First Rehearsal

Ahhhhhh, the first read-through under our belt. I was really looking forward to today because I knew that having the cast gathered together for the first time, reading through the script, checking out the chemistry, would tell me what I needed to know. And after today's rehearsal - I feel so much better! I was worried about one casting choice in particular, but it actually worked out really well - so far, so good.

I made it explicitly clear that I mean to stand by my motto: Keep the drama on the stage! We set a few ground rules about behavior outside of drama club and I feel very confident that I have a good group of students and they will make me proud. They are already throwing ideas about their respective characters my way and one girl (who plays the character who eats constantly) even brought a bag of chips today and ate them during the read-through to add to the whole thing. It was quite hilarious actually. We all laughed so hard just reading through the script, so I'm hoping it wears well!

I've asked one student to be my assistant director and hopefully that works out. He has a tendency, I believe, to go on a bit of a power trip, but I trust him to get things done and that is what is most important at this juncture. I feel sure that I can squelch any problems if they arise as he tends to be a little abrasive sometimes, but I think that is exactly what is called for in an assistant director or stage manager sometimes! Actors can be a crazy bunch that are hard to corral, so this will be good for them.

I've asked another student who has always worked curtain to be my stage manager. She's rather soft spoken, but she knows everything that goes on backstage and is absolutely dependable to the nth degree, so I'm positive she'll do a fantastic job.

I have yet to figure out all the details with blocking and the set - something that needs to be done ASAP. I think I may have the cast help me a little bit tomorrow, but I need to assemble a good technical crew as far as set building goes. I have some lovely ladies already signed up to run my lights and sound and that is a huge help.

The only other thing I want to accomplish by the end of this week is to go over the budget one more time and start filling out requisition forms for props, costumes, and set building materials. Hopefully we'll be able to make some decent money with this production so we can do a kick ass spring musical! I also need to start scouting out good people to do some of the marketing and put together the programs and such. I want to be sure to advertise this play in the paper and drum up some serious patronage.

So. I'm finally going to bed. My last period class at school is killing me. I'm nearly at my wit's end and it's only the second week of the trimester. Then after school today I had two of my understudies respectively decline the roles. Part of me understands, but the other part of me was really irritated by the whole thing. This is the bottom line in theatre: you can't always get what you want, no matter how hard you try. So you make yourself better, prove yourself and your dedication by doing the shit jobs from time to time, and just plain understand that there are a lot of different factors that go into casting. It's not just pretty faces and it's not just talent. "Knowing the director" is sometimes a good thing and sometimes. . . not so much. All in all I feel like I'm slowly building up this drama program, but time will tell and a lot rides on this spring's production.

Okay, now I'm REALLY off to bed.

Peace, love and KFC buckets,

DM