In the Looby.

Today was load-in day. All the cast and crew (and a few other helping hands), met at 10 am at the theatre we will be performing in. Yesterday, they deconstructed the set to be moved and loaded it into a truck. I wasn't able to make it due to my sister's wedding, but I'm told it only took an hour and a half. That's pretty amazing. Once you see the set, I'm sure you'll agree.

So, today we met at the theatre and started to put it all together again. Unloading the truck actually went pretty quick. We had lots of hands so it made for short work. Then, we all kind of broke into little teams and started to rebuild various parts. When we started to put these different parts together, we kept running into little issues we hadn't foreseen, little gaps here and there, things not fitting together right. But Jim Manning was there to help work all those out. Good work, Jim!

At lunch one of the cast went out and brought some pizza back to theatre. We all sat around the stage eating and talking. Frankly, I really enjoyed this part. Not to be too cliche, but it was very bonding. At that point, the bulk of the set had been put together.

One thing we all seemed to agree on was that it looked so much bigger on that stage. In the rehearsal space, the "stage" is an inch or two off the ground and it just sort of sat out in the open. In the Looby, it seems to just fit right into place. Again, good work, Jim!

Today got me really excited about tomorrow night's rehearsal, the rest of the week, and opening night. Hopefully, I can just use that energy (no pun intended) to play my part in the whole ensemble. Tomorrow, we are supposed to be filming for some commercials or something, so we will all be in full costume and everything. It'll be the first time in the Looby, the first time in costume, the first time with a lot of the actual show props. We were also informed that the last dress rehearsal on Thursday night is actually going to be more of a performance. Circle Players has invited out a few other local not-for-profits to see the show. If you do count that as an actual performance (which I do since it will be in front of an actual audience), then we only have three rehearsals left. That seems a little scary, but I guess we just have to roll with it.

I will try to keep up with the blog through this last week rehearsals. Stay tuned.

(Insert Witty Title Here)

Well, we were supposed to make it through the whole show tonight. We didn't quite make it. We did make it through Act 1 and 2 though. Which means our awesome stage managers got to flip the set around tonight. That is no easy task, I assure you.

I'm not sure if I've said this before, but the props in this show are brutal. At one point, early in the show, my character remarks how many props they have to deal with in Nothing On. Well, I agree with that sentiment. Between bags, boxes, plates of sardines, sheets, and various other things, knowing which door to go through with which props and when is quite a task. Not to mention there are lines we have to remember.

Anyway, I love the cast and crew. I couldn't be happier with how well everyone is doing. Usually in the shows I've been in, there is always one or two people that seems to be the weak links. I don't know of any weak links in this show. Unless I'm the weak link....uh. I'm going to go look over my script right now.

The pieces are falling into place.

Sorry. It's been a while again. I will try to catch up with all that I remember. These rehearsals have been wearing me out.

So, Monday we ran Act 2 again to clean up all the little bits and pieces. This was also the last night we were allowed to hold our scripts. All off book after that. Act 2 went well. It's one of those things that is just going to seem less and less like chaos and more and more cohesive the more times we do it. It's not bad by any means, but it could definitely get better. Monday night Brit also smashed up her toenail pretty good. Part of it peeled back and everything. I saw it happen and saw her reaction, and it was one of those times when I didn't know whether I should stop or not. She seemed to keep going so I kept going. Then a minute later we had to stop because she was bleeding and it needed to be taken care of. Thankfully it wasn't any worse and she seems to be getting around ok now. At least that's what she tells me.

Last night (Tuesday), we ran Act 1 off book. The set was flipped around so the backstage was actually the backstage. It had been about two weeks since we had last done Act 1 and we were doing it with no scripts. That being said, the first run wasn't that bad. You could tell we were all rusty but we made it through. Just a side note, I like the very beginning of Act 1 the least. I think it's because it has to start somewhere and it just hasn't really gotten moving yet.

