Sunday, July 20, 2003
'Six Degrees' inspiration dead at 39
Whoa, the anniversary of the publication of "Catcher in the Rye" was last week and now this story from
CNN.Com. Included below is a copy of the entire story.
'Six Degrees' inspiration dead at 39
Saturday, July 19, 2003 Posted: 6:16 PM EDT (2216 GMT)
For an evening or a couple of days, he mesmerized people by bringing them into his totally fictitious world of stardom.
-- -- Attorney Ronald Kuby
NEW YORK, New York (AP) -- This was no stage production, and there was
no happy ending.
David Hampton, the ersatz son of Sidney Poitier whose pursuit of the glamorous life inspired the award-winning play "Six
Degrees of Separation," died last month in a decidedly desolate fashion: alone in a Manhattan hospital bed, friends confirmed
Saturday.
"David, like many of us, had a real need to be somebody important and special," said attorney and close friend Susan
Tipograph. "He did stuff to be somebody in his mind -- somebody important, somebody fabulous.
"To me, he was fabulous."
The black teenager earned notoriety by charming his way into New York's white upper crust, presenting himself in 1983
as the Oscar-winning Poitier's son and a Harvard University student. The scam inspired John Guare's acclaimed play and a movie
starring Will Smith.
The reality was quite different: Hampton came from a middle-class home in Buffalo, a city he once dismissed as lacking
anyone "glamorous or fabulous or outrageously talented." His father was an attorney, not an actor.
Hampton, 39, died at Beth Israel Hospital, Tipograph said. He had been living in a small room at an AIDS residence, and
was trying to start work on a book about his life.
Hampton was glib, charming, funny -- the skills of the consummate con man. He talked his way into the homes of several
prominent New Yorkers, including the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the president of public
television station WNET.
Once there, he reveled in the posh surroundings and fancy meals. He accepted money and clothes and regaled his hosts
with stories about his famous "father."
"David took a great joy in living the life he lived," said attorney Ronald Kuby, who knew Hampton for more than a decade.
"It was performance art on the world's smallest possible stage, usually involving an audience of only one or two."
After he was taken into custody in October 1983, police said Hampton had six previous arrests in New York and Buffalo.
Hampton, just 19, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
Guare, inspired by the bizarre tale, opened his play in 1990 to immediate critical praise. It won the New York Drama
Critics' Circle Award, an Obie, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
But on the day the play was nominated for four Tony Awards, a court order was issued telling Hampton to stay away from
Guare, who said he'd been threatened.
Hampton felt entitled to a cut of the cash generated by his "work," and he sued -- unsuccessfully -- for a $100 million
piece of the play's profits in 1992. There was victory in the defeat: It introduced him to another of Manhattan's bright lights,
radical lawyer William Kunstler.
Hampton was later arrested for leaving this message on Guare's answering machine: "I would strongly advise you that you
give me some money or you can start counting your days." A jury acquitted him of harassment.
"I think he felt used by Mr. Guare," said Tipograph. "I'll let history judge that."
The 1993 movie version of the play earned Stockard Channing an Oscar nomination for best actress. Channing recreated
her stage performance as a wealthy Manhattanite taken in by the scam artist.
In recent years, Hampton kept in touch with friends and stayed in trouble: He faced charges of fare-beating and credit-card
theft. One alleged victim told The New York Times that Hampton, using the name David Hampton-Montilio, duped him out of more
than $1,400 in October 2001.
"When pretending to be somebody else, he dazzled people," Kuby said. "For an evening or a couple of days, he mesmerized
people by bringing them into his totally fictitious world of stardom."
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Work opening and closing scenes
WHEN: Thursday night rehearsal schedule.
WHAT: Tonight we'll work the opening and the closing of the play. The opening goes from the beginning up to but not including
the hustler scene. The closing starts with Tess's phone call and goes to the end of the play. We will work mechanics
ONLY. By mechanics, I mean lines, cues, and blocking as opposed to character development and delivery. We will focus on speed
and repetition in an effort to put the memorization behind us.
