The Noose Tightens
Imperial Rome — centre of the world — throbbing with the white heat of violence, bloodshed and uninhibited sexuality…
Bought as an actor, kidnapped by pirates, sold as a gladiator, young Cleon’s beauty and flagrant masculinity made every woman – harlots and Vestal Virgins alike – desire him.
And passion drives Cleon to help destroy a Caesar!
The theater is easy to get to but hard to find, on the ground floor of a building a few steps from the Space Needle and the Museum of Pop Culture. Once inside, it's a rabbit's warren of curving hallways and musty carpet. But! It's cool, and we have a lot more control over the timing and concessions.
I'm going to need to have people in costume stand at strategic locations around the complex to lead people to where they need to be. Maybe it will also serve as promotion?
The delay in helping the audience find their seats may play in our favor. We'll be starting a little late.
The Big Name got another gig hosting a show across town just thirty minutes before our curtain time, so we'll be delayed a little bit as they make their way to us from that other show. I'm sure I'll be pacing on that musty carpet until they arrive. But, that's showbiz. They'll be wearing the same costume for both shows.
At least they're staying with the show. In Brooklyn, you would lose people when they got suddenly cast in Radio Shack commercials or got a callback for The Drowsy Chaperone.
In any case, mentioning the theater and its quirks, since the rest of the week was devoted to getting a tour and being shown how it all works. Lights, curtains, sound, entrances.
On the day of the first scheduled meeting, the tech coordinator canceled a few hours before. On the second, they just no-showed. Ok. I ended up wandering around the space on my own trying to imagine where folks would enter from on either side.
The green room is kind of down the hall, and you kind of have to push your way through a supply closet to get on stage without being seen. For the other side, it looks like an air vent or crawlspace. I'm sure there's something I'm missing. Maybe, instead of having everyone wait in the hall before they enter, they can just be on stage as columns the entire time and only come to life when it's their scene!
No.
It will work out. I'm sure the tech person is badly paid and overworked. I'll hook up with them this week (probably). Surely before we open (probably).
The benefits of this place outweigh the quirks, but... I'll feel a little more confident after we've done another show or two here.
Saturday was a magnificent full-cast rehearsal with (almost) everyone together for the first time. We cheered and applauded one another in moments of great camaraderie. One actor has an incredibly difficult sequence of lines, and when he nailed them, a great cry rose up from those assembled. A wonderful moment.
It's a great crew, and the new blood has flowed right into it. Dances and fights and punchlines. My stepson was there for the first half, and when his favorite joke was spoken, the lord's own light shone from his eyes and smile. It was beautiful to see. From his little seat on the side of the stage, he mimicked the actions of the actors on stage and for a long time afterward I could only concentrate on the expressions of his happiness.
That was almost enough for me not to worry about ticket sales. Maybe my private observation of that moment was the point of the whole thing.
There are a few sticky lines and scenes, and we're about to lose a few folks til just before the show, so this week will need to be tight. I hope to tour the theater, tighten the screws on the sloppy bits this week, and prep for a promotional photo shoot for next week.
This is the fun part leading to the fun part. The glory of Rome approacheth.
Three weeks to go! Wardrobe has sent me video of her dancing with a column-shaped hat and photos of silver sandals. The Emperor's Son has a salon appointment to get his Caesar haircut. I ordered packing tape with the logo on it. It's all happening.
We rehearsed my scene last week, and I was in a very playful mood, ad-libbing and jumping around. It's just a cameo, but I'd like it to be fun and not seem like a vanity-appearance. The AD had helpful feedback, pushing me a little and working out some better physicality for the scene. A good time at the chess set.
The two-options-on-three-fingers gesture is working now, and I've developed a new forehead touch for when I see the future. Then I directed the AD in her scene. The long-suffering Emperor's Man never got to leave the stage.
Afterward, we got a drink and went over the ticket sales. 45% of the goal. It's gauche to think about money, but it's disingenuous to write about the show and not mention something that's on everyone's mind.
The theater is easy to get to but hard to find, on the ground floor of a building a few steps from the Space Needle and the Museum of Pop Culture. Once inside, it's a rabbit's warren of curving hallways and musty carpet. But! It's cool, and we have a lot more control over the timing and concessions.
I'm going to need to have people in costume stand at strategic locations around the complex to lead people to where they need to be. Maybe it will also serve as promotion?
The delay in helping the audience find their seats may play in our favor. We'll be starting a little late.
The Big Name got another gig hosting a show across town just thirty minutes before our curtain time, so we'll be delayed a little bit as they make their way to us from that other show. I'm sure I'll be pacing on that musty carpet until they arrive. But, that's showbiz. They'll be wearing the same costume for both shows.
At least they're staying with the show. In Brooklyn, you would lose people when they got suddenly cast in Radio Shack commercials or got a callback for The Drowsy Chaperone.
In any case, mentioning the theater and its quirks, since the rest of the week was devoted to getting a tour and being shown how it all works. Lights, curtains, sound, entrances.
On the day of the first scheduled meeting, the tech coordinator canceled a few hours before. On the second, they just no-showed. Ok. I ended up wandering around the space on my own trying to imagine where folks would enter from on either side.
The green room is kind of down the hall, and you kind of have to push your way through a supply closet to get on stage without being seen. For the other side, it looks like an air vent or crawlspace. I'm sure there's something I'm missing. Maybe, instead of having everyone wait in the hall before they enter, they can just be on stage as columns the entire time and only come to life when it's their scene!
No.
It will work out. I'm sure the tech person is badly paid and overworked. I'll hook up with them this week (probably). Surely before we open (probably).
The benefits of this place outweigh the quirks, but... I'll feel a little more confident after we've done another show or two here.
Saturday was a magnificent full-cast rehearsal with (almost) everyone together for the first time. We cheered and applauded one another in moments of great camaraderie. One actor has an incredibly difficult sequence of lines, and when he nailed them, a great cry rose up from those assembled. A wonderful moment.
It's a great crew, and the new blood has flowed right into it. Dances and fights and punchlines. My stepson was there for the first half, and when his favorite joke was spoken, the lord's own light shone from his eyes and smile. It was beautiful to see. From his little seat on the side of the stage, he mimicked the actions of the actors on stage and for a long time afterward I could only concentrate on the expressions of his happiness.
That was almost enough for me not to worry about ticket sales. Maybe my private observation of that moment was the point of the whole thing.
There are a few sticky lines and scenes, and we're about to lose a few folks til just before the show, so this week will need to be tight. I hope to tour the theater, tighten the screws on the sloppy bits this week, and prep for a promotional photo shoot for next week.
This is the fun part leading to the fun part. The glory of Rome approacheth.
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