when rehearsing the fourth scene of the play, the more domestic one i found myself blocked by the overall inability of the actors to perform so what i did is i repeated and repeated and repeated so much that they understood and did everything they needed to properly, however this failed to be productive since during 2 hours we had only achieved 10 seconds of the scene and i had only worked with two actors and left out the other ones to work on their own. this was a huge mistake, i realized it not only after the rehearsal when carlos said the same thing happened to him but when i found myself drained both physically and emotionally, i never realized how frustrating directing can be at times, but after thinking at home and letting go of the need to control every little detail and "me" part i came to the realization that for next rehearsal i had to have a different attitude and expectations.
so, first i must go into the rehearsal expecting the best but preparing for the worst (wise words from miss alicia), this really helps a lot because it enables me to, well, be prepared. what did i do to prepare? i thought about what roberto had said, dividing the scenes into beats, giving them laban styles or whatever its called, being patient and always have in mind the actors are not perfect. and also, the idea of "friendly" competition and motivation was very appealing, and yes i must admit that stirring the pot always appeals to me but when i really thought about it it did seem to have potential of giving some positive products.
so i brought in nathalie, a possible contender for zuyi's role and i made both of them very aware of that, yes she was frustrated, yes she was angry and yes she was very scared BUT, this motivated her A LOT in fact, nathalie's energy was so contagious that the whole atmosphere and feel of the scene changed and the overall work zuyi did became much better because she had received the motivation and little (well, huge) nudge she needed to move forward. yes, the movements and voice are not perfect but they are trying their hardest and overall the plan was a success. so, after seeing such great effort from the three geishas i decided to let them be exactly that, three, not two as we had planned beforehand. so this makes me realize that not only do i need to give the actors a second chance, but i must be open to changes that either come from me or from the actors themselves, because we have a good batch of creative actors here and sometimes they just need to be a little scared or excited to tap into their potential. now, don't think i just worked with them , no, i managed to split myself in 5000 and work with EVERYONE involved in the scene, the scene was divided in parts, in little scenes inside the scene that involved different groups, i told every group to think and act with Laban movements that, even though some were not aware of them they understood the concept once it was explained to them, i also worked with them and explained the plate tectonics concept and how we would use it in the play, particularly in their scene, yes it was tricky but i managed to make it simpler so that they understood, however here comes my first question: im not really sure if they have to know everything, must they understand and be aware of the WHOLE concept? exactly the same as we explained it to the kids in form 5? or should i break it down for them so that they grasp the concept OF the concept itself (pose, tense, then earthquake) in order for them to apply it quickly into the scene? so far the latter has worked fine and due to time constraints im not really sure if explaining the whole thing is the way to go, but, then again i don't know everything do i?
so after some time of me buzzing around each group in the scene we took the scenes and joined them and yes, we didn't manage to complete the whole scene but we worked a LOT more effectively and got way past the dreadful 10 second mark from last time.
the voice is not perfect and some don't even understand it, but, they seem to be quick learners and be very motivated because i do think that, during this rehearsal, i was less of the cranky dictator i "supposedly" am and was more friendly and it truly works, however there are times when i must be strict otherwise they just play around, but these are just kinks that well, come with the job.
YES my rehearsal was perfect!
NO, i had left out the production meeting and so at the end of the rehearsal i asked for the outcome of that meeting and this is what they had:
a whole bunch of nothing (jajaja manyas, el espacio? clever...) URGH frustrating, because people aren't doing their jobs and i know i can't do everything adn be involved in everything but if me being involved and constantly ask for things results in some form of results where as me leaving them to work alone ends in nothing, what do i do? because in the sheets we have of set design and the order of how it's done they all say: i dunno, let's say step 5 is the designer meets with the director and they decide stuff then all of the following steps don't say director, im supposed to not meddle, but i have to so that they get motivated and do SOMETHING which leads me to the next rehearsal, saturday's
i spent a whole lotta time with production people and we achieved some good things, more than what had been done in any production meeting, in fact, in all of them put together (just sayin') i did this because, apparently, the scene was to be directed by carlos as we had decided before, he was to direct that scene and more while i was to direct other ones, however this doesn't seem right know, given that im director i should be involved in the process (yes it sounds very self absorbed, but is it not the truth? ) i was told to "go direct" and not be so worried about production so i did, but what i found most effective is that during the beginning of the scene i directed taking ideas in from carlos who was next to me, and for parts as creating sequences of movements etc, i left them to create on their own while i checked the production meeting, so that i directed the end product, and found this to be very productive and effective except for those times when people just scattered about without doing things.
overall both rehearsals have been quite productive and very rewarding, i have now discovered one of the perks of being a director, you feel proud of what has been achieved and i think that the fact both the actors and myself are motivated and excited is one very good sign and a very good boost to when we work together because if people don't want to do things (which shows sometimes) then the whole play suffers. so for next rehearsal, the last of this week (fml, this is really bad, we lose 2 rehearsals which is VERY valuable time) i have set quite the challenge for me, because, since we have been progressively stepping up our game, i set 3 scenes to come to rehearse, one will be directed by carlos (which i still believe i have to check from time to time, since carlos tends to ramble and not get to the point thus hindering the possibilities of what could be done during the short time we have) , the other one will be the scene i was working on first, scene four (which by the way, was the actors' idea, so yes, they are motivated to work) , who will work alone (but i think i'll have them work in the theatre as well,so i can direct them a little, since they have been working so well and the scene is yet to be completed) and one more scene to be directed as well, which will be the main focus of the rehearsal, i have good expectations for this, but yes, i am still preparing for the worst which helps a lot.
but still, those sheets about set design have made gumbo out of my head, because they don't mention the director after the meeting with the designer, so, how far must i go? how far should i supervise that they are doing their jobs? how much time should i spend with them? because, let's face it, they kinda have to multitask as well, since the form 5ers are doing production AND acting , so is that supposed to happen? can you truly do both things? successfully? so in the end it all boils down to that, one person doing two or more things in a play, what has to be done other than simple organization to execute both tasks properly?
i've had my humble pie, right?
1. yes, everyone involved must understand and be aware of the whole concept, because they are part of the play, otherwise it's meaningless. but yes, you have to figure how to pass it on to each one according to their role.
ResponderEliminar2. have you read any of marowitz?
3. any activity that requires team work should be based first and foremost on TRUST. so once you have set the foundations of the play by making sure that your designers know where they're going, then you have to TRUST them and let them use their own ideas to enhance the play, nd don't hinder them by sticking your nose all the time into their creative process. it's exactly the same as with the actors: motivate them and cherish their ideas, but there's one difference: this time, you're not the design director, so you have to keep your distance and only make sure that they're working without interfering in the process until they show you the results, so then you can make the necessary adjustments.
4. the actors/designers will be able to do both jobs successfully ONLY IF YOU do your job properly, which is organizaing rehearsals in such a way that their scenes don't interfere with their production tasks - so i see no reason for worrying in that aspect
roberto