WHO:
Ouisa, Flan, Geoffrey, Paul, Tess and the Detective. Geoffrey should be able to
leave by 8:00. Tess and the Detective will not be needed until 8:00 and should be able to leave before 9:00.
All other cast members are excused for Thursday's rehearsal. Great job everyone! We may give some notes via email over
the weekend to specific people. Otherwise, expect to start on Monday at 7:00 p.m. sharp. We'll start with notes
followed by a full run in full costume. We need a final check on how costumes look together on stage. So everyone must
be in full costume. No calling for lines on Monday.
Have a great weekend!
-alr
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Dress Parade Tonight
Q: Who comes to rehearsal tonight?
A: All cast.
EVERYONE comes to rehearsal tonight at 7:00 p.m. for costume parade. Then we will give notes and work out problems.
Then we will release people and work the scenes indicated next.
SCENE WORK:
* Doug will be absent.
* Speed through of dinner scene dialog
* Terrel and Paul
work subtleties of the Catcher in the Rye speech
* Dynamics, energy, pacing beginning with Tess' phone call -- this
will be crucial. Extra work here will pay off in spades.
NOTES:
* Terrell will give the bulk of the notes after dress parade tonight.
* Beth and Flan: Exit
on platform is "in the house," off platform is not. Ask me if this doesn't make sense.
* Ouisa's getting up
during dinner scene to pour wine works well; Paul should join her as soon as he sees what she is doing in an effort to try
to help her. Then he can insist she sit down and he can put the bottle away and ask "may I" for the brandy.
*
Tess exits SR on "I had a tape recorder" prior to Trent's scene. Paul can enter SL at whatever point is most convenient
since this is in the dark. Then TESS and WOODY appear in the SR Frame. Then OUISA and FLAN appear in the SL Frame.
(opposite of what we were doing). The order of the lighting ques will have to be switched also. Trust me, this
will work better, you'll see.
* p52 robes should be set off stage; Flan stay on stage (do not exit) to retrieve robe.
*
p53 lights go out on Tess, then she goes
* p54 Tess exit US of cube; Det. enter DS of cube
* p57 Flan exit
on platform
* p59 dialog is now at one speed, we need at least a three speed bicycle to for this terrain
*
p60 Flan use a phone handset, do not fake a phone
* p60 Policeman enters from L of door, not thru the door frame.
*
Elizabeth, Rick and Paul, p48 you're going to wake up - Paul goes forward and others join him (ask Andy ?)
* Kids
sitting on bottom step with skirts on is a problem. Beth can sit on second step, this should help. Tess may have a costume
change.
* Detective: loud and confident! I'll be in the lobby and I want to hear every word you say.
SCENE WORK:
* Doug will be absent.
* Speed through of dinner scene dialog
* Terrel and Paul
work subtleties of the Catcher in the Rye speech
* Dynamics, energy, pacing beginning with Tess' phone call -- this
will be crucial. Extra work here will pay off in spades.
LIGHTING:
* The order of the lighting ques will have to be switched for the note above re O,F,T,W in the frames.
WARDROBE:
* We are getting a new robe for Ouisa. Patty is in the loop. Janet returns from DC tonight
and will help Patty get access to new costume pieces.
ALLEN:
* Complete sound que list.
* Return chairs to Ga. Ctr.
* Does Classic Center know special
show times.
* update the tng web page
* kitchen stool for paul to sit on? Ask tonight.
SET AND PROPS
* Andy (and maybe Ben) will create the frames for the Kandinsky and the dog paintings.
*
We still need black phones
Monday, July 14, 2003
Technical Rehearsal Done
Two weeks to go and ...
Set = done!
Costumes = done! (w/ minor reworking)
Props = done!
Lighting = done! (w/ possible minor rework)
Programs
= sent to the printer!
Hair and makeup = starts tonight.
Sound design = beginnning.
... nothing left to do but make the show PERFECT!
