September 11, 2009
Just bullet items of theatrical doings today …
Tonight we did a complete run through of Act 1—in costume—from memory. No frantically referring to a script with highlighted lines gripped in a clammy fist tonight! Egads! I thought I had all my cues and lines down pat, but standing backstage waiting to go on my mind went blank and I could NOT recall my cue. Thank God this isn’t brain surgery! Whew! It was actually easier with the script eliminated and I could concentrate on the other characters and my expression and body language. What FUN!
Today happened to be the birthday of one of the cast members, Chris Jones, and although unbeknownst to him, the rest of the cast was clued in so when Carol started playing the piano, as called for in the script, she would make a slight deviation and start playing “Happy Birthday to YOU” and we would all join in singing, as a platter of cupcakes was presented to Chris. The poor fellow blushed and stammered his thanks. What FUN!
Even the director, Stephanie, was nervous about her directorial debut. She related a dream she had the night before wherein the entire cast decided they wanted to do the play as a musical and wouldn’t listen to her directions; they totally mutinied! She remembered being overwhelmingly frustrated by the situation that she stomped out of the theatre, ripping down one of the show posters at the entry. It appears none are immune to a healthy dose of nerves! What FUN!
Costume fitting was an experience. I’m not a clotheshorse by any stretch of the imagination, but it was odd to be wearing something in character that I wouldn’t wear otherwise. I took off all my earrings and bangles and rings because Ruthann the pastor’s wife would frown on such hussy trappings. I’ll also remove the harlot red fingernail polish for the performance. Once I was able to wrap my mind around the costume, it did help me to disengage from Kay and settle into Ruthann. Erin Kays is in charge of costumes. She, too, has acted in other performances, but is Mademoiselle of the Garb for this production. Erin’s enthusiasm is infectious, in her youthful glee at finding the tacky white shoes to go with the tacky wedding gowns she also found and altered for the various body shapes and sizes represented in the cast. What FUN!
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