing I had going for me was the fact that I worked with several of the actors before. Mark Meyer, Dan Snyder, and Brandi Collins had parts in a show I directed in 2003. I had worked extensively with Alyssa Johnson in several other projects and she already was confident in my abilities.

My assistant was my niece so she trusted me, (I hope). I had not cast one small part but I wasn't to worried.

The read through is the first time many of the actors get to hear the play out loud. It is the first time many of the cast members get to meet with who they are going to work with intently for the next six weeks. Black Comedy is also a very visual show and the stage directions are important in order to understand what is going on.

I began with a short speech and announced that we would be doing the play in British accents. This was the toughest decision because normally community theatre actors are not very good at accents. But of all the accents in the world, British is about the easiest for us, next to southern. The decision to go with accents was twofold: There were several references to British idiosyncrasies such as prams for baby carriages and torches for flashlights. There were several "bloody" lines and reference to the London Electricity Board. Plus I felt like many of the jokes were funnier in the cadence of British accents.

I gave each cast member a CD of British accents and accent teachings. One character was a German Immigrant. He got a different CD. This was to make them feel more comfortable in learning the accent. I also told them to begin using accents now so that we didn't get into any bad English habits during the process. That worked well and put them all in the same boat. Many felt that their accents were horrible and they were embarrassed to let the others hear them, but most cast members had to work on their accents, at least a little, so it was a confidence-building exercise because it isn't very hard to get a British accent.

After the read through, I asked them to give me thir impressions of the play and then I told them a little of what I thought the play was about. I gave a couple of cursory suggestions like one character needed to be cattier or camper. Then I asked them to read the play over again and come to rehearsal on Monday with an overall action or through line for their character.

Several books on acting and most of my training at Indiana State stress the importance of a through-line of a play. It is also commonly known as the arc of a character as seen through what the character wants. This helps develop action for each scene and makes it easier to direct.

I also give a little speech about the important qualities of the process and how I work. According to the teaching text this is establishing the rules by which the group will operate. I told them that all of the communication is two-way (dialogic) and that I expect them to contribute as much to the process if not more. This put more responsibility on them to come up with a workable action in each scene. I, and several others, call it a collaborative process, wherein everyone has a say in how the show evolves. This doesn't absolve me from my responsibility. To the contrary, it is even more challenging to try and fit all the pieces together for a coherent show that is entertaining.

After auditions for Laughter on the 23rd Floor, we deciede to change the show, but I felt like I had seen enough in auditions to be able to cast Black Comedy without holding new auditions.

So I called everyone who auditioned and told them of the change in shows. Some I offered new parts to a new play, several had their hearts set on the Neil Simon show and were not interested, but several were game to be in any show! That's good for me!

I did have to hold additional auditions to cast two women's parts since not enough women auditioned. I posted the notices for emergency auditions and then promptly ran off to Branson, Missouri. Lots of fun!

When I returned on June 6, we immediately auditioned four women for two parts. All were very good. The two I picked were for physical reasons (did not fit with the casted lead) or for plain old preferences.

By June 8, we had a read-through. This is the first meeting of the cast with the director. It is a very important meeting where the tone is set for the next six weeks. It is the first real test of my small group communication skills. The way western theatre is established, one person takes on the task of arranging the actors and having a vision for the play. This is the director or in small group terms, the leader. It is a formal role set up by custom.

I also wanted to convey to the cast that theatre is a collaborative art where all input is valued. This put me in the role of opinion seeker.

Of course, the planning and scheduling fell on my shoulders. This made me the coordinator, too.

As a project, community theatre is a unique animal. The end result is to portray a successful show that will entice the community to pay $10 a head. This raises money for a good cause (the Wayne Township Education Foundation) and garners applause and praise from audience members.

Read through was fabulous! It was fun and sounded good. One of the challenges to performing Black Comedy are the English accents the script requires. But I was able to copy off several examples of accents and make CDs for all cast members. So far this has not yielded the desired results, but it's getting better.

Read through is also a rallying cry for esprit de corp. Both were pretty good if I may say so myself.

Rehearsals began Monday!

I'll go into that this weekend.

Ta,Ta for now.