Sunday night was technical rehearsal which I advertised as a que-to-que meaning that we were supposed to skip past the
dialog to the next technical que (lighting, sound, props) and thus keep, what is out of necessity, a trying hurry-up-and-wait
process from becoming an excruciatingly exhausting marathon. The cast and crew should sue me for false advertising.
At 5:00 p.m. it seemed so early and everyone was fresh after a Sunday afternoon of relaxation. Flan and Paul were struggling
with blocking and lines and so why not take advantage of this time to get in a little rehearsal. Well, the harm was
that FIVE HOURS LATER the principals and the crew were exhausted and creative decisions were being rushed and everyone was
on edge. I knew better, and I blew it. Someone should have smacked me and asked me what I thought I was doing.
On the bright side, we got 95 -- that's right, count 'em, NINETY-FIVE -- ques programmed into the lighting board. Steve
Wildey's lighting design offered an amazing amount of flexibility for such a small lighting system. The AD's and I wanted
even more flexibility, but I think we're going to be pleased with the look as the week progresses.
Friday, July 11, 2003
Party Weekend
Set Call: You're running out of chances to enjoy the unique comraderie that only set call can provide.
See the set call plan below. Also, if you know someone skilled at laying carpet, then tell Ben, Andy, or Allen ASAP.
Party: All Cast and Crew members are invited to the We-got-Ourselves-a-Show Party, Friday evening
(July 11th) 6:00-ish, La Cazuella Mexican Restaurant (in front of Howard Johnson on Atlanta Highway).
Reporter, Janet Bond, will join us at La Cazuella on Friday evening to get interviews for her article.
More Partying: There will be a pre-membership meeting cookout at the theater starting at 3pm on Sunday.
Our Technical Rehearsal begins at 5:00 p.m.
Set Call Plan
Saturday, July 12:
* Lay the carpet.
* Finish hanging and adjusting legs and curtains.
*
Clean curtains with a dry brush.
Sunday, July 13: Lighting work - hanging and adjusting (Steve Wildey and Mike Smith)
Sunday,
July 13: touch up, clean up.
Saturday, July 19:Decorate the Lobby
Sunday, July 20: Completely change the choice of furniture just so the actors don't "peak" too early.
Wednesday, July 9, 2003
Status Report
Copy of the Script Needed: If you have a script that you no longer need to refer to, please bring it
to rehearsal on Thursday night.
Poster: Marie proofed the poster on Monday. It should be here by week's end.
Head-shots: Do not email Bill Akin with head-shot requests. We will create a list of photo selections
for him. Bill gets back into town this weekend and we will schedule the remaining head-shots early next week.
Party: All Cast and Crew members are invited to the We-got-Ourselves-a-Show Party, Friday evening
(July 11th) 6:00-ish, La Cazuella Mexican Restaurant (in front of Howard Johnson on Atlanta Highway).
Newspaper Story: Janet Bond, entertainment correspondent for the Athens Banner-Herald will be writing
a feature on Six Degrees.
Monday, July 7, 2003
Setting the Jewel
The rehearsal originally scheduled for Monday night was held on Sunday. This interfered with Ben's plans to paint
the stage floor as the last thing on Sunday's set call list. So we decided to paint the floor on Monday night.
"We" turned out to be me, Andy, Carrie, and Kelley. What a bunch of troopers! I hung the back curtains while they
painted. At the end of the night you could begin to see the platform area rise up and float in a sea of black.
As Cal intended, the Kitteridge's apartment will shine like a coveted jewel.
Doug dropped off a new love seat and other set pieces. The love seat is the perfect size and shape and was a big
hit with everyone who saw it on Monday night. The second side of Janet's Kandinsky is almost complete: a riot of color.
