I would definitely call today a success. I got up at 6am to get my Expression of Interest submitted for the Fringe Hub. I had to do this early because today was tech and dress day. It does mean that I missed out on including a couple of biogs, but if the project isn't inspiring enough without listing a cast months before it begins then it wouldn't make a difference anyway.
So then we had technical rehearsal. These things are always slow and exhausting, but we got there in the end with very little blood on the floor. Yes, we did run over time, but I had allowed for that secretly in the schedule so it was all good.
And then there was the dress run. What can I say? I am a very happy chappy. It looks good, the actors know where they are supposed to be - and when - and the stage manager is operating the cues wonderfully. Now the actors just need to learn their lines and it will be superb.
The only down side of the day is the photographer didn't turn up to take production photos. Luckily the run went well, so I decided to run around with my Blackberry and take some snaps. They generally turned out okay. Good enough for what we need them for. I can genuinely relax tonight and sleep in tomorrow morning. Now THAT is something I am looking forward to!
Monday 30 April 2012
Tuesday 24 April 2012
It's Raining Again...
Welcome to my world on this dreary, wet, cold and windy day. You can tell by this, that I have had need to be exposed to the weather today, and will have need this evening. It is not appropriate for me to complain just yet. This probably qualifies as the first day of the first week of the year where I can say this is truly Melbourne winter weather. I knew today would be cold and rainy because I had to do my laundry and run outside errands. If I could stay inside all day - like yesterday - then of course the sun would shine and there would be warmth in the world.
Despite the weather, though, it is turning out to be a very productive day. I took a trip in to CLS to pick up the lighting gel I needed, and it turns out I only need one sheet so I have saved some money. I also picked up a couple of rolls of mark up tape for the rostra while I was there. That stuff is soooo cheap it is ridiculous. I have also accepted the responsibility for making the programme. At first I thought OMG, but I got it started, and have realised it will be a piece of cake. I think I am very lucky in that I find making decisions really easy, so I don't spend a lot of my time agonising over things. It also helps that I have done most of the other preparation for the show. The master CD is edited and burnt, the lighting design is done, the set design is done, the production schedule is done, the costume lists are done, and most of the props are sorted.
Now I just need my actors to learn their lines and blocking, and things will be SWEEEEEET!
Despite the weather, though, it is turning out to be a very productive day. I took a trip in to CLS to pick up the lighting gel I needed, and it turns out I only need one sheet so I have saved some money. I also picked up a couple of rolls of mark up tape for the rostra while I was there. That stuff is soooo cheap it is ridiculous. I have also accepted the responsibility for making the programme. At first I thought OMG, but I got it started, and have realised it will be a piece of cake. I think I am very lucky in that I find making decisions really easy, so I don't spend a lot of my time agonising over things. It also helps that I have done most of the other preparation for the show. The master CD is edited and burnt, the lighting design is done, the set design is done, the production schedule is done, the costume lists are done, and most of the props are sorted.
Now I just need my actors to learn their lines and blocking, and things will be SWEEEEEET!
Saturday 21 April 2012
Grumpy Old Woman
Grrrr. Grumpy and frustrated today. I had to actually tell my actors off today for not coming to rehearsals prepared and with low energy, which wastes everybody's time. One of them got what I was saying. The other one just shrugged it off, and later referred to me as a control freak. Yes, that is true. I have always been a control freak. That is how I get things done, and is somewhat implicit in the job title 'director'. I should point out that they are students doing this for fun, but it is hard to get them to see that it will be much more fun for them if they are not worried about the fact that they don't know their lines and have forgotten the blocking. And yes, they could learn from experience, but that will just make it horrible for everyone.
Mind you, it is possible that my grumpiness does not lie at their feet completely - well, sort of. Both actors I was to work with today were going to be late, so I lost an hour of rehearsal anyway, and we only had a total of 7 hours scheduled this week. Also, I nearly got caught for fare evasion. Luckily I had a nice officer who suggested I buy a ticket at the next stop, which I did. And then, of course, there is my famous memory problem. I have drinks with friends planned, but I thought it was tonight and it turns out it is actually next week. I didn't write it down immediately, and so I got it wrong. Still, at least I didn't miss it! ;)
My solution for this far from perfect day is a beer and the Top Gear Arctic Special. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!
