Week 18: Over and Out
August 6, 2012
2 March 2012
This was our final week of rehearsals in Clapham, and personally and professionally it was the most hectic week yet.
From 10am to 6pm we ran the three plays, after which the directors went through their notes. From 6pm to 9pm, the understudies ran the lines of the plays. From 9pm until bedtime I packed up my belongings (or at least worried about packing up my belongings — the tardiness of these blogs should be proof enough of my tendency to procrastinate) ahead of the upcoming move to Stratford-upon-Avon.
'…The time 'twixt six and now
Must by us both be spent most preciously.'
(The Tempest. I. ii. 240-241.)
Running the plays back-to-back gave us a sense of what it will feel like to be in rep. Switching from play to play, character to character, and having the stamina to drive the narrative forwards for up to six hours of playing time each day is a mental and physical workout.
This week's understudy rehearsals were the first big milestone in the understudy process. Each evening was assigned a different play, and the understudies sat in a circle and delivered all the lines off-book (completely memorized).
Until now, we have had approximately an hour of rehearsal on each scene of each play with Assistant Directors Jamie Rocha Allan and James Farrell. This is nothing compared to the months of rehearsals the principals have had. So, being off-book for the line runs meant a lot of homework in the evenings and on lunch breaks.
At this stage of rehearsal you can always tell who the understudies are. It's the actors talking to themselves in the corridors, diving ostrich-like into a script in their lap for a reminder of a lost line.
To add to the stress of the moment, I am one of the least economical packers I know. I have elected to give up my London residence while we are in Stratford, and am consequently moving half my things into storage, bringing half to Bardland. This means facing silly dilemmas like will I need dry-roasted ground cumin? A post-show martini shaker? Ballet shoes?
'The dropsy drown this fool! What do you mean
To dote thus on such luggage?'
(The Tempest. IV. i. 231-232.)
We haven't cleared our rehearsal rooms in Clapham a day too soon. Director Greg Doran and his cast for Julius Caesar move in as we move out.
It's a great feeling to know that we will now get to do our work in front of an audience. As long as all my bags fit in the car from London, that is.
by Ankur Bahl
| No comments yet
Share this