Janet was briefly dismayed to read Scott's e-mail regarding the secret double-sided Kandinsky. You can view a facsimile of
the work at
www.arches.uga.edu/~jonesing. Too Funny! :-D
Off Book
Sunday night we ran the first 8 scenes (22 pages) off-book. As expected it was rough going and a tiring night for
Flan, Ouisa, Geoffrey, and Paul (the doorman and the Hustler were excused). This is that point, just when everyone begins
to see the show coming together, where it seems to fall apart again. Ouisa and Paul have over 475 lines each and Flan
has over 325 lines, according to Andy's count. Ouisa (Cat) gets the gold star for being most off-book. The others are not
far behind.
The opening scene was reworked based on an idea that either Flan or Ouisa (or both) had after the original blocking.
The scene is much improved. They also stayed late with Paul to rework the final phone scenes based on ideas that Terrell
and Cal had after watching the original setting of that scene in which Paul was tied to a pay-phone (not literally). The dream
scenes had never been set, but took care of themselves as I had hoped they would, since these are a short sequence of monologs.
Recently I've begun to entertain fantasies of the cast sharing concerns behind my back about who is really in charge
of this show. At rehearsals, I have developed the habit of standing in for any missing actor, leaving Terrell, Andy,
and Kelley in the house to take notes and offer fixes for transitions and blocking problems that arise. However, I have
yet to hear an actor complain about not knowing who to listen to, and I have yet to feel left out of the loop regarding developments
in any of the departments. My confidence in realizing the potential of this show has grown strong. I hope that the cast
and crew are gaining the same sense of confidence.
Thursday, July 3, 2003
Set Call Plan
Saturday and Sunday, July 5-6:
* finish ALL the painting, period. Deck, levels, door, frames,
seating boxes, whatever.
* Get the frames finally mounted (requires Allen and Cal's decision on how to run the stay
wires).
* Learn how the Kandinsky will work.
* Allen will install his new-fangled leg hanging system.
*
hand teasers BEFORE Stuart has a chance to complain about lighting around them.
* Stuart, Steve, and Mike Smith say
they will come Sunday morning to work on lights.
* Last thing Sunday, we paint the deck. (And the pit?)
Saturday, July 12:
* Lay the carpet.
* Give Allen a ladder and let him twiddle the blacks
this way and that way.
* Clean curtains with a dry brush.
Sunday, July 13:
* touch up, clean up.
Note: We're done and we still have one weekend to go before opening. We Rock!
Wednesday, July 2, 2003
Teamwork!
Tonight we ran a previously blocked sequence of scenes. The effort was to remember blocking set weeks ago, not to ad-lib new
blocking. A nice change of pace. My favorite thing about this evening was seeing the production crew start to
naturally respond and work as a team. During the first run-through of the night the cast got to the detective's entrance,
and since Scott was absent, I stood in for him. We also knew that Cat would be absent and so Terrell was already standing
in for her. At the end of the scene Andy spoke up and took the lead in the director's role giving and soliciting notes
and comments. Kelly stayed on book and clarified blocking notes when people had conflicting ideas about what was supposed
to happen. Maybe that sounds simple, but the point is that I didn't plan all this and I didn't instruct anyone about
what to do, we adapted to the situation and made efficient use of everyone's time together. We let the "kids" go early
and worked the roller-disco scene with Kitty and Larkin. Then we let them go and worked Flan's monolog with Warren. What a
team! Working this way feeds my soul.
7:32 pm pdt
Cast Bios
Dear Cast: Please click the navigation link for DEPARTMENT, then PROGRAM INFORMATION and check your bio. If you
don't see your bio there, then send one to Marie Bruce,
Mebruce@bellsouth.net, and CC me,
allenrowell@yahoo.com.
Pictures
2:28 pm pdt
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
CONTENTS:
* Notes to the Cast
* Initial Blocking Concluded (almost)
* Production
Work On Track
- Set Crew
- Costumes
- Publicity
- Special
Event
NOTES TO THE CAST
* If you don't hear from our COSTUME department by the end of the week, then let me or an AD know about it.
*
BIOS should be submitted to Marie or Allen via email.
* OFF BOOK next Monday!
