Insights as of now

I decided to give some of my insights on directing the show Baby Food 
thus far and some things that have learned and discoveries I have made. First of all one 
activity that I felt was very beneficial was one that I did at my very first read through. 
Since I have to couple in my show I told them to get with their partners and to come up 
with their back stories as couples and also come up with a story of how the two couples 
became friends. My cast was very excited to do this activity and they took it very 
seriously. After giving them about seven minutes I had the couples take turns presenting 
what they have come up with. It was very amusing and interesting to see what they 
came up with. Even though they were very different it was good to let the actors come 
up with what they wanted. Another activity I also felt was very beneficial for the actor’s 
character work was the circus walks activity. I had the actors do this before our second 
rehearsal and I could tell such an immediate difference after the activity. I also had them 
say what their characters likes and dislikes were one at a time. This was also very 
entertaining to see them decide what their characters would say. For my rehearsal 
process I decided to do the bite size chunk method. I broke the show into 2 pages at a 
time and did the blocking organically. I found this to work very well. It was a nice way to 
block because it is very collaborative with you and your cast and gives them freedom to 
form their characters. Sometimes I worry that I am a director that just goes with the flow 
and isn’t very by the book. I don’t want my cast to think I’m unprepared or careless. The 
other day at rehearsal my cast and I were waiting for one cast member to arrive and two 
of my cast members told me something that really put a smile on my face. He said, “You 
know what Casey, I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoy your directing 
style.” “You are really laid back and don’t tell us what’s right and wrong, instead you give 
us the freedom to choose and help us if we stray.” “I really like that and I think that a lot 
of people are going to want to work with you in the future.” That really made me feel 
great about my directing. So it just goes to show have more confidence in what you do 
because even though you may think you are not doing things right, other people might 
think what you do is great. My show opens next weekend and I am thrilled to have an 
audience and see my finished product.

5 days till showtime

Tonight was another run in the studio. We had more set dressings today as well as the last props needed. The actors wore there cotumes as well to get the full effect. The show was going good and I only had a few notes to give. I decided to change blocking for Joes entrance and also Rhett and Jamies exit. Since the show takes place in a nice finished basement I decided to have them walk down the actual audience stairs and exit going up the stairs. I like this a lot better then just existing stage left into the black. Also I decided to add to the ending. The show kind of ends on a very strange note and then there would be a blackout. I told Joe and Amanda that there last lines really turned them on to start making out wildy. That later turned into Amanda jumping on Joe with loud sounds fading to black. It is strange and absurd and thats exactly what this show calls for. We also decided to light the candle that is one the coffee table. This provides and really neat effect because when the lights are out it lights up the baby picture of aloyosha. This sets the mood for so much strangeness.

Studio for good

Today's rehearsal went a lot better than the previous. We were back in the studio and this time for good. It was tech week. After running the whole show with props and set pieces things went pretty nicely. I decided then to have a WHAT rehearsal. My actors were familiar with this exercise and did a lot better then the first run. The only major issue seems to be the pace. There are some moments where the dialogue needs to be tighter. Also in the beginning since the show starts mid conversation we decided to have Amanda ad lib a line to ask about what the other character is talking about so that it doesn't start so dead. This really helped. Then I had them run the beginning and would stop if things were to slow and showed them where to speed it up. This seemed to help. We also found more gestures for Amanda to be doing after she hands the wine glasses to everyone. We also added a coat rack to the set so that when Rhett and Jamie leave they can grab their coats and walk out the door.

MPR again

Well tonight's rehearsal was one of those rehearsals where I transformed into a director for sure. The last rehearsal we were in the studio and everything was going great. We were supposed to be in the studio again but something came up and we had to go back to the MPR. This had a huge effect on my cast. First off the first run was horrible. They were paraphrasing every line and they were laughing about it and not taking anything serious. This made me scared because they had been so on and learned their lines so fast and I was afraid that might have been a bad thing because they were getting lazy. After the first run I told them they all needed to take ten minutes and review their scripts. They all sat there studying there lines. Then we ran it again. It was better but it still wasn't working so I just stopped rehearsal there and told them to come back fresh for next rehearsal. I also told them that sammie the stage manager was going to be taking line notes.

