"Fifth of July" 12th & 13th Rehearsal: Chiggers

Well, the last two days have been a struggle.  Thankfully, for my ego, I am not the only one grappling with the lines.  I also left each night with a headache and/or a stomachache from smoking tarragon.  Yes, tarragon.  We smoke a joint together on stage and party pooper August won't let us smoke a real one.  (Something about the law, or some nonsense.)  So, we have to settle for tarragon for now.  Apart from the side effects, it won't stay lit.  So, Chris Carver, M.D. gave us a lecture of how to keep it lit and the best way to smoke it.  He jumped three lines just get the joint passed to him.  I don't know why.  The tarragon just makes your mouth taste herby and you want to eat grapes.  It must be pavlovian for him.  He sees a joint and starts to salivate.  Silly Carver.

"Fifth of July" 10th & 11th Rehearsal: What Say?

Off book.  In theory.  Until someone pauses, then all of the actors panic and think they've dropped their line.

"Is it me?"

"It's my line."

"What is it?"

"Oh, you said it differently this time.  I was waiting for the 'the' in your line.  It threw me off."

That has been the rehearsal process for the last two days.  But, in between the uncertainty, there have been some beautiful moments.  So, as long as no one takes a pause to transition, think or (god forbid) act, we're doing good.  Otherwise, it's pandemonium.

"Fifth of July" 9th Rehearsal: Summer Stock

"Summer stock" is, apparently, what people hear when I'm tired and I say, "Since we're stopped."  Which is what we did today.  We stopped.  Margaret was out and we took our time going through Act 2, dissecting every sentence.  Seriously.  But, it was awesome.  We all tried to figure out our past and gave our opinions on what we thought happened.  It's what we live for in theatre.  This is why we do it.  We do commercials for the money and theatre for days like today.

I was so sad rehearsal ended.  I hope we pick up where we left off, with all of our new discoveries. Tomorrow we have to be off book.  But, it didn't seem that bad today.  I'm not as scared as I was.  We'll see though.  You never know.  That's also why I love theatre.

You never know.

"Fifth of July" 8th Rehearsal: I Don't Remember

I'm so tired, I honestly don't even remember much of last night.  We ran the show, I know that.  Oh, oh and I remember that I knew a whole page of dialogue!  But, I was so impressed with myself that I forgot what I was doing and stopped dead in the scene.  Other than that, it's a blur.  Maybe that imaginary joint was real?  Damn that Carver.

"Fifth of July" 7th Rehearsal: This Could Be Good

Last night we ran Act 1 again.  It was very impressive.  Some people didn't use their scripts.  Scott used his crutches for the first while holding his script and still connecting with people.  Others, like me, held their script and cursed because they didn't know their lines and they were trying to connect.  Okay, their weren't others.  I was the only one doing that.

Regardless, if this is just the beginning, I am excited.

"Fifth of July" 6th Rehearsal: Here It Is

So, unbeknownst to me, we went over Act 2 again last night.  I, of course, had been working very hard on Act 1.  It was actually really fun.  Apparently, my entrance is hilarious.  The reason, I'm told, is when I hear my cue, "Tasmania", everyone can hear my boots entering.  So, when we keep working the scene, everyone is hearing, "Tasmania", then stomp stomp stomp.  Haha, very funny.

Tonight we will work Act 1, (still totally unprepared), then a portion of Act 2.  I'm still in denial about Sunday's deadline for lines.  I'm hoping they magically come out of my mouth on Easter Sunday.  A lot of miracles have supposedly taken place on that day right?

Lord, help me.

"Fifth of July" 5th Rehearsal: Blocking Done

Yes, we finally finished blocking last Wednesday.  And, yes, more laughter ensued.  Is that a bat?  Sunday, the members helped tear down the "Young Man from Atlanta" set.  (I cleaned the box office.  I'm not to be trusted with a Makita.)  While finding a place for the open wine bottles...

