Rehearsal Journal – November 3rd, 2022
Plan:
- Getting to know you activities
- Physical and Vocal Warmup
- Discussion of sensitive subject matter in the play (minor content warning)
- Read through with no expression
- Cool Down (Roses, thorns, and buds.)
After a rocky start competing with illness and conferences, I finally got my actors together for our very first rehearsal! I could not be happier with how it went. I had originally wanted to take my actors for fro-yo so that they could meet first, but Sarah had to cancel at the last minute. For this reason, I was really nervous coming into this rehearsal. My actors had never met, or even heard of each other before. So, my number one objective for today was getting to know each other better.
Right off the bat Sarah and Michaela totally clicked! They bonded over their classes and their mutual friends on campus, as well as their favorite restaurant downtown. Off to a good start. The physical and Vocal Warmup were a bit awkward. I think the two of them felt a little uncomfortable being vulnerable and acting “ridiculous” with only one other person on stage who is practically a stranger.
That awkwardness went away for the readthrough. I encouraged them to leave any character choices or inflection behind and to simply read for text. Some things that they had done in their auditions slipped through, but nothing worth worrying about.
In an attempt to keep a chill rehearsal, we then just concluded with our roses, thorns, and buds for the day. I like this exercise because it leaves space for honesty without drowning the vibe in negativity.
Here’s what’s really exciting to me! At the end of rehearsal, Sarah and I were talking about the upcoming Cap and Dagger Big / Little week. Michaela’s ears perked up and she expressed interest. Unfortunately, it was too late for her to sign up since the pairings had already been made! BUT!!!! Sarah stayed after rehearsal to let me know that she would be willing to take Michaela on as a second little. To me that was a good indication that I helped them bond and connect enough that they want to spend time together outside of rehearsal.
Rehearsal Journal –November 10th, 2022
Plan:
- Check-in – gauge energy level
- Have a conversation using only sounds (no words)
- Physical warm-up ending in an 8-count shakedown.
- Block the first 7 pages
- Cool down – Breathing and embracing the space.
Today’s rehearsal was pretty chill. It’s been a week since our last rehearsal, so I set the expectation that my actors come in somewhat familiar with the text. And they absolutely did.
We started with a vibe check, just moving through the space, leaving any outside problems at the door. Then, to get my two actors interacting with each other, I had them carry on a conversation using only sound effects. This got their giggles out and broke some barriers that they were displaying.
With that said, the physical warm-up went much better, now that they know what to expect.
Blocking pages 1-7 was an absolute breeze. Before we started I had them explore the space, and see what caught their attention. The first thing that Sarah did was climb the ladder that Hutch or Heath left out. I absolutely loved it. I think that might become a centerpiece for my ground plan. It created really nice levels. Blocking did not take as long as I had expected, so we actually got to run it a few times. It was a little tricky because I don’t have a solidified ground plan yet, but that’s my fault, not theirs. It was very exciting to see them up on their feet trying new things.
We ended with some breath control.
Rehearsal Journal –November 11th, 2022
Plan:
- Check-In
- Ask actors their first impression of their character
- Step into your character exercise.
- Character Development
- Review blocking from yesterday
- Go over off-book dates, show dates, etc.
Today, my actors came in feeling pretty down. They are very much looking forward to regaining their energy over the weekend. They didn’t seem too enthusiastic about our typical warmup, so I did something more reserved, and we talked about their characters.
When I asked about first impressions, Sarah said that she finds Cam very boyish. That’s also the impression I first had. I hadn’t planned on casting a female-identifying performer as Cam until I saw Sarah’s performance in the audition room. (I didn’t tell her that, of course.) We talked about what characteristics gave her that impression and she decided it was the short attention span and lack of consideration. She then realized that these aren’t necessarily boy traits. So I am glad that she veered off that track.
Michaela compared Jamie to Hermione Granger. Of course, I would never want her playing another (very famous) character, and I made that very clear, but I did appreciate the comparison. They are both rule followers, who spit facts and get swept into an adventure.
I then had them imagine their characters standing in front of them and then stepping into their character’s bodies. I didn’t notice too much change physically, which was a little concerning, but there definitely was a change in how they spoke when we were reviewing the blocking.
I ended by going over important dates with them – off book, tech weekend, and show dates. They seemed to be good with all!
Rehearsal Journal –November 12th, 2022
Plan:
- Check-In
- Physical Movement in the space in character- develop posture, pace, etc.
- Run pages 1-7 off-book
- Block Page 8-End
- What is this futuristic world like?
Total 180 from yesterday! My actors came in enthusiastic and ready to work!!! During our physical warm-up, I had them move around the space with different objectives as themselves, and then as their characters. The physical embodiment that I had felt was lacking yesterday, was very much there today. They seemed younger, lighter on their feet, and more curious about their surroundings. It was like they were whole new actors.
When we did the run-through, they had to call “line” more than I would have liked, but it’s only their first day with no scripts for the first half, and they are definitely getting the gist across. They know what is supposed to be happening, just not what they are supposed to say. I tried to combat this with a speed through of a few sections. It did help with their memorization at the moment because they had to have their head in the game. That being said, during the run of pages 1-7 I found both of them very quiet and hard to understand. So I stopped what they were doing and we did an exercise.
I had them stand face to face center stage and one at a time say the tongue twister “she sees cheese.” Every time that each of them said it, I had one of them take a few steps backward. We did this until Michaela was at the top of the stairwell stage right, and Sarah was back in the stage left wing. They definitely got the point that I wanted them to articulate their words and project their voices.
