Monday, I had Alexander, Brenton, Andrea and Sebastian. We worked heavily on fight scenes because I foresaw problems in this area. I knew we didn't really go over them so I really tried to work on them.
Tuesday I had Alexander, Brenton and Sebastian again, and we just worked on finalizing stuff.
And Wednesday during lunch and afterschool I had Sebastian, Brenton, Dylan, Josh, Alexander and Evan JM. We just tried to get through the script as much as possible, because Thursday was performance day!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Performance went well. I was surprised that it went over as well as it did, to be perfectly honest. You could tell from the performance who had been to practices and really worked at this, as compared to those who I had a hard time getting a hold of. There were no major flaws - at one point Andrea was supposed to be on one edge of the stage than the other, and i had to go up and remind her, but she really recovered in the last scene. Sebastian forgot he had a line as he was dying, and she stepped up to the plate and improvised until he remembered what he was doing. Other than that, it went off without a hitch. I would have preferred to have someone to help with changing the stage, instead of doing it myself, but ah, c'est la vie.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday Rehearsal: March 8th, 2009
Oh no! I was only able to get Hannah, Brenton and Andrea today. That was the saddest thing for me. I was really hoping to get ALL the cast together and instead I got basically NO ONE. SO AGGRIVATING!
We didn't do much more than just run lines and work on memorization, because there really wasn't much TO be done.
We didn't do much more than just run lines and work on memorization, because there really wasn't much TO be done.
Final Full Week of Rehearsals
Thankfully, I actually got Andrea in this week! This week I worked with Brenton, Sebastian, Andrea and Dawn using the neutral masks. I thought this was really really important, because it forces the actor to use their body to express the plot and the emotion, instead of relying on the words. I think the person who had the hardest time with this was Brenton. That would be because his part is rather monotonous and doesn't do a lot of moving in the first few scenes of the play.
I purposely wrote this part like that, to show the character's lack of enthusiasm for the lightening his little sister is so interested in. The character in the beginning just generally shows a lack of interest in life, and it's not until he starts to tell this elaborate story that he comes alive physically.
They really took to the activity after I explained it to them and described the process. I would have liked to work a bit longer with them on it, and really explore it more indepth. However we ran out of time, and had to move on to really getting down to rehearsing scenes that had'nt been rehearsed.
I purposely wrote this part like that, to show the character's lack of enthusiasm for the lightening his little sister is so interested in. The character in the beginning just generally shows a lack of interest in life, and it's not until he starts to tell this elaborate story that he comes alive physically.
They really took to the activity after I explained it to them and described the process. I would have liked to work a bit longer with them on it, and really explore it more indepth. However we ran out of time, and had to move on to really getting down to rehearsing scenes that had'nt been rehearsed.
Sunday Rehearsal: March 1st, 2009
I held an extra rehearsal Sunday at my house. I hoped to get the entire cast together today, and I ALMOST DID! Rehearsal was supposed to run from 4-6 P.M. In attendance were Brenton, Sebastian, Dawn, Josh, and Evan JM as well as Hannah, my self-declared assistant director. Evan Taylor came to practice around 6:30, so by that time I was down to Hannah, Evan JM and myself.
It was actually relatively productive, although putting 4 teenage boys in a room together and letting them fight under the guise of it being a rehearsal for some sort of play can be total chaos...once everyone settled down no one was hurt and we actually managed to be productive. Using stand ins we tried to go over the epic battle scenes, however we had more stand ins than actors in that scene, so it may or may not have been useless. We'll find out!
I'm glad I called this rehearsal though, because I do honestly think we accomplished enough rehearsing. If given the chance I would have made it start earlier, so that we could get even more done. However I have decided to hold another one of these practices next week, because we perform on Thursday! Yikes!
It was actually relatively productive, although putting 4 teenage boys in a room together and letting them fight under the guise of it being a rehearsal for some sort of play can be total chaos...once everyone settled down no one was hurt and we actually managed to be productive. Using stand ins we tried to go over the epic battle scenes, however we had more stand ins than actors in that scene, so it may or may not have been useless. We'll find out!
I'm glad I called this rehearsal though, because I do honestly think we accomplished enough rehearsing. If given the chance I would have made it start earlier, so that we could get even more done. However I have decided to hold another one of these practices next week, because we perform on Thursday! Yikes!
Fourth Week of Practices: February 23-27
I still haven't gotten the Evans and Alexander to rehearsal! I am really starting to worry because we perform in two weeks and i still haven't managed to get my cast together in one room. I suppose its partly my fault, I haven't been very demanding that they come. I need to step up to the plate and start holding them to their commitment.
