Ghost in the Rehearsal
I've recently become avid photographer. I enjoy taking pictures and always considered it my hobby. It's important for artists to have hobbies, since most of the population considers what we do as a profession a hobby. As a New Year's resolution, I decided to 'kick it up a notch' and take more pictures; at least one a day. Subsequent to that, I've been taking my camera with me everywhere, including rehearsals. Since I tend to focus on the directing, I don't usually have much time to take snapshots. Last night was a rare occasion.
The ensemble and I have been working on this new Spanish play for a couple of months now. The script is divided into seven monologues, so I have been mostly meeting one-on-one with the actresses. As we head towards our first workshop performance on June 1st, we're starting to get together as a group again and really explore the physical world of the characters. Monodramas (or as we Americans call them 'one-person shows') are incredibly challenging, because if the audience doesn't find the character or the actor engaging, you're screwed. It's hard to keep people's attention for any length of time these days, but to keep them focused on one person is next to impossible. Eventually, they are going to get bored. In essence, the play we are working on now has similar traps. Even though the script is telling one larger story and there is a loose through-line, I’m basically directing seven separate monodramas, each between 5 and 15 minutes. If nothing else, I can hope that if the audience doesn't like one, at least they can take comfort in the fact that there will be another one in a few minutes.
Never-the-less, I had the chance to take pictures. The exercise I was leading, based on The Seven Deadly Sins, took over an hour, which allowed me a great deal of ‘down-time’ while the actors explored. As not to distract anyone, I didn't use a flash, which in the end, created some very cool effects. Since the point of the exercise was to truly physicalize vice and virtue, it was nice to see movement in the images. Some even have a ghost-like effect that, eerily enough, fits perfectly within the framework of the play. Many of my non-theatre friends ask me what rehearsals are like. Hopefully a picture speaks a thousand words.
The ensemble and I have been working on this new Spanish play for a couple of months now. The script is divided into seven monologues, so I have been mostly meeting one-on-one with the actresses. As we head towards our first workshop performance on June 1st, we're starting to get together as a group again and really explore the physical world of the characters. Monodramas (or as we Americans call them 'one-person shows') are incredibly challenging, because if the audience doesn't find the character or the actor engaging, you're screwed. It's hard to keep people's attention for any length of time these days, but to keep them focused on one person is next to impossible. Eventually, they are going to get bored. In essence, the play we are working on now has similar traps. Even though the script is telling one larger story and there is a loose through-line, I’m basically directing seven separate monodramas, each between 5 and 15 minutes. If nothing else, I can hope that if the audience doesn't like one, at least they can take comfort in the fact that there will be another one in a few minutes.
Never-the-less, I had the chance to take pictures. The exercise I was leading, based on The Seven Deadly Sins, took over an hour, which allowed me a great deal of ‘down-time’ while the actors explored. As not to distract anyone, I didn't use a flash, which in the end, created some very cool effects. Since the point of the exercise was to truly physicalize vice and virtue, it was nice to see movement in the images. Some even have a ghost-like effect that, eerily enough, fits perfectly within the framework of the play. Many of my non-theatre friends ask me what rehearsals are like. Hopefully a picture speaks a thousand words.
posted by THALATTA! Theatre International at 11:27 AM
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