DAY FORTY FOUR - Tuesday May 8
Tuesday is normally a day off but because of the holiday tomorrow, we rehearsed today. We are going to attempt to run the entire show - start to finish. There are a few numbers we're missing but we all think it will be helpful to everybody to get a sense of throughline. I hope we can get through it in three hours. I'm dubious.
Broken Promises...
A little Bondy update. So, we got the new guy. I think we will get the costumes built - but can they guy ever attend rehearsals? No. Get this. Way back when we first made a cast shift, I suggested this performer for Bondy. I was told another guy is a stronger singer. We went with the other guy. Kirill pulled guy 2 because he is over-extended at the theatre. We put the guy I wanted in (guy 1) and he was nowhere to be found yesterday. It turns out Kirll is in Omsk directing a show and our new Bondy has to take Kirill's place at the acting academy where they both teach! I give up.
Also, I was told I had full chorus and ballet today to stage the tops of acts one and two - and we switched the schedule to a full run of the show. Well, I find out last night that, oh, most of the chorus cannot attend because they have finals at school. And the rehearsal I had scheduled for tonight will not happen because none of the actors will be available as they are either in the show here or traveling to their families for the holiday.
In spite of all of the above, rehearsal was a bit better today. The chorus (those who were there) were much more focused - although our leads were the ones having trouble. Well, our Prince Sandor didn't know his lines (this guy has about 10 leading roles at the theatre and simply has no time to learn this one). The old Bondy was MIA - nobody told me - so the new Bondy had to step in - but he only had one pass at the scenes and less than that with some of the choreography. So it was slow going at times.
We tried to run through the show but only got halfway through act two. We have a huge amount of work to do and I can't believe that after 5 weeks, it looks this discombobulated. But when they only give us full company for a mere 3 hours on some days - it's no wonder things take so long.
A little cuts meeting with Lena after rehearsal - which was very productive. I had no evening rehearsal because what had been scheduled turned out to have no people. So I went to a very small drama theatre to see "A Streetcar Named Desire."
It is called the Kolyda Theatre and is a trippy place. The Artistic Director (Kolyda) is a well-known playwright in Europe and uses his money from writing to run this run down funky little theatre. Again, a repertory company, with two casts, many shows, rotating all the time. The theatre is in an old wooden house and the stage was about 15' x 15' - imagine a living room / dining room situation where the theatre is in one room and 60 seats for the audience are in the other.
Here are some pictures.
The Building
The set at the intermission
The seating
The (absolutely amazing) Stanley. Notice the spit-slicked hair (See below).
Stanley and Blanche
I met the director before the show - a very serious, artsy fellow with one of those pillbox caps that hipsters wear.
The show lived somewhere between a very daring college production and something strangely brilliant. Imagine Steppenwolf when they first started, in a theatre that's half its size - and in someone's living room rather than a church basement - and on crazy pills!
I don't know if Tennessee Williams would have recognized his play in some parts of this production (from the constant jumping up and down of masked men and women in American flag underwear to blaring klezmer/balkan music, the constant dropping of shredded paper, the native american (?) dude in the hippie moo moo who kept wandering onstage to deliver funereal floral arrangements, the breast-baring prostitute, the constant swinging of low-hung lights, the bizarre physical posturing by Stanley, the odd makeup on all, the hundreds of little dolls strewn about the place, the tossing (well, hurling, really) of furniture - it was really wild. And contained some of the bravest performances I've ever seen. I didn't understand a word but was riveted throughout.
Blanche was so fragile - her breakdown - where she literally climbed into her suitcase and shut it on top of her, was so heartbreaking that I wanted to turn away from the horror of it. But I was in the front row - literally feet (less at times) from the performers. The Mitch was so human - and became a bit of a Stanley by the end. The Stella was very sympathetic - a very emotional actress who somehow made sense of the complicated relationship/love/hate with Stanley.
Then there was Stanley. I will never forget this guy's performance. EVER! He was demonic, twisted, powerful - in a kind of wiry way - totally unpredictable, crazy-eyed, with these incredibly odd behaviors that somehow made perfect sense for his Stanley. Spitting was a frequent activity - with many uses. There was this disgusting habit of spitting on a comb, meticulously spreading the spit across the teeth of said comb, then slicking his hair back with said spit-lubricated comb. He'd then run his fingers along the teeth as if to remove any stray hairs, and then he'd spit again. After his hair was greased (saliva-ed) back sufficiently, he'd snap the comb closed, like a switchblade. Whenever he'd put out a cigarette, he'd spit in his hand and use his palm as an ashtray. It was so gross, disturbing and completely Stanley. Before his final scene with Blanche, as she is crawling out of her suitcase, he spit on her back, and then licked it off. In acting school terms, the "psychological gestures" were very exposed. His performance in particular was so offensive. But it was kind of twistedly brilliant.
Again, some of the bravest performances I've ever seen. The staging was really fantastic - fitting twenty people on this postage stamp-sized stage - with all the bizarre added theatrics - it was a very exciting evening of theatre.
Again, it wasn't totally Tennessee - but a visionary production with some incredible performances.
