This week, I held the first two rehearsals for my grantee project. The first rehearsals for a play primarily are referred to as “tablework”. This is time when the director and cast come together and read the play, discuss themes, and take time to break down each moment in the play. As I prepared for these first two sessions, I thought back to my own first rehearsals and table work days across the many productions I’ve been apart of as an actor. They were filled with excitement, a touch of nervousness and a powerful curiosity to discover the heart of the story we were all blessed to help voice.
With the memory drifting near my present thoughts, I kicked off rehearsals, sharing my connection to the piece and how I came to selecting this piece to direct. Lance Felton, the actor for the show, and I spent a good 30 minutes just talking about our histories and how we connected to the themes in the play. He asked about how the grant worked and I made a note to mention the lower grant applications of non visual artists. We went back and forth about regular theatre industry conversation and settled at my favorite moment in every first rehearsal: the first breath.
The first breath is the first time everyone in the room all accept to tell the story and give their energy to what comes. Some may call it spooky, or spiritual…it’s the unifying moment. Then, the fun begins!
As Lance voiced more than 8 characters within the text my excitement grew, and I knew we were going to create something amazing.
More to come…
