Good run-through, everyone. Thanks to Celeste, Aaron, and Jeremy for staying on book (and interpreting my "stacked lines" approach). Here are the notes from last night.
Tami - Make sure your focus is on Rogers and other characters when you speak. You naturally acknowledge the audience in your delivery, and I want to curb that just a bit for more realism in speaking.
Linda - Let's have a binder or portfolio with you with your letter of referral, train ticket stub, etc. to bring in and set on the backing table on your first entrance.
Linda - On "This is exciting!" make us believe it. It's an opportunity to build the audience's excitement of the show along with yours. Show it in your eyes and your energy at being in a new place.
Leland - When you first enter, come straight in and DC, then go SR, up behind the sofa and meet up with Vera C again to kiss her hand. The immediate detour SR when you enter doesn't look right.
John - Take most of your asides a bit lower. You've got a strong voice, so let's use it when we need it.
Leland - "Never touches alcohol?", lower, more of an aside.
Mark - Good reaction to
Blore on "Are you a lawyer?". Good, character-driven motivation.
Jack - Good reaction to Armstrong on "Yes, I know." to his "I'm a neurologist."
Tami - Don't talk over Roger's "I won't contradict you there..." line when you enter saying "Oh, there you are!". Give it some breathing room, as the audience will laugh, and I want them to carry that love over to you in the next scene.
Tami - Let "I don't like him. Don't like any of them..." be a bit darker and more acidic. Let it creep out of your mouth. Have fun with it. I
ndulge your demons a bit.
Linda & Helene - Pick up pace in the Vera & Emily first scene. It's okay to start it off pleasant and breezy, but let it build to more of a confrontation more quickly. It's too casual right now.
Jack - When
Marston is
talking about his "208 mile" trip, realize that it's probably he who Armstrong was talking about earlier. Toss a glance at Armstrong to acknowledge what's coming up.
Leland - Don't get sloppy drunk so quickly. You're not a quick drunk. Let the confrontation between
Marston and Armstrong be a bit meaner and not as sloppy drunk.
Leland - When you do confess to
Wargrave about Buster Berkeley, don't touch him or even motion like you're going to do so. Remember the subtle respect that we talked about
Marston having for
Wargrave, and try working on this side of that line rather than the sloppy side. I don't think the "chummy" relationship will work with you and
Wargrave. Straighten up when addressing him a bit, just like you had to do in the hearing where your license was suspended.
Aaron - Let "It's the God's truth!" be the height of your fear.
Jack - Allow
Blore to be affected a bit more by the voice on the record. You're a little too confident right now. You can loosen up a bit once you get onto familiar turf, probably when you start investigating the letter from Rogers... "Underwood..." That gives you the ability to shake the earlier fright.
All - Nervousness makes people react, especially when talking, FASTER!
John - "I like the nudity touch." should be lower, more of an aside.
All - Everyone should murmur on
Wargrave's line "...has made certain accusations..." No specific lines, but there MUST be a murmur there.
Jerry - Don't bang your cane on the ground to get
Blore's attention. Leave that to Lombard.
John - Tap on the window panes behind the buffet to get
Blore's attention when
Wargrave says "Mr. Davis?"
Leland - No feet on the couch. Too casual for the time.
John - Lower on aside to Vera, "He's lying. I'll swear it!"
Jack - When you lean on the
SL sliding door, you lose your balance and fall
SL, with your left arm banging into the door frame. Not the right arm. Sorry if I
mis-explained this (which I believe I did.)
Jack - When you're talking about the guy you put away, you get back into scared mode. I need a higher level of energy when you're talking about it to Lombard to cover
Wargrave's poisoning of
Marston's drink.
All - I need a bit more murmur and some general
discomfort in the room after
Marston dies.
Mark - For all deaths, take a bit more time to examine before pronouncing death. Find a consistent way of doing that, be it neck pulse, arm pulse, checking the eyes, etc. Also, make it hard for Armstrong to say "Dead". The audience will know what you're saying. It would be interesting if you never fully said it. Let's try that for a few rehearsals and see where it goes.
