Rehearsal Report--6/22

Servants dropping Falstaff

A transformative rehearsal tonight with the ladies Ford and Page.  We were focusing on the A-plot and the two assignation scenes primarily--blocking the servants and Robin into the sequences.  Then afterwards I focused on the two merry wives.

The blocking went fine.  It was our first rehearsal with the actress who plays Robin, and I think she's going to be quite funny.  The servants (now officially nameed Juanita and Roberta) are two of the really fine adult women actresses who auditioned.  I have given them the chioce to improv their parts as much as they desire.  I trust both women and know they won't steal focus.


We have two buck baskets:  one large and one small.  The larger one works best, but I don't like the look of it.  The smaller one is difficult to move and there's a tipping issue.  We triesd out both and have decided to go with the larger one.

I was able to broach the subject of playing the punctuation a little bit with these folks before I just worked with the two women.  They were receptive, and in fact Ford and Falstaff squired themselves away after I dismissed them to wokr on their own.  This is the level of actors I have working on this project.  I am constantly amazed at their dedication, ability and work ethic.

With he two women, we ran their first scene (the letter scene), and it really was a lovely thing to listen to.  I love hearing these two actresses say Shakespeare's words.  They bring them to life.  But the scene was lacking something.  I suggested Mistress Page laugh on her entrance, and immediately the scene became lighter.  

We discussed why these two were best friends, and the concepts of opposites attracting in the past.  To me the thing that was missing was any sense of comraderie between the two.  One actress suggested a simple intentional change and immediately there was a greater sense of connection between the two.  We worked through the rest of the sequence and came to the realization that they were perhaps taking Falstaff's forwardness to seriously.  Once they changed to highlight their own bemusement at his folly, the scene was transformed. It was lighter, funnier and dare I say it merrier.

We also them worked on their parts of the assignation sequences, looking for ways to play them differently from each other.  Much forward movement was accomplished.  The two sequences are now framed entirely differently, giving the second one a greater comic sense actually.  I'm anxious to see the kinks ironed out in the next week.

Issues Raised:
--the two assignation scenes are two similar to each other, and there needs to be some sort of difference.
--Establishing the connection between Alice and Meg

To prep for next time:
--The fairies are coming.  Prepare their music and their business.
--Block out the all the principals in the final scene.
--First rehearsal at the perfomance space