Beset at the Chess Set

"You bring this network's ratings down, Flavius, and we'll do a special on you!"

Tuesday's rehearsal was nice and full; we maxed out the time. An enormous group of children swarmed the chess set near the beginning. They really trashed the place, wielding the bishops like clubs and chucking the checkers at one another's feet, but we just slid over to our left and did our thing. 

There's a man who uses the second floor of the Amory as his office. He's there seven or eight hours a day with his laptop and headphones. We had to intrude on his area a little. But he didn't seem to mind. I was prepared to offer him a free ticket. I should anyway. The security guards too. The maintenance persons too! Everyone! 

This part of the process is almost pure joy. Not every production gets to this place, but this one has. I get very excited about rehearsal beforehand, show up ready to go, and laugh through the whole thing. Different lines crack me up each night, and the way the actors have settled into their characters is so much fun to watch. Even the set-ups are filling me with hope and anticipation.  

I was laughing over "throwaway" lines like "Are THESE the olives you meant to eat?"

I'm just...happy, and I'm wondering if it's because I'm not working during this production. The goal of the sabbatical was to be able to devote all my energy to projects instead of dividing it between theater and work. It could just be it's a fun play, but I'm going to credit it to the sabbatical. In any case: Come see it, you dumb motherfuckers. 

We're at about 60% of the "break-even" goal. I bought some packing tape with the logo on it for no other reason than the company that made the stickers asked me to. 

We worked out a physical bit where one character prevents a second from helping a third, and it felt right... but I was uncertain how it would play. Later, when we did it for the larger cast, they laughed. So... I reckon it worked. Having an enormous cast and working in sections has really helped gauge audience reaction. You get feedback from people seeing it for the first time. In this case, it's their fellow actors encouraging them, but it counts.

It counts!

Thursday, we did the Exile Isle scenes. One of the primaries is going to be away until almost the dress rehearsal, so we need to get her some reps. It was good. One section in particular felt like "good writing" to me:

Venti: I sometimes think about working in a laundry, just the simplicity of it would be so -- 
Fermata: Soapy. Diana’s Dimples, how, I miss soap… and simplicity.
Venti: I hear something.
Fermata: Yes. I too hear something resonant in that beautiful idea.
Venti: No, I hear a boat.

No great shakes linguistically, but the rhythm of it, the flow, was really pleasing to me, and the actors hit the beats perfectly. It's not a moment anyone will remember, but this type of flow helps an audience settle in and absorb the larger moments. Say I. 

I dunno, these are the theories you form when you sit with a cat all day and hang out at a plastic chess set all night. 

Saturday was songs and Act Twopalooza. The Name edited the track we're stealing, and we were able to perform it properly for the first time. She really nailed the lyrics, and the Choreographer's built-in gestures bring it all home. The number is going to slay. Slay! Plebes gonna huck wine at the stage. 

That's a scene I really wanted in the show when I was conceiving it, there's an ancient game where people "throw" wine from the bottom of their glass and try to make a noise or hit a target or, my favorite, try to sink a bowl floating in water. Like, you all stand in a circle around a floating bowl and try to throw enough wine in it to "drown" it. It sounds like it would be so fun to see! To try! 

Maybe at the cast party. Since it aint in the script. 

After the song, we did Act 2 over and over, and it got better. All the columns were out, but we know where they go. And they know where we go. 

Today, I finally toured the actual space. It's got thirty years of trash piled in it. How have people been performing there? It's been booked for months, and things happen there most nights... is it all Mountain Goat casts? One-Person Shows? How do they climb over the landfill of old tables and props?

The technician I met with was very kind and responsive. I think he's going to have it cleaned out in time. Otherwise, it's going to be kind of an awkward series of entrances and exits for my poor cast. And the audience will be able to tell. 

Well, no refunds!

Two weeks to go! Eeeeeeee!