* I will be checking the
SET CALL attendance record and following up on your committment to participate. Any of you who haven't met Ben Teague really
don't know what you're missing.
INITIAL BLOCKING CONCLUDED (ALMOST)
On Tuesday night, Terrell, Andy, Allen, and Shelley worked with Ako, Cat, Warren, Doug, and Steve on the Dinner scenes
and the Hustler scene. Crazy night: tornado watch in effect. Steve hydro-planed his car driving down a hill but didn't
hit anything, Doug saw a tree fall in front of him on the by-pass as a car passed underneath without being hit, Warren's wife
called to say he had to check on flooding at one of his facilities and would arrive late to rehearsal. I was most anxious
about working out the hustler's entrance into his scene, but it came together like a charm. Terrell continues to display a
knack for "theatrical" staging, by which I mean, blocking that addresses the more abstract and symbolic elements of the interactions
among the script, the characters, and the set. A couple of transition scenes have yet to be blocked, but Andy and I were smart
enough to schedule an extra Sunday rehearsal where we can pick up these loose ends.
My latest revelation is that the blocking method that I've employed, suits my need to play with life-sized chess pieces.
I've become aware over the years that I'm no good at designing in my head. When I found myself faced with having to design
a set for JAKES WOMEN at the last minute, I ended playing with my ideas by pushing around platforms and set pieces that I
found in the theater's loft to "dummy up" a full-scale model of the set. (I really should take a lesson in set model building
from Ben Teague.)
So far, the actors (and ADs) have displayed amazing patience with my broad approach which leaves lots of details undetermined
until later in the rehearsal process. I continue to be amazed that, no matter how rough it feels when we start a new
scene, in short order everything begins to fall into place. In addition to being challenging in dozens of other ways,
this play is particularly difficult to block because of a paucity of stage directions in the script. That is to say, this
script requires a certain level of abstraction in the set and so there are almost no references to particular exits, particular
set pieces, etc. Almost all blocking is at the whim of the director. Or in our case, the actors, two ADs, stage managers,
anyone else who happens to be at rehearsal, ... and the director. Nonetheless, we've started every rehearsal at 7:00 and ended
at 9:00 (with a break at 8:00), we've blocked the show on schedule, and unless the crew is keeping secrets from me, everything
is not only working, but working well. Of course, the proof is in the pudding.
Finally, I'll admit that, despite my amazement and excitement about what has been achieved, I've found this process to
be stressful in the extreme. Working with three old theater fiends whose talent level was well known to me, as I did
when we put up the play "Art" on T&G's Second Stage, was one thing. But, standing in front of some subset of 17
different actors, many of whom I've never worked with before, and saying, "Okay, just ad-lib your blocking and we'll work
it out together" is a thing I might not have tried if I had thought it through really well. When everything breaks down and
the whole room looks at you, it is hard not to ignore the little voice in your head that says, "Great, Mr. Genius Director,
what are you gonna do now?"
My only regret is that I know the stress has seeped out of me at times and I'm sure this has dampened some other people's
fun and enthusiasm, hopefully only a little.
PRODUCTION WORK ON TRACK
SET CREW: Cal Clement's set design is coming to fruition beautifully. Last weekend's set call was lightly
attended but amazingly productive nonetheless. I, along with others, Ooo-ed and ahh-ed upon arriving at the theater on Monday
night. I may be leaving someone out, but I know that Andy, Ben, and Cal are to be praised. We need to start working with all
practical props next week (glasses, dishes, robes, etc.) Despite early achievement of the basic set on which actors are now
working, we continue to try to achieve the perfect set dressing in the form of furniture. So far the actors have displayed
amazing patience with my broad approach which leaves lots of details (including exactly what furniture will be used) undetermined
until later in the process.
COSTUMES: Beverly travels to Alaska beginning July 10 and returns just in time for the show. So she
plans to have the show costumed before she leaves. She and Patty are contacting the cast about personal items they may already
have from the COSTUME PLOT. They will be filling in the gaps from Beverly's amazing attic collection. We still plan
to have a costume check on Sunday, July 13th, after she is gone. This will ensure that Patty and others have time to correct
for any oversights that may happen.
