Judy.
Two hours after our
plane touched down in Atlanta from Santiago, Chile, on March 19, I was on a
shuttle headed to Columbus, Georgia, to begin rehearsals for DRIVING MISS
DAISY.
Most of you know
that I’m an actor (or actress, if you prefer), but it occurred to me that you
might not know much about the process of getting a play off the page and onto
the stage, so I thought I might give you some insight.
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| Digital sign in front of the theatre |
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| The "Dot", where we performed |
As a member of
Actors’ Equity Association, the stage actors’ union, I am given a contract on
or before my first rehearsal, which stipulates the rules, the hours of
rehearsal, number of performances, and my weekly salary. As an out-of-town
hire, I’m also entitled to housing and a per diem. All this is spelled out
between my union, the artistic director or managing director, and me. It’s good
to get the business out of the way so we can concentrate on getting the show on
its feet.
The Springer Opera
House is a terrific place to work. Once you’ve worked there, you are considered family. I haven’t performed at the Springer for several years, but I was welcomed like a long-lost sister, and spent much of my
off time catching up with staff members who are dear friends. The month before
my arrival, a city pipe had broken and flooded the basement of the historical
theatre (started in 1871), causing a myriad of problems, so EVITA, the show
before ours, had been moved to a nearby theatre, and the cast, normally living
in actor housing in the building, were moved to Airbnbs nearby. That meant that
for the first week of rehearsal, our cast was, as well.
I was in a
historical Airbnb about three blocks from the theatre—a great walk to and from
to get the blood circulating. I was also right behind a soul food restaurant,
and for my first meal, returned to my roots with a vegetable plate of turnip
greens, blackeyed peas, fried okra, green beans and cornbread. “Baby, it’s free
fried chicken leg day today. You want one?” You bet I do!
We had two and a
half weeks of rehearsals, eight hours per day, with one day off per week. I had
memorized most of my lines before the first rehearsal, which is a good thing,
as we had some very specific work from our director.
The first
rehearsal consists of a “show and tell” from the designers (set, costume,
sound, lights) and a discussion with the director about how s/he sees the story
to be told. Then we jump right in with what’s called blocking. All the movement we make on stage, standing, sitting,
crossing, etc. is carefully
orchestrated to make the story easy to follow, and the meaning of the lines
clear. Chris, our director, had specific ideas about exactly when we would
move, and what he wanted our actions to be. All this has to be written in the script, or book of the play, and
memorized along with our lines. It took two rehearsals to block the play, and
then we began text work.
Text is the lines as written, and subtext is what you’re thinking, no matter what you say. For
example, I could say, “I love your hair,” but I might be thinking I hate it, or
that I wish I had hair like that, or even that I need to get home and cook
dinner. Or I might mean I love your hair. All that has to be clarified, along
with what my character wants in each scene and how I am trying to get it.
As this becomes
clearer, after three or four rehearsals, we begin detail work—what might help
me get my point across more clearly, or making sure I HEARD what my fellow
actor just said to me. What s/he said, and the subtext, both influence my
reaction. It’s also important to listen and react quickly (and honestly) and
use pauses judiciously so the audience believes you are hearing the lines for
the first time.
We were fortunate
to have a great cast. Keith, who played Hoke, and Bob, who played Boolie, are
both seasoned actors who know how to “give and take” onstage, listening and
responding as called for. This may sound trivial, but believe me, acting with
someone who looks you in the eye and listens to you is a gift!
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| A scene with Hoke |
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| Publicity shot with a 1947 Packard! |
Our stage manager,
Meaghan, made sure all went well in rehearsals, from setting up the stage as it
needed to be, correcting our missed lines, and finding whatever we might need
for rehearsal. In addition, once we open, she “calls the show”, telling lights
and sound and, in our case, projections, when to go. It is NOT an easy job! Jasper
was her assistant, working backstage with us to get props to us or helping with
issues that arise.
By this time, we
had moved from the Airbnbs into the upstairs theatre housing, and only had to
run downstairs to the rehearsal hall to work.
Initial rehearsals
usually take place in a rehearsal hall, with the set suggested by tape on the
floor and a few pieces of furniture and props
(things you carry with you or handle—telephones, newspapers, etc.). Toward the end of the second
week, we moved into the theatre proper, where the set was built, and the lights
adjusted. A couple of days later we had our first dress rehearsal, where we
wore the costumes we’d wear in the play.
Our costume
designer had some beautiful vintage clothing, and lots of it! There were so
many “quick changes” where we had seconds to completely change clothes that we
had several rehearsals just of the changes. This resulted in several pieces
(ties, jewelry, shoes) being tossed and the changes streamlined. I had a great
dresser who helped me with the changes. Sometimes I had two! Melody had done
this often, and had some great suggestions, like “underdressing”, wearing two
dresses at once so I could drop one offstage and have the other ready to go.
Sometimes she clasped a necklace while India clipped on my earrings, and I put
on my hat. Crazy!
Our final dress
rehearsal was performed in front of staff members and ushers of the theatre, to
give us a sense of our audience.
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| Jasper, Meaghan, & dresser Melody take a break |
And then it was
opening night. The show went well, the audience seemed to enjoy it, and Chris,
the director, celebrated with us with champagne and crab cakes. The next
morning, he left town for his next job as a director, and Meagan took over the
show.
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| The crew: Jasper, Meaghan, Kat, India, and Kate |
Then began the run of the show, the dates we perform.
In this case, we only performed Thursday through Sunday for two weeks. We were
full every night, which is always more fun than performing for a small
audience, and we had daytimes to walk along the Riverfront by the Chattahoochee
River, or meet up with friends, do laundry, or just rest. Ted came for opening
night and brought his sister Kathy the second week. It’s always a comfort to
hear him laugh!
One of the
loveliest evenings was when friends from the theatre program in our high school
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, traveled from four different states to see the show and
spend time with me. Church friends from Gwinnett County drove down the first
weekend, and the last Saturday a former student and her mother came to the
show. These are such blessings.
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| The Tuscaloosa gang in Columbus |
We closed the show
last Sunday and bid a hugging farewell to each other. It’s always a bit sad,
but too many times I’ve wept with other cast members only to find myself
rehearsing with them in a new show a couple of months later. It’s an odd way to
make a living, stepping into a character’s shoes, becoming close to the cast,
then watching the whole ephemeral thing disappear at the strike, where the set is torn down and put away. But that very
ephemeral nature of theatre is part of why I love it so. It’s living in the
moment at its finest!