While the search continues for a new Andy (things are looking promising, but no announcements yet) rehearsals are continuing with the other members of the cast. The play is useful in this respect, with Susan's life mostly split down the middle between fantasy and reality, it's possible to rehearse with only have the cast at once.
On Saturday, we had a really productive rehearsal with just Ali (playing Susan), Barrie (Gerald) and Michael (Rick). We looked at a couple of key scenes that we've been working on a little bit, but this time we really took them apart and started adding the subtleties that go towards a great production. It was really gratifying at such an early stage to be able to have my cast giving their all to get the highs and lows of the family arguments that are the centre of this play. Any nervousness I had about whether it would all work out come performance night, what with the Andy difficulties, suddenly dissipated and while there's still lots more to do, some key scenes now have a real emotional kick to them.
Even better, the humour, which lies underneath all the bitter fighting between family members is starting to come out naturally, without having to push it. It's gratifying that I can be made to laugh at the script all over again with just some subtle gestures by my cast and that they're going to be able to make this complex play funny without having to resort to farce. Hooray for good play-writing!
No comments:
Post a Comment