Dear cast,
Thank you so much for the hard work yesterday. There were a lot of new changes and new scenes, but you picked them up very quickly, including the nightmare. Seriously. I think there were 11 out of 13 scenes that were new in some way. So thank you for playing along with me, thank you for pushing it through.
PREPARATION + STATEIn general, we need to think of ways to help themselves be "ready". We need a group moment of calm right before the run. Because the opening music is so fast, we need to be even more calm and clear inside.
As director, I need to think of ways to help the cast to be present – warm up, schedule + rehearse in away that keeps the energy there.
As cast, you need to think of ways to be present and supportive to each other. This includes what you do while we are rehearsing other scenes, backstage, and… well, more generally, how you take care of yourself outside as well.
Thank you, Wynne and Walter for arriving on time today. It makes such a huge difference for me – the energy is there. In general thank you Walter and Haruka for being so consistent in turning up. I really feel that support.
Yes, thank you for pushing through the very long hours, especially for people who are balancing other work. As an ensemble, we need to figure out how to support ourselves and each other when we are tired. When you are tired, what do you need to do to renew yourself? What kind of attitude (things you say and do) give energy to the group, or take energy from the group? How do we keep it playful?
1. CRAZY TOWN OVERWORKFirst two scenes in general are very smooth. I'm very glad because in the first five minutes the audience decides whether or not they care about the piece, the characters and the world you have created.
- Note sound cue for entrance (Josephine) + lunch gongs.
- We need to figure what to do if someone falls off the MTR (e.g., like Ken)… There needs to be a clear reaction before trying to jump back on.
- Sense of detail is there. Wynne's wake-up timing is great, Haruka's pile up at the MTR gate, "sik-fan" reactions are good – keep the excitement + "back to work" reactions clear.
- Areas that could do with work: Walk to office can be cleaner, lunch cha-lah noises can be louder + more excited, which will give a stronger contrast to the "return to the office".
- Josephine's walk down from the boss creates a huge tension that I didn't notice before. Maybe we can save that for the "turbo" overwork part.
- Before turbo keep the office moving (e.g., Haruka to filing cabinet, and maybe a meeting on the left with Walter). Adrian keep the swivel, and you don't need to get up or give a face to Wynne when you give her work (I think that quality is better in the nightmare).
2. FOREST TOWNDing-dong went "Wah!" when we moved out the mannequins. This is a very magical scene. Wynne, this is the audience connects with you, so it is very sensitive. Technically your timing is very good… now you just have to allow yourself to be vulnerable. You have the potential to make me cry in that scene. Let the music support you.
- Mannequins in general are very stiff and present, thank you. The girls have this wonderful openness which remind me of shopping mall lights. Adrian being carried out is much smoother, thanks for keeping it stiff. Now see if you can get the same "glow" as the girls – I think it is a matter of sensing the air/space on all parts of your body.
- Walter + Ken: carrying out the mannequins is great (can even be half a beat slower), timing of exits and entrances are great.
- I continue to be amazed by the power of the music. Thank you, Hin-yan.
3. TV FAMILYThank you, the family was very present. Josephine, great timing on your lines. We need to work this scene with the new music + Toto. Eating slowly seems to work.
Ken, make sure you take time to feel what you are doing. For example, when you walk across from your daughter's room to your own bedroom, it is not just a walk across the stage. I mean, it is a walk, but it is also a Walk. Remember when we did the "one touch" exercise for the characters, you can say so many things with one touch, with one walk. Take the time to feel. I'm sure that the more we do the more confident you will be, but also know that even when you don't know what you are doing, you can be confident too! As long as you trust the moment then everything is ok!!
4. NIGHTMAREYes, I'm amazed at how fast we rehearsed this, and it's looking good. Well done, cast.
Hin-yan: The combination of music + sound is very tense. Great start. Then I think it needs to be less "down" – we've just had two slow scenes, so the music can pick up. Actually, the more terrible things that they do, the lighter the music can be.
Let's see if we can really build that happy moment. I really want to believe that, for a moment, Katie will be able to get free, becomes a dancer (does what she wants), and everyone is excited and supports her. So Wynne, take time to give us the thought process – watch the office, and then decide to do your own thing. Chorus, great that you too more time, now see if you can take even more time. You notice her. And then really take the time to feel amazed – wow, look at her dancing.. that's really cool. Take time to build your excitement, from clapping, to dancing, to running. Now that Hin-yan is improvising with you, you have the freedom to take as much time as you need. If you can get that joy; then you will really "bite" when it turns bad again.
4b. SATIE-CHAIRSWalter, Wynne + Adrian: yes, thanks for picking it up so quickly. Let me think about if this is right place for this scene, and if there is the right music.
If we do rework this scene, we need to work on the whole mood. The rhythm + state of the people pushing the chairs, and the walk. As Ding-dong said, "The concept is cool, but the two guys are a bit embarrassing."
5. MOTHERJosephine, I can really feel your energy in the last speech. Great. Actually, your energy in general is so strong with the mannequin and the nightmare, that it carries through into the mother, so I feel the mannequin-boss in the mother too.
Let me think and we work more about this scene.