Tonight, we did Act 3. Again, it had been a while since we had done it and we were off book. However, unlike last night, the first run went really rough. We were all struggling. Patrick called that one the warm-up, and indeed it was. We took a break and went at it again. That second time, things started to flow a little better and we all felt a bit better about it. Still not spectacular though. That time I did have a pretty good fall down the stairs. I usually fall down the stairs without any props or anything. But that time the cardboard box I set down at the top of the stairs went with me. It made the fall that much more believable. Not something I'm going to try and repeat though. For the few seconds I was falling, I wasn't quite sure where I was going to end up. Fortunately, I was able to keep it under control and end safely.

During the second break, Patrick mentioned he would love to see the fall continue down the stairs and over the chair. Never one to back down, I agreed. I had been ending on the last few stairs which meant that part of the audience would not have been able to see me due to the chair. It was also a little more difficult to stop my momentum halfway down the stairs to end where I did. With this new change, I can keep my momentum up, hit the chair, roll off of it, and land face first right downstage.

So, we ramped up to start our third run of Act 3 of the night. There were some minor problems here and there with props and lines, but nothing big. It all felt pretty darn good. And my first time doing the new extended fall over the chair felt great. When we finally ended, we didn't have any notes to go through because apparently we were entertaining or something. It was after that final run of Act 3 that I finally started to feel like this is all going to come together quite nicely.

Tomorrow, we will run the full show. That will be a first. We have practiced all three Acts individually enough to get a feel for their own different flow and momentum. It will be interesting to see what running the whole show is like. Supposedly, we will also be able to see all the final costumes. That will be nice as well. This weekend, we move into the Looby, then we start doing things in costume.

Oh, and if you are reading this, and are not part of the cast and crew, and you want to see the show for free, you can volunteer to usher. I have been assured it is an easy job and you'll get to see the entire show for free. Let me know via twitter, facebook, text, email, or if you absolutely must, in person.

Eleven minutes

Sorry. Long time, no blog. I had a busy weekend and didn't really get a chance to write anything.

So, starting with last Thursday, we were still running through Act 3. I walked away with a few more bruises that night. But overall, I think Act 3 was beginning to feel a little less chaotic. Lets hope that holds true when we get back to it after finishing Act 2.

So, Friday night we had the photo shoot. It went very well. I expected a couple of hours; it only lasted for one. I think we got some nice shots. I guess we will see. Although, we did get a cast page up here.

We came back Monday and began to block the madness that is Act 2. Now, I will say I think Act 2 has the most stuff happening in it, but I also find it the most fun. We spent the entire night blocking. No lines, no dialogue, just blocking. And it took the entire three hours of rehearsal. That just goes to show you how much stuff is going on. And it will make what I am about to say seem pretty impressive. At least it did to us at the time.

Tonight, we were fine tuning the blocking for, what I would estimate is, a third of Act 2. By the last run, we did it in 11 minutes. Wow! So, I think it was 15 pages that we did in 11 minutes. Kellye is really getting her workout as she runs around like crazy in Act 2, but she has been doing a smashing job. Speaking of smashing, Matt and Beth have also been doing fantastic keeping up with all this stuff. When we are working something and have to ask, "Where did I go from here?", Matt and Beth know. When you see the show, you will realize how much of a task that really has been.

So, we will continue for the rest of the week. If it keeps up at the pace we had tonight, we will be doing quite alright. Hopefully, I will remember to write again tomorrow night.

"You should see me Hamlet."

So, yeah, we filmed the character interviews tonight. I missed seeing Lloyd's, Brooke's, and Selsdon's, but the ones that I did see were hilarious! Seriously, as soon as the interview was done for each person, we all burst out laughing. As soon as I know where you can watch them, I'll let you know.

