So much Sunday

Hey All,

We're winding down with the last day of rehearsal in our week. Tomorrow we have a deserved day off before we head into the last week of polishing and head overseas!

Yesterday was a jumble. We finished up Act V and ran through it enough to put it into our bodies. We also recounted what we did with the storm in the original production, trying to put it back into our bodies. This proved to be harder than we thought it would. We were haven't trouble recalling the original physicality, having done it over a year ago... and it didn't help that we're now playing new characters through the scene...so to remember where we each were and then trying to figure out where we now should be was quite messy. We finally came up with a rough draft of what we had originally done - this was done by tracing out movement diagrams and flow charts on lined paper after reading the scene out loud over and over again and picking out key 'cue' words that dictated the movement. We now have an idea of where to move as our new characters. However, we know there is much left to explore. Ariel talks about fire in her Act I.ii speech as she recounts the storm - so we know we need some elemental devices within the storm that were neglected the first time we did the piece.

Felix came in briefly yesterday with instruments that we can use and take abroad with us. We didn't have the opportunity to work with him on actual musical phrases, but we trust that with the instruments he brought us, we'll be able to jam and find the music we need. He also took Sarah, Stella and Laura to his place after rehearsal so that they could look at fabrics with his wife and costume designer, Olga. Olga has graciously agreed to help us sew Prospero's robe together and to provide fabric for us to use in the various magical scenes/transitions. We are so grateful to them for passing on their passionate knowledge. I remember when we had tea with them last week Olga said something along the lines of, "We want to give what we know." And that's exactly what they're doing...

Today we're going to stumble through the ENTIRE bare bones of the show. We're ready. We're also exhausted. So once we take our time figuring out where everyone needs to be from one scene to another (we're talking transitions here - like where is someone when one scene ends and where do they need to be for the beginning of the next scene and how do they get there...) we'll know what's missing regarding props/costumes and we can make last minute store runs to purchase extra items and put everything into its final place. We're looking at the end. We'll be polishing and fine tuning very soon. It's all very thrilling. It's like watching a circus tent go up and realizing what's about to take place within it.

With Love,

J x