Jerry - Good pacing of your lines in Act 1 - Scene 2.
John & Howard - A bit quieter on the "Armstrong says Mrs. Rogers is dead..." aside.
John & Howard - Your "Come on
Blore!" and "Detective, you are way out of line." should come earlier and on top of each other so that it makes it more believable when
Blore says "All right! All right!..." John, keep your, "Hey are those nuts?" line where it was, after the
Blore thing.
Howard - When you speak to Emily, don't add "young" to "My dear lady..." She is definitely not young, and it doesn't seem in character for
Wargrave to engage in flattery.
John - Quieter when offering nuts to everyone. They don't all have to be spoken lines, necessarily. Use the nuts, offering, munching LOUDLY, everything, to allow you to slowly get annoyed with
Blore, culminating in "Do you always talk like..." Don't use your hands at the end of that line "...pulp novel?" Cross your arms. The disdain you arrived at was good, but it popped up too quickly, let it build.
Aaron - Excellent entrance and delivery after Mrs. Rogers dies.
Mark - Stay on balcony looking out to the sea up until
Blore taps on the window pane to ask you for "...something for the general" Don't move around too much.
John - Good pacing on the "...reason that
Narracott's not here..." section; it really showed Lombard's reasoning skills well. Continue to do that. Things don't come "BANG!" to Lombard, they build up slowly and he ignores them for as long as he can, and then he allows himself to believe what he's been thinking all along. Find a way to externalize that a bit as you did in this scene last night.
Howard - "Hardly a good simile, Mr. Lombard." Don't loose the beginning of this line. It's important. It's not precious, but it's important, character-wise for
Wargrave.
Helene - Don't stand and look for scrapbook too soon. Allow
Wargrave to walk through the doors before you stand, otherwise it's too distracting.
Jerry - Don't be happy about Leslie dying of pneumonia. Playing it with a crazed smile is not working. It looks like you killed her, too, which you didn't. Let the words affect you more deeply.
Linda - Excellent responses to
MacKenzie's lines, particularly your "Oh..." to his "I sent him to his death."
Jerry - Some of the lines with Vera are getting TOO big. Let's pull them back and just "say" them for a few rehearsals to tap back into the words and how they sound. There's a lot of blustering and such, and I want the audience to hear your story. "...have to carry the burden..." was good, as it was very sweet and simple.
Linda - The "Have a drink" scene is funky. Let's work that a bit. You're moving too much now, and you're over-compensating with your arms and body. You don't need to. Let's start out smaller, a bit meaner, and then let it build to seething anger.
John - Good responses to Vera's "Have a drink" and other lines, in that section. Works well. I believe you are trying to calm her down.
Helene - On your "Looking out for the boat, General?" make it quicker, more saccharine-laced, mock charm and concern, and then when you get back in, turn coat to the "His sin has found him out..." It will be a nice change-over, and a good character support for her disdain towards men.
Linda - Good to Emily on "You certainly didn't deny it..." It shows a LOT of really good character work you've done. Thank you.
Helene - When you get to the "Clean and willing..." let one of those descriptive words for Betty make you stammer/savor it a bit, just a small chink in the armor of what is GREAT work on the "tough" side of Emily.
Helene - Use your hands a bit less as Emily. Purposefully keep them on your lap, clasped, or something else. It will close her off from us a bit more. Too much with hands right now.
Linda - On the "What did you..." and "Certainly not..." lines, run them together a bit so that Emily is interjecting more over your lines. Broken apart, they seem like lines rather than a spoken idea.
John - When you enter after finding
MacKenzie, cheat
DSR a bit and hold your LEFT hand up with blood on it (like you're being sworn in) so that the audience can see it better. "One got left behind..."
Howard - During the final lines of 1-2 "...this clever and cunning...", stand still, make the lines more serious, not as theatrical. Focus your delivery on either Lombard or
Blore. Turn away only once.
Howard - "We must hold an informal hearing..." singular, not plural.