PUBLICITY: Marie Bruce has selected the design elements for the POSTER and submitted them to our contact
at Burmans Printing. We have some BIOS already, but the rest need to be submitted to Marie or Allen via email. Bill Akin not
only provided us with head shots and publicity pictures, but has delivered his trademark CALLING CARDS. Each cast member
(and some crew) will find a stack of "business cards" that include their name, role, and pertinent information about the show.
Hand these to anyone who asks you, "when is that show you're in?" Kelly Caudle is writing a PRESS RELEASE that Marie
will send to the local papers and other media.
SPECIAL EVENT: Terrell has created a letter of introduction to entice restaurants to join our special
event performance on Saturday, August 1. Marie has developed post cards for a promotional mailing to support this event and
the show in general. Participating restaurants will offer a promotional discount to patrons with a program. Thus, anyone
who attends any performance of the play will be able to participate.
Friday, June 20, 2003
2nd week ending with big Set Call
All cast members are required to attend two set calls in the first two weeks of rehearsal. That means if you haven't
yet attended a set call, and you didn't have a conflict on the original calendar, then you are expected to show up both days
this weekend (that would be Saturday and Sunday).
SET CALL SCHEDULE: Set calls are Saturdays beginning at 10am and Sundays beginning at about 1pm and will end by 5pm on
each day.
Second Week of Rehearsals Concluded
I'm very pleased with what has been accomplished on all fronts. Terrell and Andy also seem pleased with rehearsals and
the way the show is developing. I hope all major set pieces will be in place after this weekend. Set decoration
ideas are starting to gel. Publicity efforts are beginning with poster photo on Sunday night and head shots on Wednesday.
I'll be more comfortable when we have a press release, post cards, envoy blurb, etc. waiting in our out-box to be picked up.
Costuming work will begin next week with the help of our Wardrobe Mistress.
Director Out Next Week
I will be out of town Tuesday through Sunday of next week. I hope that someone misses me, because Terrell, Andy,
Kelly, and Shelly are fully prepared to move ahead in my absence. While I'm gone, Terrell will have the final word on
creative decisions, Andy is responsible for crowd control (cast and crew ... especially the cast), Kelly and Shelly
are responsible for organization and communication with the other department heads.
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Set Furniture: My wildest dreams come true!
Thanks to Beverly Bourgeois and the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, we now have a pair of matching seats to
crown our modern art themed set. They are Pavilion Chairs by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, designed in Italy in 1929. They
have chromed steel frames, high-density foam cushions with Capitonne stitching and Italian leather upholstery. (Actually they
have been reupholstered in a faux leather.) Is that too cool or what!
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
The Detective's Scenes
Wednesday night. Terrell, Andy, and Kelly worked with Scott, Eleanor, Kat, Carey, and Allen (standing in for Flan).
We worked the Detective's second appearance (now known as "the six people"), where he and Elizabeth threaten to press charges,
then went back and reconstructed his first appearance (now known as "the lineup").
Here's my interesting story for the night. I had figured in my mind that there were six people on stage for the
conclusion of this one scene and made a big point of announcing this obvious symbol to everyone before we began to work the
blocking. But as soon as we started to walk the scene it was obvious that a seventh character, Elizabeth, had escaped
my imagination. This lead to the idea (Carey's I believe) to have Elizabeth appear in one of the picture frame areas.
Thus, her one line is turned into a quick cut, flash back part of the detectives story to Flan and Ouisa. Cool.
And, Elizabeth remains isolated from the others leaving the six people symbology in tact. Brilliant!
The Blocking Method.
Tonight seemed more fun than work. And consistent with previous experience, there were a larger number of actors
present (seven). I can already see the need to fight the tendency to let the enjoyment to work ratio get out of control.
