Tuesday 11th Dec Rehearsal Notes

Firstly, Thanks Kendra for your note. I hope you're going to be well enough to come on Friday. Sarah Jane? Where are you? What happened?

Because of illness and the Northern Line, not the most focused or productive rehearsal we’ve had. But let’s take everything we can from the morning yesterday.

In particular to get very precise about all the actions of the banquetiers. These will have to be passed on to SJ and K, ideally BEFORE Friday. If anyone is a close friend or flatmate of either, then fifteen minutes spent with them could save a helluva lot of time on Friday trying to introduce them to it from scratch….

Abi is definitely playing the Lennox-Lord part, by the way.

Notes.

I hope it is clear now that what we have been doing over the last three or so weeks has been a process of CHOREOGRAPHING the scenes. And choreography should in no way make you think: ‘straightjacket’. Or ‘stiff’. Or ‘deprived of my imagination’. On the contrary, it will hopefully give you a structure in which to feel secure and be able to live and breath.

So trust the structure.

Enjoy going from your Californian to your Tragedy and back to your Californian, via a Lowest and an Attraction on the way. And play each SoI to the full. BUT DO KEEP LOOKING AT THE TEXT. ANY UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THAT WILL UNSEAT YOU AND SHOW AS ANXIETY IN YOUR PERFORMANCE. And, of course, lose you marks.

Also, just because you’ve GOT a choreographic structure, don’t get lulled into the false impression that you have the performance in the bag. You still have to put all the energy into your performance that existed when we first found that structure.

I noticed one or two worrying examples of people ‘phoning their performances in’ yesterday. Just going through the motions without putting their brains and hearts into gear…. I hope you know who you were!!!

Lee: a note I keep meaning to give you and keep forgetting. Prith’ee is two syllables. Not three. Pri – thee, with the stress on the first. Simple.

Juan and Gemma: Good work and co-ordinate so that you look as much as is humanly possible in your posture like the same Banquo, So that your arms and the angle of your head and body looks the same. Juan. Also, when you go into your Banquo, keep very still UNTIL just before the line that prompts ‘shake thy gory locks at me’.

Paul and Chanatelle. I think those changes we made now make the Porter scene work better. Keep practising and practising that jump. I think it will also need an eye-contact before you do it, Chanatelle. Also, the two of you, don’t make the chasing thing into a four act drama. It just needs a dodge to the left, a dodge to the right – and catch her. Don’t over-egg the custard, I think the expression is…

Lee: Don’t forget your mum’s meat-tenderiser.

EVERBODY REMEMBER TO BRING A TORCH WITH A GOOD BATTERY.

Everybody bring your own props/make up/costume for Friday. Kate and Lee the Maccers Mugs, for example. Chanatelle, not only the cake, but the paper plate it’s on ... etc etc etc..

Remember, boys, to bring you skirts! (by the way, if I didn't make this clear already, you will be wearing them over black trousers!! And the girls too if they want to.)

This will be the plan for Friday:

2.00 to 2.300 Warm-up, Speed run of lines. Set up props etc. Clear space. Get tables into position. Put on costumes.

2.30 – 3.00. Banquet scene. Integrate Kendra and SJ into action. Run and polish.

3.00 – 3.20 Kendra – ‘My former speeches’. Work.

3.20 - 3.40 Murder Murder Murder. And the battle scene at the end. Work.

3.40 – 4.10 Topping and tailing all furniture moves, who brings on what props, where the props are placed, where each witch is between each scene. What witch does what at the end of each scene etc. PLEASE BRING PEN AND PAPER TO WRITE ALL OF THIS DOWN SO THAT NONE OF IT IS FORGOTTEN.. and so you can think about it over the weekend.

The main issues will be:

• What the CHAIRS are doing between the Lee and Chanatelle, Juan and Emma and the Porter scenes. And WHO is moving them.
• The POSITIONING of the ‘Support’-Chair that Paul sits on in the banquet. And for Lee to remember to move the other chair at the start of the scene…
• I will bring tape to mark floor positions…
• The crashing over of the table in the Porter scene. AND HOW WE GET IT SET UP AGAIN QUICKLY , UNOBTRUSIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY FOR THE BANQUET SCENE.
• The placing of the hairbrush before Gemma and Abigail’s scene.
• Who bangs the mallet when Lee is collared by the Porter…
• The placeing of the Mugs for Gemma and Paul to hand to Kate and Lee… et etc..

4.15 – 4.45 FINAL DRESS RUN.

4.45 – 5.00 Notes.

Meet again Monday at 1.00.

Warm-up. Line-run. Setting up.

2.00 Showings begin. We are number 3 in the running order.