Consolidation

We're in a period of consolidating the work we did during blocking rehearsals. Now that the actors have started learning their lines and should know the general shape of the action, we spend each rehearsal evening running sections of the play, around 10 pages at a time. This gives us a chance to make sure that the action works as blocked. It's a very valuable time, as now we discover (and re-work) places where the moves we've previously decided upon look clumsy and need changing.

It's also the time to start building in bits of 'business' and experimenting with characterisations. A couple of examples:

We'd already decided that the maid, Nellie, is attracted to all the male characters and, while we won't always see it, we know that she will flirt with them given the opportunity. So, at a point where Lord Arthur and his butler were sharing a private moment alone - one that could be misconstrued by an outsider - it was a great opportunity for Nellie to act outraged and jealous: a great performance by Jill. For all of us in the room it was a truly funny moment - and got better with repeats. Moments like this, when you know you've found a dramatic and comic moment through real character interaction, rather than slapstick, or farce, are when you know that the play should be a success (up until that point, it's just a hope, based upon expectations of the script and the fine actors that you are working with).

In another scene, things were looking a little flat. Lord Arthur was worried about having to commit a murder and sought the advice of his butler, Baines. The scene was a bit flat and lifeless until we realised that Arthur could easily be looking forward to performing his crime. With that knowledge, Arthur's actions and Baines reactions both sprung into life and gave the scene a zip which was previously missing.

The blocking rehearsals are always a bit depressing for me. It's 2 weeks of mechanical drudgery - or that's how it feels - but wholly necessary - and you wonder if the actors will spend the whole 11 weeks dropping their props and saying "errr, which line/page/scene are we on?". This week was like emerging from that dark tunnel into the bright light, knowing that rehearsals in future are going to be fun. And that, after all, is what it's all about!