A week has gone by since our last practice because of February vacation. I was happy to see that they didn't TOTALLY forget everything we had been working on - in fact they did quite well. This week Andrea will not be able to make it, so I really focused on Brenton, Sebastian, Dylan and Dawn. The more I rehearse the happier I am, and the more I wish I could just scrap everyone else and use them! Their dedication means a lot.
Brenton was having trouble getting into character this week, so I went through a series of questions with him about Neil. Who he was, what his middle name was, how old he was, what he wanted in the scene, his favorite color/band/sport, etc. Just things to help Neil seem more real to him. I hope it helped.
We did more improv work this week as well. A lot of like, milling and seeding, and then improv games such as gibberish/english, freeze, and more. They are getting really good at thinking on their feet and making the scene what it is. I remember in the beginning of the process, they were reluctant to even participate. Now, however, they are really confident and just dive into the game. They have really grasp the idea that you don't act, just be. Or not to say no to your partner.
A week has gone by since our last practice because of February vacation. I was happy to see that they didn't TOTALLY forget everything we had been working on - in fact they did quite well. This week Andrea will not be able to make it, so I really focused on Brenton, Sebastian, Dylan and Dawn. The more I rehearse the happier I am, and the more I wish I could just scrap everyone else and use them! Their dedication means a lot.
Brenton was having trouble getting into character this week, so I went through a series of questions with him about Neil. Who he was, what his middle name was, how old he was, what he wanted in the scene, his favorite color/band/sport, etc. Just things to help Neil seem more real to him. I hope it helped.
We did more improv work this week as well. A lot of like, milling and seeding, and then improv games such as gibberish/english, freeze, and more. They are getting really good at thinking on their feet and making the scene what it is. I remember in the beginning of the process, they were reluctant to even participate. Now, however, they are really confident and just dive into the game. They have really grasp the idea that you don't act, just be. Or not to say no to your partner.
Third Week of Rehearsals
This was the first week I had the chance to work with Dawn and Brenton on stage together. I am happy to say that they have excellent chemistry and aren't nearly as distracting. Monday was mostly just Brenton, Dawn and Sebastian and I. I am very confident that the three of them are going to play their parts very well.
My biggest concern runs with the fact that I'm having trouble getting the rest of my actors to commit. While both Josh and Dylan have come to a few rehearsals, both Evans and Alexander have no attended a rehearsal at all. I'm worried they will not be prepared when it comes to performance day.
During lunch and after school this week I worked with Brenton, Sebastian and Dawn on developing their characters using the Stanislavski method acting techniques. They developed their characters by relating them to an animal and then portraying the animal techniques in human form. I think the actors weren't really sure how to do this; Dawn seemed to be the most confident in this practice. Had I had the chance, I would have looked back on Stanislavski more and gone into further explanation of the technique.
My biggest concern runs with the fact that I'm having trouble getting the rest of my actors to commit. While both Josh and Dylan have come to a few rehearsals, both Evans and Alexander have no attended a rehearsal at all. I'm worried they will not be prepared when it comes to performance day.
During lunch and after school this week I worked with Brenton, Sebastian and Dawn on developing their characters using the Stanislavski method acting techniques. They developed their characters by relating them to an animal and then portraying the animal techniques in human form. I think the actors weren't really sure how to do this; Dawn seemed to be the most confident in this practice. Had I had the chance, I would have looked back on Stanislavski more and gone into further explanation of the technique.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Second Week of Rehearsals
The second week of rehearsals was a hard one.
Monday we had rehearsal as usual. But I had some difficulties with keeping people focused and in control. Practice ended a good twenty minutes earlier because one of the actors was upset, and it distracted and stressed me out as well as the other actors.
Tuesday I planned for lunch and afterschool rehearsal as usual. The difference was, between first and second period, I fired Angela. This is hard for me, but things just weren't working out. There were regular distractions and temper tantrums, and she seemed generally unenthusiastic about the entire production. Instead I asked Dawn to take the part of Lucy, and she agreed. Unfortunately, there was a snow storm coming causing school to let out at 11:45, meaning no proactice this day.
Wednesday I did not attend school, so I did not hold practice.
Thursday was the first practice where I had Brenton and Dawn work together as Neil and Lucy. They have very good presence on stage together, and Dawn brings a freshness to the production. We worked thoroughly on the first scene, because with the change of casting I wanted to make sure it was worked intently. We also worked on going through the first five scenes in real time with the cast I had that was present - Dawn, Sebastian, Brenton, and I.
