Time for a speed-through!
from Cindy Gold (Bessie Berger, Awake and Sing!)
Rehearsal after four or five previews = very exciting day. We had notes with Amy, and then did a speed-through of the show. (That’s when you run it all, but fast!) It’s mostly for muscle memory, but I find it useful and often find new moments. This cast is so friendly and loving, and FUNNY. We really enjoy each other, which is such a gift. I had the company over to my house after the second show on Sunday. We ate and drank and laughed a lot. Is that ok to “blog”? I’m new to this blogging thing… Anyway, tomorrow we have our first school matinee - 10:30am. That’s early to be barreling through this play. And I always feel, if I’m doing this one correctly, it’s as if I’ve been shot out of a cannon from the get-go. So it’ll be interesting to see how it goes so early tomorrow.
I’m excited and nervous for our Sunday opening. The 9-10 previews are a gift to an actor — we get to work the show each day, and run it for an audience each night. So rare to get that kind of time. I’m grateful to BJ and Tim and Janet, who really understand the actor’s process and how best to develop a good production.
Written By: Cindy Gold
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Joe Carlson
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Seventy-five years and counting, and still something to sing about. What heart this play has! What humor! What speed! And telling details: the fruit bowl without an orange - Bessie’s familial wheeling/dealing that would shame J.P. Morgan - duck being served rather than goose - Uncle Morty’s desperate hunt for his fur gloves - and the uncut pages of Jacob’s books revealing the family’s moral conscience to be, perhaps, one more family gasbag but all the more endearing for that. A splendid production with each performance pitch-perfect. Congratulations, one and all.