Act 3 is a beast. We decided to try and take Act 3 at whatever pace necessary in order to get all the movements/props/doors/etc. done correctly. It was still hard. Act 3 has just become the priority for learning lines. There is simply no way to do all of it correctly at a good pace with a script in your hand. Of course, I say it's a priority until we start Act 2. What I'm hoping, though, is that Act 2 is mostly the same lines as Act 1 so the real learning business will be blocking, props, and entrances. Act 3 starts out using the lines from Act 1, but it quickly deviates into "struggled grasping at straws".

I tripped on the stairs twice tonight. No, I mean, I unintentionally tripped on the stairs twice tonight. I intentionally did it twice, as well. I guess I am kind of doing something right, though, because the intentional didn't hurt at all, whereas the unintentional did. I'm sure my relationship with the stairs will be similar throughout the remainder of the show.

No more to say. It's Wednesday so time for Glee.

Staged Chaos?

Act 3. What can I say about Act 3? Well, Act 3 is supposed to be the performance of Nothing On in which almost everything goes wrong. In a sense, the audience gets to enjoy a bunch of actors stumble their way through the act while they make complete fools of themselves. When we ran through Act 3 with blocking tonight, we were a bunch of actors stumbling our way through the act making fools of ourselves. I guess you could kind of call that method acting, maybe? At the very least, we got a taste for what it should look like, but not necessarily feel like. Really not much to say about it except that it will take some work to make it all happen as written in the script.

I also kinda stumbled my way through THE fall in Act 3. I'm sure it looked like garbage, but I got a sense of what it might feel like. I might try to come in a bit earlier on Thursday to see if I can stumble through it a few times. The good thing is that it doesn't really intimidate me. I'm kind of fearless when it comes to stuff like that, but that fact may end up causing me more pain than if I were a bit more cautious.

So, tomorrow, we are supposed to be filming an interview as our characters in rehearsal for Nothing On. We've got the questions, so now I just need to flesh out some answers as Garry. These interviews may end up on the web or some local TV ads or something. I'm not really sure.

Friday, we have the photo shoot. This will probably be the first time most (or all) of us get to see our costumes. Not that they will be grandiose or ornate or anything, but cool nonetheless.

Oh, one last quick PSA/note-to-self: one should not fall down a flight of stairs intentionally with a pencil in your pocket. I only felt the tip a little, but it could have been a lot worse.

Things are starting to click.

Well, one week ago we were sitting around a table reading the script. It's pretty amazing how far we have come knowing that. Tonight felt pretty good. It was VERY nice having the entire cast there. It made a world of difference.

I don't have much to say about tonight's rehearsal. Things went well. We all had good laughs. Britt was finally able to join in the shenanigans. We were able to start working out the first physical bit I'm involved in. I'm not going to go into much detail, but essentially she steps on my hand...in heels. All in all though, I am not too worried if she does end up stepping on my hand because it may not be my most painful moment in the show if anything else goes wrong. Time will tell.

We were originally going to do Act 3 tonight. (Well, originally-originally we were probably doing something else entirely, but we're all pretty much going with the flow now.) We ended up running through Act 1 twice. I still wish I could put my script down more, but it is nice knowing that everything that I'm learning in Act 1 will be recycled in Act 2 and 3. Hopefully, that makes learning it all a bit easier, too.

It has been mentioned that, rather than hear from boring old me every post, other cast and crew could post occasionally with their perspectives. I think this is a fantastic idea. I believe I know how to set this up so don't be surprised to see that in the future. Heck, the way I figure the more people that want to blog about this the better.

One last thing that can't go without mentioning. I may have written earlier about someone filming at the callbacks that I had no clue about. Well, that mystery is solved. The Tennessean is (was?) doing a bit about the economic downtown and how it's affecting 20-somethings. The piece is called Life on Hold. Well, Britt is one of the featured 20-somethings. Link here. If you click on her photo, a video will come up of that night at callbacks. Coincidentally, she is reading with Joe, our Freddie.

There was also a little teaser video put together on the Circle Players website here. No video of us, just a teaser.

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