6 + 10. GARBAGE PICKINGI have a problem connecting with Katie in these scenes. It's very dangerous right now, because it is not sincere, and we will lose the audience. Wynne, we need to find Katie. She is too immature, to the point where actually I am laughing because I cannot believe someone can be so "dei B"
I can say that right now that the most important thing right now for the play is to find Katie. And to do that I need to connect with Wynne. I can feel that Wynne is tired, she has so much work + worries right now in her real life right now, that this project become a responsibility, rather than fun. In a way, your life is starting to mirror Katie's, and you need to find your solution, just like Katie finds her solution.
Katie/Wynne on stage right now is like a closed fist. The scene that are most true last night was the running + frustration. But it is hard to connect to someone who is so closed + angry. When you play the angry child, you close off people. Your energy is going in, not out. This was particularly obvious in the mountaintop yelling scene with Haruka… I could feel so much light from Haruka, and then on the left side of the stage was a black hole. I mean, it's an interesting quality, but it's really hard to care.
You know, Wynne, in the end you need to ask yourself... why do I care?
Do you remember this picture, Wynne? There is so much joy and wonder in what we do.
Of course, now we are at a different stage of our working relationship. For the sake of pulling the piece together, we are making decisions. We are closing off possibilities. And yet within the structure we still need to be alive.
Dan said one time to me, "Thank God we have Wynne."
Yes, you are a very special actress. You are a very special human being.
Please let me know what I can do to support your work.
7. SURPRISE PARTY
Surprise! New script! … yeah!
9. ELAINE-MARCUS duet
It's clear that this duet needs to be appear earlier, and I'd like to
It's so strong and delicious, it immediately brings the audience back.
As a director, I'm happy not only to see the sensitivity and freshness in the piece, but also to sense the development in complexity from last time. I can feel Haruka's vulnerability, and Adrian's strength. Let's work more on this duet.
Music feels right too.
11. DAD'S MONOLOGUE
Yes, Ken… the power of this monologue will depend on the truth. Not what you imagine fathers might say, but what you would actually say to Toto.
12. MOUNTAIN-TOP
The general feeling is good. I think there is also a child-like wonder in this scene, almost like two children yelling to each other from across the houses they live in. Wynne, see if you can connect to Elaine a bit more… I need to see the tension between pushing her away and the fact that you really care about what she thinks about you.
The third section is better; much better than rehearsal. Let's see what we can do to have the space support you even more.
We'll work on that scene; and in general, building the Elaine-Katie relationship so that the arc is more clear.
13. APHEX
Aphex is in the right place. It feels right, it feels like the cumulation of the piece. What is amazing is how we really see the different characters appear, hug, fall. Great chorus work too… very clear moments of Elaine alone, and Katie alone. There was almost, almost, almost a moment with Katie and the mother. So it would be great this is a summary of the piece, together with all the uncertainties and love of the characters for each other.
Make sure when you hug it isn't just a "A-hug" (i.e., you hug with only the arms but not the pelvis) Also, we'll practice a bit so you have the technical choice of running fast and hugging.
Meditation doesn't feel right here; though the process Katie goes through seems right.
We need to figure out how it ends from Aphex. I don't know yet. Any ideas are welcome.
* * *
Ok, I've talked a lot, and in English too. I want to say that I feel good about the piece, in the sense that there are really strong, powerful moments. And if it made Victor think – great. I think that must be one of the ultimate compliments an audience can give a director.
Yesterday, when I wrote and wrote and wrote and got stuck, I listened to the music again. "Yes, " I thought, "The music is very strong. I can hear it… now how to make it come alive on stage? How to have the script support the flow?"
And the same goes for the work on stage. When you don't know; trust in each other, trust in your intuition, trust in the moment. We have a very strong beautiful cast, strong not only in terms of stage presence, but also as human beings. So keep giving to each other, and when you don't know… listen. It is all there.
This was particularly clear with Haruka last night. I know she has been working really hard on her character and thinking about the piece, and this dedication shows.
I also need to thank Walter here; you are such a strong tree.
Josephine, when you called me on Sunday about the costumes, and I heard your voice on the phone… and it was a voice that was ready to talk. That gave me energy.
Thank you Ken for your patience this week, and for playing with us. You are such a happy person.
Adrian, thank you for taking the risk to write things and propose things; and your energy and thought is present, even though they might be emerge in a different form than your original proposal. Lovely work as in the duet.
I need you now as an actor now as well as your director-mind. Sometimes I feel from your body language you doubt the value of that scene. [I don't know if this is actually the case, but e.g., when we were rehearsing last night for the nightmare, I felt your arms were crossed and closed to me]… well, whether the scene works or not I don't know, but until we give it our best shot we won't know. Then, talk to me afterwards.
I know exactly how you feel though, I mean, after I came back from Paris I found myself wanting to think for Bonni while we were rehearsing the Overcoat. And clearly Bonni is one of the most skilled and sensitive directors I've ever come across, and that was a tested and tried script. So… I know what it is like for people with director-minds. People like us finally get to a point where we have to make our own plays; so we can make our own mistakes!
Ok, Hofan. Time to do nothing!!!!!!!!