Linda - Good quiet level when you say you think it was Armstrong. Good.
Linda & Howard - Howard should stay at buffet when
Blore says "...Rogers wouldn't have the brains, or the money..." You and Linda have a bit of a moment looking at each other when
Blore mentions "brains" as you both think he's a bit thick, and it supports
Wargrave's final interaction with Vera "...can I just say for the record..." Howard can move AFTER that moment.
Blore has a pause to sip his coffee that you can use for this beat.
Linda - "Yes, let us know if you stumble across..." should be lower in level, more of a mumble. It will be funny, but it's too big right now.
Howard - A bit smaller on the "...afraid of your gun..." aside to
Blore after Lombard mentions it. It's gotten a bit too big, just a slight indication
Blore's direction. Don't make the delivery quite so big.
Mark - Go ahead and stand on "We've got to get out of here!" Sitting doesn't work, and his manic energy is contradictory to the line. Then, after
Wargrave "calms" you, let the subsequent lines serve as both an apology and a calming for you.
John - On both of your "Stop it! Stop it, Vera!" lines, make them softer, not as arresting. Calm her rather than trying to snap her out of it. It doesn't sound right the way it's currently happening.
John - Don't forget to slap the buffet and make it crash a bit BEFORE the "Five little soldier..." at the top of 2-2. There will be wind and rain sound effects that will quiet a bit. I need more than just your line to startle everyone.
John - "Abstract justice..." glance a bit at
Wargrave. Do it again on "...stashed it somewhere..." You've already got
Blore upset, now you want to dig at
Wargrave a bit.
Howard - You will need some eye glasses that look a bit more period, something with thicker frames. If you have contacts, I'd recommend using those with either reading glasses, or lens-less ones from somewhere.
Sean - Don't forget a clock for the mantle or wall.
Mark - Stand still for the majority of the accusation of
Blore. Move very little. It's distracting. You've gotten up some confidence, and I want to see it without deflating the focus as much.
Jack - Show disinterest, possibly to the point of falling asleep when you're on the
DSR devan when Armstrong is accusing you again. Leaning with your head facing the ceiling, eyes closed will provide a nice picture, and supports Lombard's "Nothing. Go back to sleep,
Blore..." line after it.
Jack & Mark - Chuckle with each other after Armstrong says "Hardly like a woman..." That will let
Wargrave's "Doctor, you and I see women..." line snap you out of the laughter a bit.
Linda - On both the "What exactly did you find..." lines be a disbelief in what has happened. It's there for exposition, but we need a good reason for you to ask. Show us you really can't believe it and need to hear it again.
Jack - Don't chuckle at Lombard's "Rogers, four and a half..." line, when you all are trying to count the victims. Doesn't work.
Jack - "...beer in the kitchen..." not the fridge. If you want to say "icebox" or stick with "kitchen", that's fine, but not "fridge" Too modern.
John - Same note on "Stop it, Vera!" Calm her, don't try to snap her back to reality. Sounds like a bad film-
noir line.
Sean - Need WAVES sounds for 2-3.
Linda - GREAT on Petey exposition lines.
John - Don't go so "soft" on your exposition lines about the men you "abandoned". Make them a bit more
staccato, less like a therapy session with your shrink. Less
whiny, more matter of fact. You don't like Vera anymore at this point, and the last thing you're going to do is wuss out on her.
John - Stay on your knees while Vera stands and points gun at you. Give a pause, then deliver "You clever little bitch..." then stand. Then, let the fact that she tricked you piss you off enough to forget that she could shoot you, which she does...
Linda - GREAT fear demonstrated while you're seated and when being "dominated" by
Wargrave.
Howard - Point to your forehead on "Your lipstick, my dear..." THEN wipe it off and onto her lips/gag. We have to get that it was used as fake blood, so we have to give that bit to the audience.
Howard - We will need to work on your death. Grab the right side of your head, wobble, and collapse. It's not working currently.
That's it! Thanks everyone!
- Sean
