DAY FIFTY SIX - Sunday May 20
I met with Slava in the morning to discuss lighting cues - since he's now the lighting designer as well. Our translator didn't show up so until Grisha got here at 9:30, it was pretty slow going.
We only got through the prologue when I had to run up to rehearsal.
I gave notes while Patti worked on one of the last numbers she has to teach. Then we all got together to work large scenes and put in a few changes. Then we staged the curtain call.
A couple of the actors were in the kids' show during our rehearsal but stopped in when they could. My favorite was Oleg - a good character actor who's not thrilled with the size of his role. I can't say I really blame him - he could handle much larger roles - and probably does in other shows. He is in a costume for the villain in their version of Pinocchio. NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: It is now five months after this picture was taken and I learned that Oleg died suddenly over the summer. Complications from diabetes, I think. This is very sad news - he was a great guy - in spite of his every-so-often apathy - but really worked hard, gave a good performance and seemed a very genuine person. Even though I don't know when I would ever have seen him again, I will miss him.
The beard was a little smelly, I have to say.
And here he is with everyone else in street clothes!
This is me with Lena (the dramaturg) and Olga (one of our accompanists). I took this picture because I thought Olga's vintage dress was kind of fantastic. It was her mothers.
On the way to lunch, we ran into Luda - one of our Mary's. The gal who won... then lost... the contest.
We lunched at very cool place called Bukowski's (for burgers). Menu in English!
Tonight we run the show for the last time in the repzahl (rehearsal room) as we move to the stage tomorrow. I had wanted to do work rather than a run but I was forced into a run by some of the folks at the theatre. We are supposed to give each of the three teams a shot at a run (even though only two will go on this go round - and as I have mentioned before, I am forced to make that call until later.
We ended up having to stop and fix a few things and therefore didn't get through the whole show - so it was niether feast nor famine, fish nor fowl. And this was precious time. I tried to bargain with the scheduler to get a couple of more hours for full company rehearsal before we go onstage tomorrow night - because it will save us having to stop and fix so much onstage - there will be plenty of stopping and fixing - but that way we MIGHT have a hope of getting through all of act one tomorrow. To award 3 hours to tech/run a show that runs 2:45 without intermissions is, quite frankly, impossible.
So there was a majorly confusing finish to the rehearsal in trying to jockey time around to get all the folks in the room at the same time. Tatiana, the scheduler, and usually a rock, left very upset because I had obviously shanghaied the schedule and changed it around in a major way - which nobody likes to do - but here especially. I told her that since I did this run through at their reqest and against my wishes, they had to pay for it by finding a couple of hours for Patti and me to re-space tomorrow. She kept saying that is what tomorrow night is for - onstage - but with the chorus (some of them quite apathetic thus far) making so many mistakes and being so tentative about everything - we're not even ready for the stage. Correction: The ballet is ready, the principals are ready (although many of them should be a lot better with their lines) and the kids are super-ready. Those youngins are as reliable as the ballet company.
Ksenia, one of our Marys, had a birthday party in her dressing room tonight.
From Left: Sasha B (Negresco - the Prince's Adjutant), Grisha, Ksenia (the birthday girl), don't know this guy, Olga (one of our accompanists), Vova (one of our Sandors), Roma (one of my favorite chorus guys - making a bizarre face), Nastia (one of our Rosemaries), some blonde gal that I kicked out of the chorus because she had such a bad attitude, and me.
Roma poured me a very pretty drink of apricot juice and some bright blue stuff at the bottom. Ksenia is in the background.
Tomorrow at 9AM I do more work on lighting cues with the set/costume/lighting designer, then we do scene work with principals, then we have the rehearsal I stole for myself, then we have a costume parade with ballet and chorus, then we have three hours on the set - during which we simply HAVE to get through the prologue and act one. Wish us luck.
Thanks.
I met with Slava in the morning to discuss lighting cues - since he's now the lighting designer as well. Our translator didn't show up so until Grisha got here at 9:30, it was pretty slow going.
We only got through the prologue when I had to run up to rehearsal.
I gave notes while Patti worked on one of the last numbers she has to teach. Then we all got together to work large scenes and put in a few changes. Then we staged the curtain call.
A couple of the actors were in the kids' show during our rehearsal but stopped in when they could. My favorite was Oleg - a good character actor who's not thrilled with the size of his role. I can't say I really blame him - he could handle much larger roles - and probably does in other shows. He is in a costume for the villain in their version of Pinocchio. NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: It is now five months after this picture was taken and I learned that Oleg died suddenly over the summer. Complications from diabetes, I think. This is very sad news - he was a great guy - in spite of his every-so-often apathy - but really worked hard, gave a good performance and seemed a very genuine person. Even though I don't know when I would ever have seen him again, I will miss him.
And here he is with everyone else in street clothes!
This is me with Lena (the dramaturg) and Olga (one of our accompanists). I took this picture because I thought Olga's vintage dress was kind of fantastic. It was her mothers.
On the way to lunch, we ran into Luda - one of our Mary's. The gal who won... then lost... the contest.
We lunched at very cool place called Bukowski's (for burgers). Menu in English!
Tonight we run the show for the last time in the repzahl (rehearsal room) as we move to the stage tomorrow. I had wanted to do work rather than a run but I was forced into a run by some of the folks at the theatre. We are supposed to give each of the three teams a shot at a run (even though only two will go on this go round - and as I have mentioned before, I am forced to make that call until later.
We ended up having to stop and fix a few things and therefore didn't get through the whole show - so it was niether feast nor famine, fish nor fowl. And this was precious time. I tried to bargain with the scheduler to get a couple of more hours for full company rehearsal before we go onstage tomorrow night - because it will save us having to stop and fix so much onstage - there will be plenty of stopping and fixing - but that way we MIGHT have a hope of getting through all of act one tomorrow. To award 3 hours to tech/run a show that runs 2:45 without intermissions is, quite frankly, impossible.
So there was a majorly confusing finish to the rehearsal in trying to jockey time around to get all the folks in the room at the same time. Tatiana, the scheduler, and usually a rock, left very upset because I had obviously shanghaied the schedule and changed it around in a major way - which nobody likes to do - but here especially. I told her that since I did this run through at their reqest and against my wishes, they had to pay for it by finding a couple of hours for Patti and me to re-space tomorrow. She kept saying that is what tomorrow night is for - onstage - but with the chorus (some of them quite apathetic thus far) making so many mistakes and being so tentative about everything - we're not even ready for the stage. Correction: The ballet is ready, the principals are ready (although many of them should be a lot better with their lines) and the kids are super-ready. Those youngins are as reliable as the ballet company.
Ksenia, one of our Marys, had a birthday party in her dressing room tonight.
Tomorrow at 9AM I do more work on lighting cues with the set/costume/lighting designer, then we do scene work with principals, then we have the rehearsal I stole for myself, then we have a costume parade with ballet and chorus, then we have three hours on the set - during which we simply HAVE to get through the prologue and act one. Wish us luck.
Thanks.
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