For an entire week, this damn play owned my life. Normally, this would be a good thing. I'd scan some articles in the morning then, after lunch, I'd consider doing something, *anything*, and the bastard actors would show up early. Everyday I'd tell them that they couldn't be at the theatre until 5:30pm, and everyday they'd show up at 3pm. They wouldn't be in the theatre, they'd just be in the back doing notes and rehearsing problem scenes. You have to admire that kind of committment, but at the same time, it's sort of disrespectful to the theatre. Plus, I'd have to hang out and watch them get harrangued over mistakes and rehearse things endlessly. I'd occassionally debate some of the interpretation of the Hamlet text, but only if it was horribly innacurate. I was subtle about it. Gerd Hauck, you win again.
The thing is, I very quickly started to *like* all of the kids in the company. I haven't really met too many people around my age. Plus, they're all in college (mostly English), so I can totally relate. And they're all so *nice*. It was good company. Too bad I'm sure I'll never hear from them again.
I had a couple tech days (my idea) before they opened, so that I could figure out the lighting cues, and the sound girl could orient herself since she'd never done sound before. Great idea in theory, except the director refused to let me do my tech the way I needed to. In the end, I only got most of the cues for act 3. Beh. During those two days, when they were asked to do a dress rehearsal (which they were doing anyways) for Jalabala, Amba couldn't stop directing during the run. Which really just makes it a rehearsal. Plus, the fearless director was still performing with script in hand. Keep in mind that she's playing one of the titular characters. With a script in hand. The day before they opened.
I also spent a day doing publicity for them. Somewhat against my will. I took publicity photos and e-mailed them to all the newspapers with press releases. I took posters to all the press clubs as well as some tourist kiosks. I know the entire company had done poster runs, so I'm not entirely sure how places like that had been overlooked. I mean, if you're trying to start a theatre company, you should probably alert the press.
Miraculously, she learned her lines for opening, and was quite good to boot. As for the overall production...... well, it's not how I'd have done it. Then again, I had always thought the play was a comedy. I found that the high melodrama really made the play drag, especially by the time you got to the third act. Then there was all of the pseudo-Brechtian garbage they added...... But there were moments of great charm. They're all quite talented in one area or another, whether it be voice, physicality, or the whole package. I was particularly fond of the dumb show, for which they used commedia masks. They didn't know anything about commedia, but I (somewhat surreptitiously) gave a couple pointers on how to use the masks to their full advantage. They really tried to use my suggestions. I'm not sure whether it's because the think I'm a "real theatre person" or because I wasn't a total bitch about it.
I'm particularly proud of convincing Hamlet to use the "IMMEDIATELY" hand. I'm not sure if he understood *why* he was using it, but he definately understood that it was what needed to happen. I think everyone was confused by the fact that I use it all the time though.
The sound and lighting design were both pretty awful. The music cues were chosen in the style of "oh, this song would sound cool here" with no consideration of consistensy. Therefore it was a haphazzard mix of genre and era that often sounded out of place. I refuse to take responsibility for how bad the lights were. I know I'm not great with lights, but my ideas were effective, albiet simple. Then directorial decisions were made. My blue gels suddenly became way too saturated. My levels were all lowered. Specials were changed so that faces were only top lit and people moved about in the dark in the middle of monologues (although maybe he just didn't know how to find his light). A fucking horrible red light was added to make an overly dramatic moment even more dramatic. I tried to contest these decisions, had her look at how ridiculous they looked, but it was in vain.
The first couple of shows had minimal audience. The actors had been hoping for that so that they could get a feel for the performance (since they hadn't *really* done a proper run before), but I think they were disheartened nevertheless. Amba gave them a really backwards pep talk about "how they're not doing it for the audience" which left us Akshara folk scratching our heads in confusion. I don't know if it was my press efforts or if these guys have a great deal of friends, but the rest of the shows more or less sold out. Some audiences were better than others, but that's always the way it is.
It was during these early shows that I discovered that it was impossible to start the show on time. Because of the actors. Everyday I'd tell them: "Stop rehearsing AT 5:30pm and come into the theatre immediately. Your set and props should be placed by 6pm. Hair, makeup and costumes should be done by 7pm, and you can do your pep talks then. By 7:15pm, you should be in places (Ros and Guil were onstage for the preshow) so that the house can open at 7:20pm for a 7:30pm go." The first night, we held the house quite late, hoping for more audience. Now, I don't know if they were expecting the house to be held like that every night, but these guys just *couldn't* be ready on time. Which is ridiculous because they had such a simple set-up. Nothing was complicated about it, except for *maybe* Alfred's make-up (he was painted like a harlequin for god knows what reason). Every night we had to hold the house because we were waiting on the actors to finish whatever they were doing. With each night that passed, the audience got more and more agitated, as did I.
Did I mention that I was sort of house managing as well as doing the lights and filling in for their lack of stage manager? Who does a three act play sans stage manager?? Well, the sound girl did the seating, but I had to introduce the show and the intermission, as well as socialize with the audience before and after the show as well as intermission. It was hardest at intermission when I'd have 10 minutes to drink my soup, set up my lighting for the second half, have a smoke, give the actors their ten/five/standby cues, boost their moral, and try to find out from as many audience members as possible how they heard about the show. Jeh.
Overall, it did go well. Everyone was in high spirits after the final performance, and I tagged along for the cast party. The final remaining four of us piled into an auto for the ridiculously long ride to the bar. I vaguely answered questions about what Waterloo cast parties are like. I tried to remember the last cast party I'd been to that was at a bar. It was for 'Featuring Loretta'. Either you know what happened that night or you don't. Good times. For a half second, I missed Phil's, but then I remembered that Phil's is kinda gross. We finally got to the bar called Cafe Morrison. You know what it's going to be like just from the name. It had the ambiance and drink prices of Starlight with the music of those rare good nights at Abstract. Oh, how it made me happy. We drank (I decided on a Tom Collins night), and talked, drank some more, smoked all of my cigarettes (those bastards), and danced until close. Leaving the bar made me kinda homesick as the police ushered us along our way. The whole gang arranged my auto home, which was sweet. As I was driving off, I gave an "immediately" hand out the side, which made various actors try to touch my hand like I was some kind of rock star. Which I am. My driver turned out not to speak *any* English, and once we figured that out, he put on the radio and we enjoyed Indian dance music on the lengthy ride (except for one stop where he inexplicably bought a large amount of matches). It was a nice night to be kinda drunk in an auto-rickshaw with the music and the breeze. I was nice and zen when I got home, except that I had to raise all kinds of hell to get the night watchmen to open the gate for me.
For an epilogue, this group of actor put on a show and make a large amount of cash. I can't imagine anything more encouraging for a young company. They all go back to college. Amba, their fearless leading, instead of immediately starting to work on her next project, has decided she wants to act in something (rather than act and direct I guess), effectively ending things for them. At any rate, she plans on taking a long break before she starts on something else. That's the fucking problem with theatre in this country. There's no constant drive, theatre's just a past-time. God knows, if it was me, I'd take that money and pour it right into the next show. Entice the people who liked the first show to keep coming before they forget. Jeh. Beh. Feh. It's part of the permanent state of theatre in this country (judging by the 40 year old articles I've been reading), and it really fucking sucks.
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