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| Today was the first day of rehearsal! We met at the mainstage theatre where we were introduced to the production staff. Jennifer West, who is our stage manager, talked to us about company business (expectations, requirements, benefits, paperwork etc). After the formalities, our director, Lorenzo, brought us up on stage to explore ensemble building. He broke us up into groups of 4 people. We each then had to tell a story to our group - a story that told of overcoming a hardship, or perhaps a heroic or noble experience. I told the story of auditioning for Camelot when I was 19 and how I really wanted the role of Merlyn and didn't think I had a chance, and after agonizing over whether or not to settle for anything else and having come to the realization that "what will be,will be", I was absolutely elated to BE cast as Merlyn!!! Lorenzo then had our group vote on one story to relate to the entire cast. The group picked my story. After each group told their respective story, Lorenzo then had us improvise and present our story theatrically, with beginning, middle and end, ending in some kind of stylized tableau. It was a great exercise, and each group came up with different themes such as hope, redemption, perseverance, heroism --themes, which Lorenzo pointed out -- are all resonant in the story of Man of La Mancha! "Our Challenge," he told us, "is to convey those same truths to the audience. Wow! I think I'm gonna like it here! |
| My Rehearsal Journal |
| June 1, 2002 |
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| June 8, 2002 |
| We actually had rehearsal last night but I had given it as a conflict. Today, we started with reviewing ensemble music from the night before. After music, Lorenzo had us do slow, tai-chi-like stretching exercises to help us warm up. These were the some of the exercises he had us do during the auditions. When everyone started to get it, Lorenzo started refining little things; like how to hold your hand, where to look, even breaking us into two mirroring groups. Imagine my surprise to learn that we weren't just stretching to warm up, but were actually learning the choreography for one of the musical numbers! It's actually a number that I didn't think involved the ensemble but as Lorenzo put it, "We are bringing to life one man's inner vision, his imaginations" How exciting!!! |
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