Mind you, it is possible that my grumpiness does not lie at their feet completely - well, sort of. Both actors I was to work with today were going to be late, so I lost an hour of rehearsal anyway, and we only had a total of 7 hours scheduled this week. Also, I nearly got caught for fare evasion. Luckily I had a nice officer who suggested I buy a ticket at the next stop, which I did. And then, of course, there is my famous memory problem. I have drinks with friends planned, but I thought it was tonight and it turns out it is actually next week. I didn't write it down immediately, and so I got it wrong. Still, at least I didn't miss it! ;)
My solution for this far from perfect day is a beer and the Top Gear Arctic Special. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!
Friday 20 April 2012
Fading Flowers
Today I had the opportunity to participate in a play reading of Chekov's 'Three Sisters'. Apart from the fact that is a great play with wonderful female roles, it was just so nice to be involved in a process that has no performance outcome requirements. We only read the first two acts and then just had a discussion about themes, imagery, and performative challenges. It was soooo rewarding. I think that is one of the problems with working in professional arts. There is ALWAYS a performance outcome.
So what did we discover today - apart from the obvious impossibility of Russian names and familiars of course! One of the more interesting observations was that there is generally a lot of background noise and movement prescribed in the script. People are always coming and going, or whistling, or dancing. It is such a busy and noisy world, how do you pull focus where you want to, and what exactly ARE all the characters doing in the long breaks of dialogue when they are still on stage?
The question of visuals and imagery was also discussed. I brought up the interesting comment about all the flowers that are around, and did that also refer to the sisters? Are they fading blooms, that need the sunlight of Moscow to revive, otherwise they will die. Would this be aided with a dying or overgrown garden being part of the world? It was agreed that it was a large, grandiose world, but a cold one as well.
We talked about how the dialogue continually shifts between the personal and the public, and it is like a dance scene where maybe the conversations are all happening all the time, but suddenly one couple comes to the forefront and you suddenly hear a bit of their conversation before they move on, and others move into the frame. This is interesting, too, with odd sense of people always entering and leaving the scene. One of the funnier analogies included a reference to the Star Trek transporters, with people beaming in and out.
It was generally agreed (and supported by the text), that time and place don't really matter. As is mentioned in the text, if you go into the future, the jackets will have changed, but that is about all. That is the genius of Chekov. He studies the human condition, not humans as individuals existing in space and time. Which is not to say he does not give them a space and time - more that it is not integral to understanding what is happening.
Ciao!
So what did we discover today - apart from the obvious impossibility of Russian names and familiars of course! One of the more interesting observations was that there is generally a lot of background noise and movement prescribed in the script. People are always coming and going, or whistling, or dancing. It is such a busy and noisy world, how do you pull focus where you want to, and what exactly ARE all the characters doing in the long breaks of dialogue when they are still on stage?
The question of visuals and imagery was also discussed. I brought up the interesting comment about all the flowers that are around, and did that also refer to the sisters? Are they fading blooms, that need the sunlight of Moscow to revive, otherwise they will die. Would this be aided with a dying or overgrown garden being part of the world? It was agreed that it was a large, grandiose world, but a cold one as well.
We talked about how the dialogue continually shifts between the personal and the public, and it is like a dance scene where maybe the conversations are all happening all the time, but suddenly one couple comes to the forefront and you suddenly hear a bit of their conversation before they move on, and others move into the frame. This is interesting, too, with odd sense of people always entering and leaving the scene. One of the funnier analogies included a reference to the Star Trek transporters, with people beaming in and out.
It was generally agreed (and supported by the text), that time and place don't really matter. As is mentioned in the text, if you go into the future, the jackets will have changed, but that is about all. That is the genius of Chekov. He studies the human condition, not humans as individuals existing in space and time. Which is not to say he does not give them a space and time - more that it is not integral to understanding what is happening.
Ciao!
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Sex, Lies, and Nudity.
Today I had to be quite brutal and break down my actors' personal privacy boundaries. It sounds a bit harsh, but they are supposed to be portraying a couple who have been in a sexual relationship for a year and a half, and they were terrified to even touch each other. Not really convincing. So it was time for a bit of tough love. I had them strip down to underwear, and they were supposed to lie on the couch and talk about the history of the characters relationship, and then their future dreams. I left them to it for 15 minutes to give them privacy and get past the initial awkwardness. What did I come back to? Both of them sitting on opposite sides of the couch, curled up into little inaccessible balls. Not happy Jan!!! So then it was time for the big guns. I made them spoon, told them off, put a blanket over them, and left the room again. This time it worked. When I got back I quizzed them about their stories, and physically they were much more playful with each other. Victory!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What I have come to realise is that in school young actors are taught 'the rules' of acting. Make sure you are always opened out to the audience. Make sure you listen to what the other performer says and then formulate your next line, etc. So what you end up with is a whole lot of young people who can't do naturalism worth a damn. They are so busy being turned out to the audience, and 'thinking' about what is being said that no-one faces each other and the pace is so slow you want to kill yourself. I am spending most of my time telling them to forget what they have learnt and do the opposite. The rest of my time I spend telling them to keep still because they always want to move when they have a line. It is exhausting, but luckily my current cast take direction really well and are trusting me about this stuff.
