Rehearsal #5 - pages 78-103 (to end)

So yesterday we finished the text - 25 pages, going through some of the most emotional scenes throughout the whole play. I was slightly concerned that after a 4 week break, it'd take some time to get into the flow of the story again, but I needn't have worried. The cast are very close to being off-book, which is impressive as it's a very wordy play, with complicated cues and lines. As always, they remembered the blocking almost instantly, and worked their way through the trickiest sections with confidence and relative ease.

Dr. Matt Wagner, my supervisor for the project, sat in on the rehearsal, and it was good to get an outsider's perspective for the first time. I realised as we walked into the room that no-one outside of the production had seen even a small portion of the play, so it felt good to be able to get some feedback. As I've eased into the role of the director now, it was less nerve-wracking as I knew what I was doing in the space and how I was able to communicate with the actors. One comment that was given was to be sure not to 'micro-direct' - this is something I've been attempting for the last few rehearsals anyway, giving the actors the freedom to see where their character takes them, rather than dictating movement. This allows a more natural flow on stage, and means that every action has a purpose and a drive, rather than just static movement.

We've now reached the point where it's all about runs, and so from next week it'll be scripts down, running the play as smoothly and frequently as possible. It'll be a chance for the actors to get the feel of the riding emotion throughout the chronology of the story, as well as allowing Abi and I to fine tune blocking now that we have measurements confirmed for our space. I'm keen to let the actors continue to move fairly freely with the work, having learnt the blocking quickly and getting a greater understanding of the words. However, I am definitely not afraid of pushing them further when it is necessary - I want this to not only be a good learning process for me in terms of the module, but also an incredible performance filled with meaning and emotion for the audience to get stuck into.

 Actors playing Boal's 'Wooden Swords of Paris' game, exploring body awareness and anticipation between one another.