Blocking and an overwhelming sense of being overwhelmed.

So, tonight we did some blocking. Blocking is all the specific stage directions of where you supposed to go, when you go there, how you get there, what you are carrying, and so on and so forth. You would think this would be an easy thing to do, and I'm sure after a couple of times of running it, it will get much easier. But tonight it was like, "Huh? What? Where?"

You see, for the first two hours, we sat around and went over the first 40 pages or so of the script with Patrick, the director. He told us the blocking, we wrote it in our scripts. I think this was awesome, especially since we have the set. However, I've always been one of those learn-by-doing, rather than a learn-by-reading or learn-by-writing kind of guy. So, it was great to have all that written down, but when we started to actually walk though it, I felt lost. I'm sure it was because it was the first time doing it, but I definitely felt, well, off.

However, there were some genuinely funny moments walking through those few pages. I have heard from people that have done this show that life imitates art imitates life...yadda, yadda, yadda. Meaning, stuff will actually start going wrong that you just have to push through or cover for. For example, of the many doors on the set, none of them have any handles. So, to begin, it's hard to grab the door or move it like you might actually do. But since they also don't have any latches, they don't really want to stay where they should. So, whereas in Noises Off we have doors that won't stay closed, and in Nothing On we have "Nothing but flapping doors in this house," tonight at rehearsal we had both.

Oh yes, to add another additional layer to all that other stuff, I'm still supposed to be acting. Let's not forget that that is the main point of all this. So whilst I am trying to figure out if I walk behind the couch or in front of the coffee table and trying to remember if I'm carrying a box or a bag, I'm also still working on who my character is, or rather who my characters are.

So, to sum up tonight, I knew this show would be mentally and physically draining. I'm just not quite sure I fully realized it yet. No, I'm not physically drained tonight, but I'm sure that is in the near future.