My oh my it has been a long time since my last post and in this time we have transitioned into another phase in the production process. We started blocking last week and it took quite some time to make it through the first 22 pages. This is in part because we are just starting to see the set and the environment from which we are telling this story. This is also our first brief glance into the making of the characters to whom this story belongs. For some, these characters are shells of whom they will become as their back stories start to develop and relationships with the other characters begin to evolve.
This show requires a lot of thought about character relationships since it takes place at a party. It brings the question, what characters in the show do you have a prior relationship with, what is it and of those you don't know or know well is this the party where a relationship ensues. At this point I have some ideas about where to go with Dolores's back story but will wait to unveil it when it is further developed. I am just scratching the surface on who Dolores Ramirez, born from a working class Puerto Rican family just after the Spanish-American War, may be but look forward to sharing her life journey to this point soon.
At our first blocking rehearsal Scott pointed out that we know people like Burrs and Queenie and many of these characters, he's right. This show is centered around individuals who gravitate toward one another even though their relationships are probably as destructive to eachother as they are to themselves. It's the person who always seems to get in the same abusive relationship when they believe they had changed something in the process that would lead to a positive result. It's the insecure person that needs to be in control of everything around them because they know inside they have no control of themselves. It's the psychology on how these 'codependents' convince themselves that they are needed/loved when the reality is they are spiraling further down their own dark path. On top of this you have the drugs and booze that provides another distraction or excuse. It's the thought that these escapes are used to have fun when they are really vehicles that drive the soul further from dealing with the inner discovery needed to begin healing.
Switching gears, we have also been dancing and it is FABULOUS!!! The music is fast and the steps, at times, faster. Robin is genius!!! Today we worked on the Juggernaut, now I've never been a huge fan of this word but it's growing on me now that it's associated with this fun/fast dance. This will be one that I'll need to practice while making copies at work or strolling down the grocery isle, it will need to be that ingrained for it to completely stick. It is one of those dances that flows easier at a faster pace but if you overthink for a second it can throw you off. The dance rehearsals have been exhausting but so much fun. Robin, Emily and I were talking after rehearsal today and Robin mentioned that a lot of the music in the show is choppy. Some of the songs (Wild Party/Raise the Roof) the music and gears shift during the number, hence 'learning in chunks.' Juggernaut is more a continuous dance number from the moment our foot starts the first sugar.
Looking forward, it's hard to believe that we run Act I on Thursday and Act II two weeks from tomorrow.
That's all for now, more to Come *bump* With Me...
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