The Stanley plays Hamlet next week - That should be completely crazy! I may try to catch it - if we have no rehearsal.
Tuesday is normally a day off but because of the holiday tomorrow, we rehearsed today. We are going to attempt to run the entire show - start to finish. There are a few numbers we're missing but we all think it will be helpful to everybody to get a sense of throughline. I hope we can get through it in three hours. I'm dubious.
Broken Promises...
A little Bondy update. So, we got the new guy. I think we will get the costumes built - but can they guy ever attend rehearsals? No. Get this. Way back when we first made a cast shift, I suggested this performer for Bondy. I was told another guy is a stronger singer. We went with the other guy. Kirill pulled guy 2 because he is over-extended at the theatre. We put the guy I wanted in (guy 1) and he was nowhere to be found yesterday. It turns out Kirll is in Omsk directing a show and our new Bondy has to take Kirill's place at the acting academy where they both teach! I give up.
Also, I was told I had full chorus and ballet today to stage the tops of acts one and two - and we switched the schedule to a full run of the show. Well, I find out last night that, oh, most of the chorus cannot attend because they have finals at school. And the rehearsal I had scheduled for tonight will not happen because none of the actors will be available as they are either in the show here or traveling to their families for the holiday.
In spite of all of the above, rehearsal was a bit better today. The chorus (those who were there) were much more focused - although our leads were the ones having trouble. Well, our Prince Sandor didn't know his lines (this guy has about 10 leading roles at the theatre and simply has no time to learn this one). The old Bondy was MIA - nobody told me - so the new Bondy had to step in - but he only had one pass at the scenes and less than that with some of the choreography. So it was slow going at times.
We tried to run through the show but only got halfway through act two. We have a huge amount of work to do and I can't believe that after 5 weeks, it looks this discombobulated. But when they only give us full company for a mere 3 hours on some days - it's no wonder things take so long.
A little cuts meeting with Lena after rehearsal - which was very productive. I had no evening rehearsal because what had been scheduled turned out to have no people. So I went to a very small drama theatre to see "A Streetcar Named Desire."
It is called the Kolyda Theatre and is a trippy place. The Artistic Director (Kolyda) is a well-known playwright in Europe and uses his money from writing to run this run down funky little theatre. Again, a repertory company, with two casts, many shows, rotating all the time. The theatre is in an old wooden house and the stage was about 15' x 15' - imagine a living room / dining room situation where the theatre is in one room and 60 seats for the audience are in the other.
Here are some pictures.
The (absolutely amazing) Stanley. Notice the spit-slicked hair (See below).
I met the director before the show - a very serious, artsy fellow with one of those pillbox caps that hipsters wear.
The show lived somewhere between a very daring college production and something strangely brilliant. Imagine Steppenwolf when they first started, in a theatre that's half its size - and in someone's living room rather than a church basement - and on crazy pills!
I don't know if Tennessee Williams would have recognized his play in some parts of this production (from the constant jumping up and down of masked men and women in American flag underwear to blaring klezmer/balkan music, the constant dropping of shredded paper, the native american (?) dude in the hippie moo moo who kept wandering onstage to deliver funereal floral arrangements, the breast-baring prostitute, the constant swinging of low-hung lights, the bizarre physical posturing by Stanley, the odd makeup on all, the hundreds of little dolls strewn about the place, the tossing (well, hurling, really) of furniture - it was really wild. And contained some of the bravest performances I've ever seen. I didn't understand a word but was riveted throughout.
Blanche was so fragile - her breakdown - where she literally climbed into her suitcase and shut it on top of her, was so heartbreaking that I wanted to turn away from the horror of it. But I was in the front row - literally feet (less at times) from the performers. The Mitch was so human - and became a bit of a Stanley by the end. The Stella was very sympathetic - a very emotional actress who somehow made sense of the complicated relationship/love/hate with Stanley.
Then there was Stanley. I will never forget this guy's performance. EVER! He was demonic, twisted, powerful - in a kind of wiry way - totally unpredictable, crazy-eyed, with these incredibly odd behaviors that somehow made perfect sense for his Stanley. Spitting was a frequent activity - with many uses. There was this disgusting habit of spitting on a comb, meticulously spreading the spit across the teeth of said comb, then slicking his hair back with said spit-lubricated comb. He'd then run his fingers along the teeth as if to remove any stray hairs, and then he'd spit again. After his hair was greased (saliva-ed) back sufficiently, he'd snap the comb closed, like a switchblade. Whenever he'd put out a cigarette, he'd spit in his hand and use his palm as an ashtray. It was so gross, disturbing and completely Stanley. Before his final scene with Blanche, as she is crawling out of her suitcase, he spit on her back, and then licked it off. In acting school terms, the "psychological gestures" were very exposed. His performance in particular was so offensive. But it was kind of twistedly brilliant.
Again, some of the bravest performances I've ever seen. The staging was really fantastic - fitting twenty people on this postage stamp-sized stage - with all the bizarre added theatrics - it was a very exciting evening of theatre.
Again, it wasn't totally Tennessee - but a visionary production with some incredible performances.
The Stanley plays Hamlet next week - That should be completely crazy! I may try to catch it - if we have no rehearsal.
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