What?  They were going to go bad anyway?

I realized that we only had a week before we have to be off-book.  What!???  So, I thought about it for a while with my bottle of Vendage, and realized it's not impossible.  I will just have to sacrifice some "Real Housewives" watching for actual work.  Bye, bye Ramona, with your crazy eyes.

"Fifth of July" 4th Rehearsal: I'm in Love

Last night we worked what we already blocked (Act One).  At first I panicked, because I thought we were going to continue blocking the show.  I was not prepared to actually act.  (When am I ever?)  So, after a quick scan of my script, we were on our feet.  And it was awesome.  It is a very complex show.  Half of the time you don't even know who you are addressing, let alone what you are saying.  Last night, we got to work some of that out.  There was a lot of, "Ohhhhh, so that's what that means.  That makes so much more sense now."  I think many of us realized what a gem we have on our hands.  It seems silly, because of course it should be good.  Now I think we're realizing it is that good.

And, yes, I am totally in love.  I love my character, my co-workers and even the director.  Sorry, Hanna.  I've moved on.

What a mushy puss.  Don't worry, I'm just in the honeymoon phase of the show.  Soon, we will stop having sex and we'll start resenting each other.  But, of course, I can't write about that part.

"Fifth of July" 3rd Rehearsal: Half Day

Well, we actually finished blocking Act One.  I don't know how August does it, but he does.  Wait until you see how many purses, paraphernalia, candy boxes, etc. he has to keep track of.  We were done early, which will never happen again, I'm sure.  Pretty standard rehearsal though: hash, cocaine (a.k.a. snow), actual snow, thawing caribou meat, and a joint.  Just another day at the office.

I don't know why my race car driving husband doesn't understand my job.

"Fifth of July" 2nd Rehearsal: Is There a Moon Tonight?

Well, there must have been some sort of moon out, because last night was hilarious.  As we inched our way through the blocking, and I mean inched (we only got to page 26), there was no shortage of laughter.  Even August was smiling.  TL said he had not laughed that hard in a long time.  Between Crazy Aunt Sally and spaced out Wes, we all got a little loopy.

Sure.

"Judy?  Why are you on your knees?" was what I thought was going to be the quote of the night, until Sally's line (out of nowhere), "Is there a moon tonight?" had us rolling for about ten minutes.  Judy kept saying, "No, I can do it.  I can.  Just let me try." Until we tried and all busted up again.  That led to a slew of ridiculous and frankly inappropriate jokes that I can not put in this blog.  Just a  hint: We discovered at one point there was a Talley sandwich.  You'll have to see the show to figure out what that is.

On an even more upsetting note-  I have to deal with Chris Carver hitting on me (in character).  Ewwww, he played my son in the last show.

About which Chris said,  "There are some disturbing Oedipal things going on in this play."

To which Scott replied,  "Why do they have to be disturbing Oedipal things?"

'Nuff said.

Table Read for Lanford Wilson's "Fifth of July"

Well, I have to be honest....

My stomach was in knots on my way to the theatre.  You never know how the first read-thru is going to go.  Will I like everyone?  Will they like me?  Am I going to spontaneously forget how to read and get fired?  It can happen.  Believe me.

Luckily, I was able to put a few words together and I really liked the whole cast.  It was great to see some old faces and meet some new friends.  (By "old faces", I mean Margaret Dwyer.  She's playing fourteen, which is really a Hollywood 40.)  We shared some Juicy Juice, grapes and a few cookies.  If you threw in some hot bath buns and sunscreen, it was like we were already out on that wooden porch in Act Two.

Tomorrow we start blocking, which is going to be a monster.  August has been working all day on it.  I don't envy his job right now.  All eight of us are (pretty much) on stage for two hours, running in and out.  Which is fun for the actors, not for the director and assistant director.

I feel very privileged, to be part of such a talented group of people.  Now, whether or not they like me is a different story.  They better...

I write the blog.  (Insert smiley face here.)