Friday was lunch practice with Brenton and Dylan. We worked on the second half of the play.
Monday we had rehearsal as usual. But I had some difficulties with keeping people focused and in control. Practice ended a good twenty minutes earlier because one of the actors was upset, and it distracted and stressed me out as well as the other actors.
Tuesday I planned for lunch and afterschool rehearsal as usual. The difference was, between first and second period, I fired Angela. This is hard for me, but things just weren't working out. There were regular distractions and temper tantrums, and she seemed generally unenthusiastic about the entire production. Instead I asked Dawn to take the part of Lucy, and she agreed. Unfortunately, there was a snow storm coming causing school to let out at 11:45, meaning no proactice this day.
Wednesday I did not attend school, so I did not hold practice.
Thursday was the first practice where I had Brenton and Dawn work together as Neil and Lucy. They have very good presence on stage together, and Dawn brings a freshness to the production. We worked thoroughly on the first scene, because with the change of casting I wanted to make sure it was worked intently. We also worked on going through the first five scenes in real time with the cast I had that was present - Dawn, Sebastian, Brenton, and I.
Friday was lunch practice with Brenton and Dylan. We worked on the second half of the play.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
First Week of Rehearsals Part Two
January 27-29 started the first week of rehearsals for my play. I had originally planned to start rehearsing Tuesday, but I got a couple people in the cast to come together Monday after school for a little improv session. A few of the actors had approached me and stated they had stage fright, so I attempted to help them feel more comfortable by having them do LOTS AND LOTS of improv. It certainly broke the ice a bit, I believe, and it gave me a chance to see the skills they had. They were very good, much better than I had ever imagined for first time actors :)
Tuesday was the first actual day of rehearsals. I got as much as the cast together as I could during lunch, and then after school. After school I had Brenton, Sebastian, Andrea and I. I managed to grab Josh on his way out of school to stay for a bit. We started with Sebastian and Andrea's scenes, and switched back and forth from those scenes to Brenton and Angela's scenes with me filling in, and then some scenes with Josh them.
Wednesdays I had lunch rehearsal again, with Brenton, Angela, Josh, Sebastian and I after school. We mostly worked on Brenton and Angela's scenes, and while we had some difficulties they were over come eventually - I know how hard it can be to focus. We also cMy main concern as of this day was actually myself. I thought I was being WAYY too bossy and bitchy as a director. As after this rehearsal, on Thursday I spoke with my teacher about how to keep the cast on task and such. She gave me some helpful ideas, and that combined with me keeping my emotions in check have helped.
Thursday lunch rehearsal was the same crew. After school I saw Brenton, Sebastian and I. I also had the help of my assistant Dawn Sargent, who will be helping me throughout the rehearsals and possibly the performance. We worked the best we could with Dawn and I subbing for their other counterparts. There was a lot of good energy in the room.
Friday was only lunch rehearsal. We had Brenton and Angela. We worked through all their scenes, focusing on a couple, with my other assistant Hannah Shannon helping us. Overall it was a good rehearsal, and I think the actors are starting to pass through their stage fright. We've had an audience most of the rehearsals and havent had any problems so far...
As far as remembering lines go, the actors don't HAVE to memorize them, but I would really like them to. I think this might come in time though, as it's not really a lot of lines to remember, so the more they practice the better they get.
- C
First Week of Rehearsals!!
A video of Friday's lunch practice - a piece of the play where old man Brenton ( =] ) JUMPS onto the "couch" when the second the lights rise.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Cast List
NEIL: typical 16 year old boy. Although he is often annoyed by his little sister Lucy, they’re close in that he’s extremely protective of her. He’s used to having to keep an eye on her - with his parents away for the night, he’s left alone with her during one of the worst storms of the year. When the lights go out he does the only thing he can think of - he starts to tell her a story.
(Played by: Brenton Eddy)
LUCY: 7 year old girl, fascinated by her older brother. She loved that her brother will be watching her while her parents are away, and even though she tries to pretend like the storm wasn’t scaring her, once the lights go out she’s very scared. When Neil starts to tell her a story, she becomes fascinated by the story. It is essentially her imagination that the audience is seeing the story projected from.
(Played by: Dawn Sargent)
DAMIEN: Neil’s best friend. The trouble maker, mischievous and the jokester; always trying to trick, fool or scare Lucy. When the lights go out, Damien skateboards over to Neil’s house to hang out; he’s home alone and knows that it’s just Neil and Lucy at their house as well. He bangs on their front door and successfully scares Lucy. Although he teases her constantly he seems to be the mean older brother to her.
