Well darlings all I can say is thank goodness we're not performing a naked burlesque caberet...it was very hard to say goodbye to the botty-burning warmth of the heater and head up to the wee concrete basement last night for rehearsal.
Pleasantly surprised however... it was cozy-as!!! The heaters were cranking and everyone was jolly, all wrapped up and warm with red noses, scarfs and winter woolies... just like Christmas Eve! Instead of the pitter patter of reindeer on the roof it was the chitter chatter like a barnyard of hens in the green room... we got growled at by BFG for being too loud... but we couldn't help it! Its so infectious! You clomp down the stairs to the theatre less than impressed that you arent home in your jarmies and slippers watching 'Kardashians and Geordie Shore' re-runs... and begrudgingly you walk into the room and suddenly there is this rush of energy... eyes twinkle, smiles flash and you're greeted like the arrival of a long lost friend by your play-school buddies. That's when you realise there is something quite special happening :-)
I had baby blues last night... not to give too much away but for some reason the connection between speaking English in an American accent, walking, sitting down, standing up and breastfeeding a plastic doll just didn't quite cement somehow??? Strange. Lord knows why, I mean crumbs... I'm sure all you delightful readers could do the above standing on your head while baking scones and ironing.
The disconnect continued later into the storyline when it seemed I was hit with altitude sickness and lost my power of speech one platform at a time. The higher I got up the stage, the less brain = speak functionality I possessed, resulting in this unusual hawty babble. It was a cross between an aged Southern Belle speaking in tongues and a Sunset Boulevard lady of the night battling the effects of the impending sunrise. Not pretty. But pretty funny.
See this is the point in the process where everything is flying ahead in leaps and bounds - lines are memorised and then forgotten in the blink of an eye, movements are refined like a sophisticated waltz through a scene... but one forgotten step turns it into some form of female mosh pit hip hop boogie... and you can't help but get the giggles... Why? Well... nerves perhaps? Embarrassment? Frustration? FEAR? All of the above my dears... all of the above. There is nothing worse than finding yourself plopped like a turd at a pee party in the middle of the stage during a scene with this wide-eyed 'possum-in-the-headlights' look on your face, whipping your head rapidly round the entire stage and mouthing "SHOULD I BE HERE? DO I GO SOMEWHERE? OH..FFF [insert f-bomb here] I FORGOT TO MOVE!!". So hard. You don't want to disrupt the scene but you think "Crap. If I DON'T move I might throw the whole scene out of whack... if I DO move I might... throw the whole scene out of whack". It's so, so WHACK dahlings. But it is funny :-) Forgivable and funny.
Very funny... there are so many delightful moments that are unearthed and discovered not only through rehearsal and deep meaningful discussions on character breakdown but also but the shear genius of accident - and that is the funniest of all... the purest of all and brings a natural reality to the story. I love those moments - where an actor really shines. Because instead of translating the written word and acting out a scenario to timed perfection... an honesty emerges... a connection that blends pretend with for real, and surreal into believable. The click. The penny dropping... a comfort zone. Like a little rest-stop along the disjointed highway of rehearsal... and you know that things are really gonna start cookin'...I love that feeling and I love it when I witness it :-)
There is a huge energy at the moment... driven by perhaps a little panic as is completely natural when its only a few weeks left till opening. But mostly because things are taking shape rapidly... characters are emerging, people are changing literally line by line, the strange metamorphisis from crass Westie solo Mum into Manhatten refinery is rather trippy - considering Eedz isn't really all that refined and in some buzzy way I can relate. There is a little part of me that remembers peer pressure and the power of the female ensemble - whether on stage or in daily life, 1930's, 80's or today. Dangerous, delightful, downright scary but addictive...
Speaking of addictions... I need chocolate and caffeine... so I'll catch you b*tches later... Always remember, whether you are immersed in the feminine folds of a coffee group, flirting your ass off at wine 'o' clock in Ponsnobby, or at 'De-vice' party sucking back 8% Woodies...its all fun and games until some chick gets pissed...so hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
Ta-tah!
Eedz
XOX
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