Another MAJOR scene blocked yesterday! The school room and procession of the monks involve large numbers of the cast on stage, moving around (yikes!) at once.Everyone is working very attentively and there are already some outstanding characters begining to develope. I see our Prince Chululongkorn already exhibiting the characteristics of a leader in his voice and especially his bearing. Princess Yin Yaow Lak has all the energy we would hope for from a "favorite" daughter. The children as a whole get into the classroom with the greatest attitude, they are all going to be wonderful. Ok, I know I'm gushing. There are two more scenes with everybody on stage and we will be blocking them soon.
I always like to start blocking the most complicated scenes first. As is the case with this show, they are usually the scenes with the most memorable ensemble numbers and it also gives the cast a chance to really get familiar right off. This familiarity amongst the cast individuals is what allows them, I think, to find ways to relate to each other in the scene. This makes for more genuine "acting" characterization. I have been in casts where most of the first month of rehearsals involved smaller groups or pairs of actors and the "huge" group scenes were almost like an after thought, being "just" chorus. NO SUCH THING! Quite often these scenes left to the end, ended up being mostly composed of manufactured energy. It would be interesting to notice how by closing night the actors in the large groups would have just really started having the kind of connection that makes a show "real" and alive. I generally find that the earlier this building starts the more impressive the genuine energy on stage. Every role is important. Think about an impressionist or pointilist painting. I often picture one of Monet's oils of a meadow. In it there are many shades of greens, yellows, and some reds, mostly each color is just a series of individual daubs to create the whole landscape. If you took out the yellow from the mid sections the look of the whole field changes. If you take out the red in the lower right corner, you lose the impact of the other shades of green. They are complimentary colors. The same thing happens in a cast. Sure, there need to be some larger daubs of "color" than others to set the framework of the story but, take out any of the other "colors" and the story has no complimentary "colors" and becomes much weaker in it's impact on the audience. And, that's the bottom line. We want to tell this story in a way that impacts and connects with the audience. And, WE ARE WELL ON THE WAY!