(Played by: Dylan Buotte)
SEBASTIAN: head of the Resistance, trying to change the laws of the Election Period, also the main character of Neil’s story. He’s almost the strong, silent type - an excellent leader, many people look up to him, yet secretly most of the time he’s making it up as he goes along. In the play, his age is never specifically stated but he’s young, only about 17 maybe younger. He grew up orphaned on the street; he’s very street smart, and has an ominous kind of presence, power seems to drip from his pores, even though he’s not usually physically or emotionally aggressive.
(Played by: Sebastian Francis - Burnell)
MAILLE: Sebastian’s head strong female counterpart. She’s quick to anger and always looking for a fight - the driving force of the fights behind Sebastian’s strategy. Maille likes to fight - she’s skilled in all kinds of fighting. Her first reaction is always fight and she sees flight as a last resort. Although she and Sebastian get along extremely well (romantic undertones throughout the play) she reeks of brute elegant physical power, this is the opposite of Sebastian’s subdued power. She was left at a boarding school and grew up there; the school is closed by the government and she runs away. Same age as Sebastian, maybe a few months younger.
(Played by: Andrea Spencer)
KINGSTON: the Resistance’s candidate for Presidency. Kingston is quiet but physically strong. Think of a combination of Maille’s physical strength and Sebastian’s silence, with a twist of Kingsley from HP. He’s not much of leader, but agreed to run for the presidency because he would allow Sebastian to take the unofficial behind the scenes wheel, but believes strongly in their cause and is very trusted by both Maille and Sebastian.
(Played by: Alexander Setzko)
VICTOR: the candidate running for traditional views - opposing candidate, the Resistance’s enemy. Very much a dictator, the country has had some awful Presidents in the past - he has the air of promising to be the worst in history. He’s very dictator-like in the way he rules, and is really the height of the Resistance’s resistance. He has killed opposing candidates for offices he has run for in the past, though he can’t be directly linked to them much like most of his predecessors. He’s vicious, cruel and unforgiving.
(Played by: Josh Sessler)
THANOS: Victor’s behind the scene hitman - Sebastian and Maille’s evil counterpoints. Thanos means Death in Greek, and essentially that is his job to Victor: he is the killing machine. Similar to Maille, he is the fighter, though Maille tries not to kill while Thanos goes into the fight with the intention to torture and destroy. His weakness lies in that he often doesn’t think out his moves when confronted - therefore making him easily defeated if taken by surprise.
(Played by: Evan Johnson - Moore)
SALAZAR: the Sebastian to Thanos’ Maille. Salazar is the dark shadow in the corner of the room. He doesn’t play by the rules and would like nothing more than to Sebastian killed - he has a personal vendetta against him, because he believes he seduced his sister (Maille) over to the other side, by making her believe he had fallen in love with her and then keeping her over to the other side.
(Played by: Evan Taylor)
(Played by: Brenton Eddy)
LUCY: 7 year old girl, fascinated by her older brother. She loved that her brother will be watching her while her parents are away, and even though she tries to pretend like the storm wasn’t scaring her, once the lights go out she’s very scared. When Neil starts to tell her a story, she becomes fascinated by the story. It is essentially her imagination that the audience is seeing the story projected from.
(Played by: Dawn Sargent)
DAMIEN: Neil’s best friend. The trouble maker, mischievous and the jokester; always trying to trick, fool or scare Lucy. When the lights go out, Damien skateboards over to Neil’s house to hang out; he’s home alone and knows that it’s just Neil and Lucy at their house as well. He bangs on their front door and successfully scares Lucy. Although he teases her constantly he seems to be the mean older brother to her.
(Played by: Dylan Buotte)
SEBASTIAN: head of the Resistance, trying to change the laws of the Election Period, also the main character of Neil’s story. He’s almost the strong, silent type - an excellent leader, many people look up to him, yet secretly most of the time he’s making it up as he goes along. In the play, his age is never specifically stated but he’s young, only about 17 maybe younger. He grew up orphaned on the street; he’s very street smart, and has an ominous kind of presence, power seems to drip from his pores, even though he’s not usually physically or emotionally aggressive.