As the cast becomes more familiar with one another the loose rehearsal style can become inefficient if everyone is allowed
to talk among themselves for too long between runs. I dispise wasting people's time and I will crack the whip when I
feel that is happening.
Production Notes:
I've been concerned about how to block around a real door that opens and closes on the short landing at the pinnacle
of stairs that we have upstage center. Ben uses the term "shutter" for what I referred to as "the actual door" (as opposed
to the doorway). Tonight we considered having the door frame empty again. Aesthetically, I've always liked that
idea and it is closer to the Set Designer's original intention. But if we have no shutter, then I'm concerned that the approach
to the doorway -- climbing stairs -- will be slow and not as effective as it would be to have characters quickly appear at
the level of the doorway. I may have to buy Ben a tool or something as consolation for having to reconstruct the exit
stairs.
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Central Park scene: initial blocking done.
Terrell, Shelly, and I worked with Eleanor, Sean, and Ako on the Rick and Elizabeth scenes. We struggled mightily
through the wilderness of possibilities to create paths and patterns that seemed to make sense of these scenes on our
set. We came up with a nice use of the space "outside" of the apartment. Everyone came up with lots of great ideas.
A couple of Terrell's contributions are especially noteworthy. First is the way the scene closes. Rather
than have Paul and Elizabeth leave Rick alone on stage for his final monolog, they execute a kind of rotating triangle down
stage center that we're now calling "the waltz." The whole thing ends with Elizabeth left alone on stage instead of
Rick. If you know the content of the scene, then you probably just got tingles. Ooooo.
The second idea was to add two black cubes, one DS-L and one DS-R to the set. This lent a lot more variety and
interest to the blocking of scenes that take place exclusively in these areas. At the same time it does not significantly
alter the picture created by the original set design. Even better, once placed on stage the cubes immediately turned
to me and said "Kandinsky," just as plain as day. NOTE: Will and Ako will want to consider how this affects the
Trent scenes that we blocked on Monday night. I think we'll find that the additon of a cube will actually improve the
blocking that we did.
The Blocking Method
For groups of three, It continues to feel like actors who already know each other, or who have had a chance to develop
a familiarity with one another, are better able to take advantage of the wide open method we're using to do original blocking.
Having said that, we had another very successful evening's work. At 9:00 we sat and wrote down relatively detailed blocking
notes in our scripts.
If I were better at doing those goofy ice-breaker exercises, it might help. In the mean time, I can't overemphasize the
need to get everyone to play, to stretch, to experiment more.
Departmental To-Dos
STAGE MANAGER: Kelley, can you send an electronic copy of your rehearsal form to me and Shelley?
SM: I assume that Shelly can plan on acting as SM every Tuesday?
SET DESIGN: Terrell will talk to Cal on Wed. and ask him to come to the theater on Thu. night to discuss details of set
decoration.
SET DECORATION: Allen will talk to Beverly about furniture loan.
COSTUMES: Terrell will talk to Beverly about the meeting on the 25th.
POSTER: Terrell will contact Robert about shoot on the 25th.
PUBLICITY: Allen needs to send Marie a note the Ben wrote about Ad costs.
Monday, June 16, 2003
Monday, June 16
Monday night we worked the Trent scenes. Terrel was back in town for her first rehearsal. Kelley was
there as stage manager.
Blocking Method
Here is the method we've been using to block scenes. Start with a read-through. Discuss the action
and characters. Read the scene again, walk and ad-lib blocking. Talk about what happens: what's working,
what's awkward. Repeat, the scene, the discussion and so on. I encourage actors to stay at a very broad level
of interpretation and work mostly on spacing relationships. So far it seems that this method feels more like work with small
groups and more like fun with large groups.
To Do List:
- Look for empty frames in the prop room for use when we do head-shots.
- Terrel will send notice to cast about starting to identify appropriate costume items from their closets.
- Lighting note to Steve: we want to have silouetted moments in the up stage areas (overhead or back lighting).
- Allen needs to send the revised calendar to everyone in a new format.