This carried over when we, then, blocked pages 8-11. In that section of the script, the characters interact with a phone and a book. This sparked a lot of questions about what the technology of the future would be. Would they know how to hold an iPhone 13? What iPhone would they have? Why do they say they’ve never held a book before? Where did the books go? This contextual conversation is how we ended out a rehearsal, and I let them go 15 minutes early
Rehearsal Journal –November 17th, 2022
Plan:
- Check-in
- Physical Warmup
- Milling and seething?
- Work full play off-book
- Roses, Thorns, and Buds.
Great energy and cooperation today. My actors embraced almost every note that I gave them.
Started with a check-in. Good energy. Everyone is very much looking forward to Thanksgiving break. I just hope they don’t forget everything while they’re gone. I know they won’t. I’m just nervous.
Physical warmup was just like always. I can really feel us starting to form a routine. Then we did milling and seething (at least that’s what I think it’s called). I then had them continue to mill and seethe while reciting their lines. I’M SO HAPPY THAT THEY DON’T HAVE BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS! They were actually exploring the space! Sarah was pulling back the curtains, Michaela was opening the desk drawers! It was so exciting!!!!!
Then we worked through the whole show-off book! They did a pretty good job remembering their blocking and only slipped up on a few lines. But something irked me. They were too comfortable in the space. So I had the spur-of-the-moment idea to shut out the lights. They’re holding flashlights after all. All of a sudden, the space became foreign again. They were explorers. They were making discoveries. It was just supposed to be an exercise, but then I realized it was realistic. An abandoned theatre at curfew hour would be pitch dark. I talked to my actors about the idea of doing the show in the dark for real, and they were totally on board. I am so excited.
We ended on a high note and did roses, thorns, and buds for the break.
Rehearsal Journal –November 29th, 2022
Plan:
- Check-In
- Physical Warmup
- Verb Work and Objective
- Work on justification throughout the script
- Discuss themes of legacy, ancestry, family, history, and culture.
Justification of movement and dialogue is always very important, but in the case of Light the Way Back it is CRUCIAL because they are moving in the dark. That was the main objective for today’s rehearsal.
Chaim came to review us today, but he could only stay for the first 15 minutes. So we had to do a cold run, which they did fairly well with. In general, their first run is never the best, but given that they hadn’t warmed up they did pretty ok. Our rehearsal tonight could only be an hour, so the review took up the first chunk, and then we made modifications to justification.
Chaim pointed out to me that my actors need to point their flashlights to the place they are going to move and then go there. It’s a two-part motion. Otherwise, how would they know where they were going? So, I worked with Sarah and Michaela on finding reasons to move and how to express them with their face and body. Some reasons we threw around were loss of interest due to a short, futuristic time span, seeing the reflection of something shiny, the other character pointing something out, etc.
We also discussed the character’s family histories and the play’s themes of legacy and ancestry. Neither of the characters mentions having fathers, but they both mention having mothers. This struck my actors. Did the men die at war? Do they just work? Did they get the virus? I also pointed out to Sarah that Cam doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get home when the curfew siren goes off, which raised the question, is anyone waiting for Cam at home? We also talked about Jamie’s bond with her grandmother, and what they talk about. I left my actors with these ideas to ponder as the conclusion to our rehearsal.
Rehearsal Journal –December 1st, 2022 (3pm-4pm and 5pm-6pm)
Plan:
1st Half –
- Check-In
- Vocal Warmup
- Atmospheres
- 1 run of the show no stopping
2nd Half –
- Dissect ending
- Finalize hair and costume
Today’s rehearsal was different because we had an hour break in the middle, and because Grace came to review us. We did a quick vocal warm-up with projection exercises and tongue twisters. We then explored some atmospheres both in and out of character. Then Grace came and we did a run for her. We didn’t have time for another run after that so I let my actors go 15 minutes early while I talked to Grace. She was very complimentary of the pre-beat and the use of the ghost light. She really liked my ground plan and gave me some advice about how to get my actors to cheat up and out.
When my actors came back an hour and 15 minutes later, we worked only on the ending. It felt very rushed to me and I really wanted the actors to slow down and embrace the themes of hope and optimism. The two of them are very uncomfortable with silence and stillness so I had to give them numbers to count to in their heads so they would hold the beats for the right length of time. Even then, they counted in their head too fast, so I had to give them high numbers. Eventually, after trying and trying again they finally felt the emotion and slowness that I was trying to go for. Once they found it that first time, it stuck. Sarah still rushes the end beat thought. We’ll keep working on it.
We ended by having a discussion about costumes and hair, and I showed them a Pinterest board I had created for inspiration.
Rehearsal Journal –December 1st, 2022
Plan:
- Check-Ins
- Any questions? Go over tech plans
- Atmospheres
- Introduce New Props
- Final Tweaks
- Lay on the floor. Breathe. Reflect. We did it!
Good News: Last Rehearsal! Woot! Woot!
Bad News: My flashlights broke.
The flashlights we were using were perfect. They weren’t too bright but they had a wide field and were long distance. However, the rehearsal process did a number on them and they ultimately gave up. So literally right before our final rehearsal, I went to Walmart to get new ones. The supply was very limited and the ones I had to get ended up being way brighter and narrower, which sort of ruined my design conceit. They are absolutely blinding and shoot into the audience’s eyes. Michaela and Sarah didn’t complain though. I did a consent check with them about using the new lights and they were totally ok with it. What troopers. Also on my trip to Walmart, I got them real hand sanitizer to use.
We ran through the show a couple times with the new props and fixed and last-minute changes. Final character development and bonding exercises. We then just laid on the floor to be in the space, just us together, one last time, honoring the legacy of theatre. They’ve both grown so much, and I can’t wait to see what their performances have in store.