(Played by: Sebastian Francis - Burnell)
MAILLE: Sebastian’s head strong female counterpart. She’s quick to anger and always looking for a fight - the driving force of the fights behind Sebastian’s strategy. Maille likes to fight - she’s skilled in all kinds of fighting. Her first reaction is always fight and she sees flight as a last resort. Although she and Sebastian get along extremely well (romantic undertones throughout the play) she reeks of brute elegant physical power, this is the opposite of Sebastian’s subdued power. She was left at a boarding school and grew up there; the school is closed by the government and she runs away. Same age as Sebastian, maybe a few months younger.
(Played by: Andrea Spencer)
KINGSTON: the Resistance’s candidate for Presidency. Kingston is quiet but physically strong. Think of a combination of Maille’s physical strength and Sebastian’s silence, with a twist of Kingsley from HP. He’s not much of leader, but agreed to run for the presidency because he would allow Sebastian to take the unofficial behind the scenes wheel, but believes strongly in their cause and is very trusted by both Maille and Sebastian.
(Played by: Alexander Setzko)
VICTOR: the candidate running for traditional views - opposing candidate, the Resistance’s enemy. Very much a dictator, the country has had some awful Presidents in the past - he has the air of promising to be the worst in history. He’s very dictator-like in the way he rules, and is really the height of the Resistance’s resistance. He has killed opposing candidates for offices he has run for in the past, though he can’t be directly linked to them much like most of his predecessors. He’s vicious, cruel and unforgiving.
(Played by: Josh Sessler)
THANOS: Victor’s behind the scene hitman - Sebastian and Maille’s evil counterpoints. Thanos means Death in Greek, and essentially that is his job to Victor: he is the killing machine. Similar to Maille, he is the fighter, though Maille tries not to kill while Thanos goes into the fight with the intention to torture and destroy. His weakness lies in that he often doesn’t think out his moves when confronted - therefore making him easily defeated if taken by surprise.
(Played by: Evan Johnson - Moore)
SALAZAR: the Sebastian to Thanos’ Maille. Salazar is the dark shadow in the corner of the room. He doesn’t play by the rules and would like nothing more than to Sebastian killed - he has a personal vendetta against him, because he believes he seduced his sister (Maille) over to the other side, by making her believe he had fallen in love with her and then keeping her over to the other side.
(Played by: Evan Taylor)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Update!!
DYLAN BUOTTE IS DAMIEN WILES!!! :) This is a great new development because the fact that I HADN'T casted Damien more or less stopped the writing of the play at the second to last scene. I didn't know if I would be changing the plot to make it a girl, (because they're easier to find) or what. But Dylan has agreed to play the part :) We are excited.
As for further future rehearsals, I have placed a notice to all cast members asking for their schedule. I hope to start practicing after school in February. I will be doing a lot of work in the beginning with Viola Spolin's Theatre Games to develop the actors abilities to improvise! Plus, it's just fun and will help people become more comfortable on stage and in their characters and around their friends.
Until later!
- C
As for further future rehearsals, I have placed a notice to all cast members asking for their schedule. I hope to start practicing after school in February. I will be doing a lot of work in the beginning with Viola Spolin's Theatre Games to develop the actors abilities to improvise! Plus, it's just fun and will help people become more comfortable on stage and in their characters and around their friends.
Until later!
- C
LUCY TAMAH BENEDICT: Angela Newton; Director's Notes
LUCY TAMAH BENEDICT.
LUCY: English for light
TAMAH: Hebrew for Innocent
BENEDICT: See Neil Morpheus Benedict.
Age: Seven years old
Description: Long wispy hair, big eyes, bigger imagination. Tiny for her age and easily wiggles into small spaces.
Some History: Lucy has a history of ear infections and dizzy spells, even at seven. She was born 4 months early, and while it may have made life difficult for her from the start, she's a very strong and worldly individual. Her parents are very career orientated and people pleasers. When she is not deathly ill, Lucy doesn't see much of them because they are on business trips or going to galas as on the night the play takes place. Lucy doesn't mind this though, because she is very easily entertained, especially by herself, and just adores her older brother.
LUCY: English for light
TAMAH: Hebrew for Innocent
BENEDICT: See Neil Morpheus Benedict.
Age: Seven years old
Description: Long wispy hair, big eyes, bigger imagination. Tiny for her age and easily wiggles into small spaces.
Some History: Lucy has a history of ear infections and dizzy spells, even at seven. She was born 4 months early, and while it may have made life difficult for her from the start, she's a very strong and worldly individual. Her parents are very career orientated and people pleasers. When she is not deathly ill, Lucy doesn't see much of them because they are on business trips or going to galas as on the night the play takes place. Lucy doesn't mind this though, because she is very easily entertained, especially by herself, and just adores her older brother.
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