This is the 1st full week of Culver City Public Theatre (CCPT) rehearsals for the summer. At the outset, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. As mentioned in an earlier post, I am cast as the lead, title character in King Midas and as Dogberry, a wonderful comic character in Much Ado About Nothing. Both plays open on July 14 which means there is a lot to prepare for in less than 6 weeks.
Monday night was the first read through for King Midas and tonight we had a "dance" rehearsal which was a very good icebreaker for the cast members. Dance is in quotes because. . .well The Ancient One is not the most graceful soul around which, in this case, does fit the character. Director Heidi Dotson was delightful as she introduced us to her choreography which was altered a bit during the session to fit the widely varying levels of dance talent evident among the 9 cast members.
After the read through Monday, I moved over to the Much Ado rehearsal for the initial blocking of Act 5, Scene 1 (which continued tonight) and the first attempts at bringing good Dogberry to life. Ken MacFarlane is a gentle but firm director and at this point has fully lived up to the expectations that have been the basis of my desire for some time to work with him.
I know my confidence will grow as I get to know my characters and learn to put some life into them. The whole rehearsal process is dynamic as it progresses from the cast's initial read through of the script to the final product which reflects the director's vision of how the play should be seen. That's part of the reason I hope to chronicle these rehearsals (occasionally with photos included like the one below taken at the 6/5/2007 Much Ado About Nothing rehearsal) .
From left: Barb Ross (Antonia); Teresa Waxer (Verges); The Ancient One (Dogberry
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