Studio Run

Tonight was our first night in the studio. It was such a difference running the MPR and then in the studio. My cast had so much more energy and I felt like I was watching a different show. We ran through the show in its entirety and it was pretty good. There was more to play with because of the studio furniture. We really worked through the show about three solid times. Since the show is only seven pages I don't like to over do it. They are almost completely memorized with their lines and blocking. We also added some more props which definitely help the actors get into the show. I am feeling good with the show at this point. I am having a few rhythm issues as well as some jumbling of words, but those are all minor things that i point out with specific notes to my actors.

Goals and thoughts so far

I decided that I would share my thoughts on my goals
for my directing show as well as talk about some of
my fears. First off, I have only had two actual rehearsals
 and I have almost all of my show blocked accept for 2 pages.
 My actors are very well prepared and are almost off book which
they took the initiative to do themselves considering there
deadline was not until March 19. I chose the play baby food
because it was one of those scripts that you’re reading and all
of a sudden something hits you and you think to yourself did
 that just happen? It was so strangely funny that I had to bring
 in to life on stage. My goal for this show is to let the audience
have a good time and even though some of the things that happen
in the script are absolutely ridiculous, I want them to believe
 that the characters are real people and not cartoon characters.
My fear is that it might come of as a Saturday night live sketch
 and I don’t want that to happen. I have been installing it into
 my actors about realism and believability of their characters
and they have been doing really well with it. The two couples
in the show have already established such a great relationship
 with each other in the show that it is very naturalistic. They
 are beginning to add gestures and noises even when they aren’t
talking that add so much to who they are as people. I am also
very happy with the different dynamics between the two couples.
They are complete opposites but by the end of the show they
 end up switching roles, which should be very evident. So far
there are just a couple moments where I see that slipping and
having turn into a sketch comedy piece. Most directors have
 the problem of actors not being big enough. I have the opposite
 problem with having my actors being to big and having to bring
them down. Although I do find myself laughing hysterically I
have to determine what’s best for the piece and keep it real.
I also have the challenge that even though my show is a one act
it's only seven pages long. I only have seven pages to hook
and play with audiences emotions. Even so I think I will be
able to do this.

3rd Blocking Rehearsal

Tonight was the third and final blocking rehearsal. We had one chunk left to do. We started rehearsal out by playing concentration ball. This didn't work so well. The highest number we got to was fifteen. I think some casts are cut out for that game. Unfortunately my cast is not one of them. After playing a warm up game we conquered the last chunk. We read it allowed first, then proceeded to block it. The last chunk took the longest to block and was perhaps the most difficult. When we were finished blocking it, we ran the show from the top to finish. It was a big old mess the first time through. We fixed the problem areas and continued to run the whole show twice. The cast had most of their lines memorized and it was only the third rehearsal.

Second Blocking Rehearsal

Tonight was my second blocking rehearsal. I started off the rehearsal by having the actors do the character circus walks. These were very beneficial and really helped them build their characters. When they were done with their exercise I had them say to the rest of the cast as their character what they like and what they hate. This was very funny and they did a really good job with it. After the character activity with read through the next two page chunk. After reading through it we started blocking where we left off the last rehearsal. After blocking the second chunk we went back to the first and ran both together. We had to fix some things and help them remember some of the first but they knew what they were doing for the most part. Then we proceeded to read the first and second chunk together three more times. Even though it gets repetitive it definately helps with memorization, and to pick out errors.

First Blocking

Tonight was the first actual rehearsal after a week off for spring break. I decided to begin blocking the show in tiny two page chunks. I first had the cast run through the scene on there feet to get it in their heads. Then I began blocking. I started by giving them beginning positions and some possible movements to be doing at the beginning of the scene. I would let them see where there body would take them based on the dialogue and then tweak, fix, or ask them if it felt right. When it didn't look right we brainstormed together some possible ideas that might work. After we had a basic structure for the two page chunk we ran it three more times in a row to really get it cemented into their brains. I was lucky because most of them had the first two pages memorized so it made it easier to play around with the movement. When rehearsal was over I told them to try and have the next two pages memorized for the followig rehearsal. I was happy with how things were going, and impressed at my casts dedication.