Don John rehearsal blog pt 2
With the kind permission of Kneehigh Theatre, we're reproducing Carl Grose's rehearsal blog. This is the second part of five. Don John is on at Northern Stage from the 27 - 31 January.
Week Two
Mary Woodvine’s six month old baby, Morgan, watches us rehearse from the balcony. We’re pretending to be electrocuted, we’re being “erotic” with vacuum cleaners, we’re getting tied up in Christmas fairy lights and attempting to choreograph a dance whilst sitting on chairs. I wonder what must the boy thinks?
We’ve been charging our way through the first half of the story. Emma likes to work bold, broad and fast, to put a shape on things, refining the details later. Meeting the characters last week was great, but seeing them interact with each other is even better. We learn who they are, what they want for themselves, and from others. They come alive now. And it’s kinda thrilling to watch.
We’ve taken to calling Anna Maria Murphy the Word Witch. This may sound a bit cruel, but I’ve checked it out with her, and I think she likes it. Why Word Witch? Well, she often sits perched high above us on the darkened balcony, her face eerily lit up by her laptop glow. She watches the scenes, and at Emma’s behest writes new song lyrics or poetry, conjuring words as if by magic. She also wears a long black writing cloak, too. Get the picture? Word Witch! There’s also a conspiracy theory afoot that the Word Witch uses her powers to help her team win at volley-ball, cursing the other team, and stripping victory off them at the last moment.
Damn you, Word Witch!
Thursday ends with a rough showing of what we’ve done so far - a sketchbook as Emma calls it. It’s for the production team, and some friends from Battersea Arts Centre where we’ll be performing the show next year. It’s rough but it goes down well. Feels nice to perform already. But we shouldn’t get complacent. Maddy, a journalist from The Guardian, is also there. She’s writing a piece on the company and the new show. She watches us play ping-pong and get slightly over-excited at our production manager’s amazing card tricks. Like baby Morgan, I wonder what she thinks.
Sadly, this is our final week in Cornwall. On the last day, we take our last deep gulps of precious Cornish air on the cliff, and listen to the navy practice blowing things up off the coast. Ominous man-made thunder-claps coming from misty dots on the horizon. Next week we re-locate to the home of the bard, Stratford-Upon-Avon. We’re going to the RSC, where rehearsal will continue. And where the show will open. It’s all a bit exciting, really. Not for the first time this week, I wonder: What will they think?
And I can’t help but smile.
Week TwoMary Woodvine’s six month old baby, Morgan, watches us rehearse from the balcony. We’re pretending to be electrocuted, we’re being “erotic” with vacuum cleaners, we’re getting tied up in Christmas fairy lights and attempting to choreograph a dance whilst sitting on chairs. I wonder what must the boy thinks?
We’ve been charging our way through the first half of the story. Emma likes to work bold, broad and fast, to put a shape on things, refining the details later. Meeting the characters last week was great, but seeing them interact with each other is even better. We learn who they are, what they want for themselves, and from others. They come alive now. And it’s kinda thrilling to watch.
We’ve taken to calling Anna Maria Murphy the Word Witch. This may sound a bit cruel, but I’ve checked it out with her, and I think she likes it. Why Word Witch? Well, she often sits perched high above us on the darkened balcony, her face eerily lit up by her laptop glow. She watches the scenes, and at Emma’s behest writes new song lyrics or poetry, conjuring words as if by magic. She also wears a long black writing cloak, too. Get the picture? Word Witch! There’s also a conspiracy theory afoot that the Word Witch uses her powers to help her team win at volley-ball, cursing the other team, and stripping victory off them at the last moment.
Damn you, Word Witch!
Thursday ends with a rough showing of what we’ve done so far - a sketchbook as Emma calls it. It’s for the production team, and some friends from Battersea Arts Centre where we’ll be performing the show next year. It’s rough but it goes down well. Feels nice to perform already. But we shouldn’t get complacent. Maddy, a journalist from The Guardian, is also there. She’s writing a piece on the company and the new show. She watches us play ping-pong and get slightly over-excited at our production manager’s amazing card tricks. Like baby Morgan, I wonder what she thinks.
Sadly, this is our final week in Cornwall. On the last day, we take our last deep gulps of precious Cornish air on the cliff, and listen to the navy practice blowing things up off the coast. Ominous man-made thunder-claps coming from misty dots on the horizon. Next week we re-locate to the home of the bard, Stratford-Upon-Avon. We’re going to the RSC, where rehearsal will continue. And where the show will open. It’s all a bit exciting, really. Not for the first time this week, I wonder: What will they think?
And I can’t help but smile.
Labels: Don John, Rehearsal Diary
posted by Northern Stage at
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