Rehearsal moved temporarily to another hall, and it took us a while to get our bearings again with respect to where various parts of the play would happen in the performance space. We all gathered around the model to see if we couldn’t figure it all out.
Learning the First Phrase, originally uploaded by rpmaxwell.
Hello, and welcome to Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s 2009 production of The Comedy of Errors!
The first week of our incredibly fast and fun rehearsal process has just come to a close and there are so many pictures and stories to post. So let’s get right to it:
Artistic Director Steve Maler has set this production in South Beach Miami of the 1930s: in the boardwalk world of Latin jazz clubs and boutique Art Deco hotels.
The cast has been hard at work with choreographer Yo-El Cassell on the “dumbshows,” (brief, fun, wordless vignettes that will occur around Shakespeare’s acts) that will set the stage and tell the story of the South Beach world in which the play takes place. The dumbshows are awash in the characters, colors, and energy of that world: Lifeguards and dogwalkers, band members and young lovers. All moving and dancing to sound designer David Wilson’s amazing, energetic, expressive music.
Two dozen actors spent three days dancing through five dumbshows, and there’s still more to come!
So yes, we’ve dealt with some rain, but other than that it’s been a phenomenally productive week of work on the Common. The whole show is teched and now we’re getting picky again about some minor design and acting choices. It’s a good spot to be. We’ve had some great runs and extremely enthusiastic and intelligent dress rehearsal and preview audiences. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll have what will probably be our last full company rehearsal before we open officially on Wednesday. Almost time to let it go!
Earlier this week I took some behind the scenes (literally) photos of the set. Enjoy your super exclusive backstage pass!
-Karl
We started technical rehearsals on the common on Saturday afternoon! It’s going well. Takes a long time to figure everything out, but we’re being super productive and are right on schedule.
Linda O’Brien and her team of electricians has been working crazy hard into the early morning to ensure that she can get her lighting work done while it’s dark out.
We added costumes last night for the first time and they’re beautiful. Emily Pepper and everyone from Costume Works has done some really great work. It’s so satisfying to see everything coming together for the first time. The set, costumes and lights all compliment each other well.
We’ve worked up through Shakespeare’s Act 4 Scene 1, meaning that tomorrow night we need to push ahead through the end of the play so that we can do a dress rehearsal run-thru on Wednesday night.
It’s hard work, but a lot of fun. The weather has been nice so it’s great to be outside. I’m enjoying being part of the team.
Tuesday’s another long one: 12pm - 12am rehearsal with a production meeting ’til about 1:30.
-Karl
Below are some of Emily Pepper’s costume sketches. Cool, no?
Orlando
Oliver
Rosalind
Celia
Touchstone
Audrey
Thought these images might be interesting. Scott Bradley made a miniature model of the set which is handy for everyone involved in the project, especially the crew in the scene shop that have the gargantuan task of building the thing.
It’s also handy for us to have in the rehearsal room. It makes it really easy to visualize how it will all look when it’s a whole lot bigger and sitting in the center of the Boston Common.
Before we started staging the play with the company, Steve spent some good quality time in his office with the model and his craft skillz. He made some choices about how the set will move throughout the piece and used some little paper cut out stand-ins for actors to begin experimenting with different physical formations.
I’ve included some of the photos he took of his work below. I especially like the ones where the little paper people are sitting down. Makes me laugh. Simple pleasures…
-Karl
Act 1, Scene 2: The Wrestling Match
Act 2, Scene 1: Duke Senior in Exile
Act 3, Scene 2: Rosalind Approaches Orlando
As mentioned, we had out first official production meeting last week with all of the designers and a number of the technical staff who’ll be responsible for getting everything up and running. It was my first opportunity to meet all of these people that I’ve been talking and thinking about for the last several months. It was exciting to have everyone in a room together and begin to get a sense of how this play is going to come to life.
J, the sound designer and composer, played some music that he’s come across in his research and even hearing a brief three minute clip seemed to inspire everyone in the room. There’s something so evocative and theatrical about music when it’s used the right way, and I feel like J’s gonna do a bang-up job on this production. Put great music in a great play and I’m on cloud nine. I’m looking forward to hearing the band in action!
We also spent some time taking a look at Scott Bradley’s model of the set. It’s fairly simple (or it might seem so) and totally beautiful. He’s really basing the core of his design on the imagery of the forest. Lots of huge trees that can move back and forth across the stage. I think it’ll give Steve a lot of room to explore and experiment in rehearsal and ultimately give the actors ample room to play once we’re in performance mode.
I’ve come to realize how integral a great lighting designer is to a great production. Linda O’Brien has worked with Steve a good amount and they have a great relationship already, which comes in handy when it’s time to make tough decisions. Unlike set, costume or sound, a lighting designer has a more challenging time of communicating their vision while sitting at a table. Linda’s been working on plotting out exactly what she’ll need in terms of equipment. We’ll really start to understand her expertise and creativity during our technical rehearsals, the week prior to our first public performance. That’s kind of scary, but also totally exciting. In the mean time, she’s doing as much preparation as she can to ensure that when it’s her turn to kick it into high gear, she’s able to take full advantage of the time. I’m always surprised how much the lighting really defines the world of a play.
Emily Pepper, the costume designer, presented her sketches to the group. It’s cool to see how she’s differentiating between the worlds of the court and the forest. She’s using her designs to clarify the story, which is awesome. She’s super creative and interested in experimenting and trying out different options. She’s also very open to feedback and interested in what other members of her team are thinking. I think that’s essential when undertaking any sort of creative endeavor.
I had a good time at the meeting. Nice to be a fly on the wall and absorb as much as I can. I’ll look forward to learning and writing more about our work as we progress. Rehearsals start exactly one month from today!
-Karl
Emily promises to write about her first “real” visit to Boston a few weeks ago …. more to come!
- Emily Pepper