Light Box Lessons

Quick Update:

We are down to four, count 'em FOUR, performances of Chicago. Thursday's performance will be followed by 45 minutes of karaoke. Kind of a cool idea. I think I might be running the machine. At least that will keep me far (far far) from the microphone. *Shudder*

Members of the cast are slowly getting sick. One of the character's voice is really hurting and now she has a full on stuffy head. She's singing through it and doing a pretty incredible job. What stress.

I'm learning a few things watching the show. I think I'll be a better performer for it.

1. Never break character. I've managed to do pretty well with this one so far but that goal has been strongly reinforced. Both of the leads drop character if something goes amiss. For one it's if she messes up dancing. For the other it's if she messes up singing. For the latter she's breaking character the farther we are in the run. Being sick obviously doesn't help. Also the other secondary characters tend to break if something small happens. It may not feel obvious to them on stage but to the audience it's like a dozen neon arrows pointing down on them and flashing. I knew it drew attention but I never realized how much attention.

2. Make decisions and follow them. Half-assed or confused translates oddly on stage. I've heard directors say this before, make a choice and commit to it, and I've understood it in terms of character but only in terms of character. A few of the actresses, ones that I know aren't as experienced on stage, tend to wander. If they have long speeches, they wander. If they have a solo, they wander. If they are just standing on stage in a duet, they wander. I still have this problem too. Seeing other people do it may cure me of it. As a novice, standing still feels funny. But the audience doesn't register, "Oh that's funny. She's standing still." To them it seems like nothing. It draws no attention at all and that's the whole point. It makes you transparent. Wandering around on the other hand begins to seem strange. I start to ask myself, "Where is she going?"

Wandering does have a place. If a character is agitated or confused or bored or some emotion that should translate into this particular type of movement then it's warranted. Otherwise, it's just bad technique. And like I said, a bad habit I'm still breaking.

3. Crew is not cast and is not part of the the family. Crewing is a strange beast because you come onto the scene after the actors have been working together for months. There is a bond and it feels strange to be working as part of the team but not the family. And that's OK. That's how it should be. I don't feel strange at all that I won't attend the cast party. Hopefully though, I will hang out with a few of the other crew members I've come to know over the weeks. I'm sure the actors are super nice too but the crew has been awesome. It's been great to spend the time with them.

4. Act with and through tech glitches. No one glitch ruins a show. It's how actors deal with those. Tech is trying to do the best they can. They are not asleep at the wheel. If something is going on they will fix it. Keep going. Pretend nothing is happening and continue forth.

Today is our first night off in quite awhile. I worked this weekend so that I could mozy on north in attempts to find travel clothes for my winter-fattened frame. (No, thank YOU holidays :) It'll be nice to have time to think, just think for awhile on the road. I haven't had time to drift in my head for awhile, and I think I'm ready for it.