I probably sound like I am grumbling, but I am having a great time, and my actors are really open to ideas and trying stuff they are not comfortable with. We had a great time tonight playing with text pace and rhythm and found some really amazing moments. When you find something extraordinary, a really profound moment, it makes all the hard work to get there worth it.
Well, until next time :)
What I have come to realise is that in school young actors are taught 'the rules' of acting. Make sure you are always opened out to the audience. Make sure you listen to what the other performer says and then formulate your next line, etc. So what you end up with is a whole lot of young people who can't do naturalism worth a damn. They are so busy being turned out to the audience, and 'thinking' about what is being said that no-one faces each other and the pace is so slow you want to kill yourself. I am spending most of my time telling them to forget what they have learnt and do the opposite. The rest of my time I spend telling them to keep still because they always want to move when they have a line. It is exhausting, but luckily my current cast take direction really well and are trusting me about this stuff.
I probably sound like I am grumbling, but I am having a great time, and my actors are really open to ideas and trying stuff they are not comfortable with. We had a great time tonight playing with text pace and rhythm and found some really amazing moments. When you find something extraordinary, a really profound moment, it makes all the hard work to get there worth it.
Well, until next time :)
Sunday 15 April 2012
Miracle worker
I just proved to myself how amazing I really am. I learnt a new skill, downloaded new software, and created this wonderful portfolio of my directorial work (see the pages to the left). Yesterday I was thinking I couldn't get anything done.
So now I am a pro at converting video files, uploading them, attaching links, etc, etc, etc. Yes, I know most of you mastered these arcane arts years and years ago, but some of us a slower than others. For some reason, I just haven't had a significant enough need to actually work it out and do something about it. Now I do, and it is done. That is kind of how I roll.
I am a bit exhausted by the whole ordeal. I have basically spent all day on this blog thing, so goodnight until next time :)
So now I am a pro at converting video files, uploading them, attaching links, etc, etc, etc. Yes, I know most of you mastered these arcane arts years and years ago, but some of us a slower than others. For some reason, I just haven't had a significant enough need to actually work it out and do something about it. Now I do, and it is done. That is kind of how I roll.
I am a bit exhausted by the whole ordeal. I have basically spent all day on this blog thing, so goodnight until next time :)
Saturday 14 April 2012
Catch 22
So it's been a while since we last spoke. It is not that I haven't had anything to say - more that I haven't had the time or the energy to say it. Having a disability can be quite time consuming and distracting, and just a little bit hard to manage - especially when it is partly in the brain. The use of pain killers can help the physical problem, but they make the mental one worse. Although, NOT using pain killers doesn't help the brain much either. Another Catch 22 to add the the gazillion that already inhabit the world.
I really do need to focus though. I have a show opening in 2 weeks, and in the same week I have to submit and expression of interest for next year, and then the week after that another one! ...Not to mention the job application I have to put together this weekend. Yikes. Two days ago, even reading a sentence with the words in the right order was a challenge. Now I have to put together a complex set of documents???
Challenge is what the world is about, right? They come in all shapes and sizes: physical, emotional, psychological, temporal, financial, familial. Are we supposed to face them all? If not, how do we decide which ones to prioritise and which ones to just let slide by? My general approach at the moment is to do what I can, and try not to regret the things undone. A worthy aim. I have my fingers, arms, legs, and eyes crossed. Here's hoping it works.
I really do need to focus though. I have a show opening in 2 weeks, and in the same week I have to submit and expression of interest for next year, and then the week after that another one! ...Not to mention the job application I have to put together this weekend. Yikes. Two days ago, even reading a sentence with the words in the right order was a challenge. Now I have to put together a complex set of documents???
Challenge is what the world is about, right? They come in all shapes and sizes: physical, emotional, psychological, temporal, financial, familial. Are we supposed to face them all? If not, how do we decide which ones to prioritise and which ones to just let slide by? My general approach at the moment is to do what I can, and try not to regret the things undone. A worthy aim. I have my fingers, arms, legs, and eyes crossed. Here's hoping it works.
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