Tonight at rehearsal, we finally got to the big Amy/Paul/Bobby scene at the end of Act I. Running "Getting Married Today" in the actual scene and not just standing at the piano was a real eye-opener. I forgot to take the big breaths necessary to sustain me through the entire verse, and my voice was struggling through what's left of a cold as well. Yikes. However, the entire cast was really supportive and encouraging, which is par for the course with this group. There's a lot of trust and companionship between all the cast members, which I think is really necessary in this type of show. It's an ensemble piece, with every role playing equally important to the next. I love shows like this for that very reason. There is no segregation between "leads" and "chorus" and there are no temper tantrums or dirty diva attitudes. I think most of that is also due to the maturity level required to really play each relationship on stage the way it was intended.
ANYWAY, back to the scene we ran tonight. It's a real emotional roller coaster of a scene for me because Amy is having a minor meltdown. I'm wrestling between trying to find a "back story" and a motivation behind what she is saying and doing, and just reading the lines my way and trusting them as written -- simply letting George Furth's script come through. I mean, I AM making choices and educated decisions, both with the help of the director and discussions with Michael (Paul) and Tyler (Bobby) during any down time we get during rehearsal.
I think we got things off on the right food tonight, for sure. We made a lot of progress, even for two very shaky runs through it as we try to get off book and get scripts out of our hands. What I didn't realize would be so tough, though, is working directly opposite my husband. On one hand, sometimes it's hard to keep a straight face and take each other seriously. On the other, the very nature of the scene and the lines really break my heart. I was brought to actual tears tonight at one point, which, while a bit distracting to me, probably actually added to the scene in a good way. And while I'm reeling from that, there's still what I consider to be the second-most poignant moment in the whole show -- Amy's moment with Bobby. I love Tyler and respect him so much as a friend and a fellow actor that I truly treasure this moment on stage!
While it's in my nature to step back and immediately begin cataloguing all the things I need to fix, I truly am very happy with the progress we're making. It's my hope that these onstage relationship continue to grow and develop as this process continues.
Wow, it was fun to re-read and post that! I definitely hope to post more of these, and to continue to keep journals during the rehearsal process of pieces that I work on.
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It is cool to see what all goes on in a rehearsal. Having seen the play while it was on and now reading this is really nice. Thank you for sharing!
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