Well, another one down. The young fellow I was hoping would take the part of Georgie is not going to due to a concern about homework not getting done. I certainly don't blame the parents for saying no to his participation, but, of course, I'm disappointed that he can't take the role. In situations like these I tend to get pushy and overstep my purview. I begin to argue with parents...my bad. Try to cajole them and work to have them change their mind. As a parent I would probably be ready to smack me if someone tried that with me. I tend to get caught up in the productions I'm working on. Back off, Putnam.
First dance rehearsal on Wednesday. It's going to take some work, I hear. I was only there for the first part, but got reports that it'll take a few rehearsals to get the the polka relaxed. It's a beautiful scene...one of the few tender moments in the play where we see some genuine recognizable affection...no yelling, no commands or demands. And the dancing needs to be relaxed: these two were high school dance stars!
Great work yesterday with Ellen and Rudy. Their four brief scenes are nearly memorized and they're really talking to one another. Sounds natural. Hunter has a tendency to get whiny when Rudy gets excited. I seem to be sensitive to whiny-soundedness recently. We talked through the scene and he could hear the difference. Scenes can be played in so many different ways. The kid runs into the apartment and cries out to his mother about the location of his brother's comic books. They're gone and he knows his brother will be angry when he finds out they're missing. So...does Rudy come running in with a big whiny "Mom?" sliding all over five different pitches? Or is he more demanding with one big forceful "Mom!" Rudy is very intelligent and mature in his thinking processes. He's also still 12 years old. And 12 years old in the 1950s is way younger than 12 years old in 2012. The scene could go either way. We keep exploring.
I remember reading an article about Dustin Hoffman and his tendency to try scenes in a million different ways, right up to production --or filming--time. Some directors found it un-nerving, but he kept exploring. I like it. That's way is great about the rehearsal process....it's a constant "re-hearing" of the lines/scene/character and we keep exploring until it finds a natural-ness.
One time at one of the AACT festivals I heard an adjudicator say to one of the actors who had just completed a scene that it sounded as if he--the actor--had gotten stuck in a first read. I objected to the adjudicator's comment: how could he possible know what the first read sounded like? But over the years I've sensed the same thing as an actor reads a line in the first few rehearsals, and it's stuck in his/her mind and never changes...and it doesn't work.
Of course, as actors, we may feel very comfortable with that first read and since the whole thing is so scary anyway--memorizing a million lines and trying to be someone else and not letting the other actors down--we tend to grab at something sure and defined and hold on to it. But that isn't good acting. Good acting involves being vulnerable and allowing ourselves to be scared and honest and uneasy...and trusting of the other actors on stage. Being human is all of that...and good acting must be also....or we're not really climbing around in the character's skin.
Georgie? Where are you?
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