Rehearsal Notes 3/4/10

SPACE PROJECT REHEARSAL
Wednesday, March 4th, 2010
Milepost 5
Jonathan, Faith, Julie, Nick

Homework:

We will spend time looking at source material on Sunday

Maesie: bring key pieces of Proust text for us to work with.

Jonathan's ACTION Notes: Set aside box and binder for storing source material in the space. Must have working monitor by Sunday (who will fetch?). Acquire many AA rechargeable batteries.

Notes after the jump...

Start: 6:00pm

-Discussed 3/3/10 etudes.

Warm Ups: 25min (6:15)

Etudes:

Julie string cups-
Faith and Julie stand back to back. Holding pink cups to their mouths, strings run from the cups to the far walls. They alternate speaking into the cups and holding them to thier ears to listen for the response. "Do you really doubt it?" is repeated occasionally by Julie. It ends with Faith asking "Do you really doubt it?"

Break: (7:03pm)

Four reactions to Solaris, Ch. 15 : First Appearance of Hari.
1st no pre-conceived ideas. 2nd based on Julie's impressions. 3rd based on Faith's. Fourth based on Jonathan's. 7min prep time.

Jonathan, dim light chair
Stage is dim. Faith slowly walks out to a chair far down center. She grabs it and sits quickly, taking sharp rhythmic breaths. Her eyes are closed. Julie approaches and strokes her hair from behind the chair. She holds her hand under Faith's chin, as Faith breathes heavily. She giggles and Faith starts up out of the chair, and recedes into the darkness with a wary look as Julie walks out into the house giggling. Last sound heard is Faith's footsteps.

Notes: The image of someone slowly walking in and out of the light. As if our eyes are slowly coming into focus.

Faith, flood light rotation
Faith stands upstage R, holding a floodlight, facing the wall. She slowly rotates clockwise, shining the light into the house. She brings the light around to shine on Julie, who is lying upstage center, still. Julie slowly raises her left arm above her head. Faith approaches in a deliberate and slow pace, places the light at Julie's feet and lies down next to Julie.

Notes: The effective use of the floodlight to drastically alter the image we could perceive.

Julie,
Julie and Faith stand against the upstage wall. Julie shifts very slightly towards Faith. She approaches Faith and stands directly next to her. Faith turns to look at Julie.

Notes: Effective use of us seeing one person watch another without their knowing it. Suddenly one person wakes up looking at the other (who is unaware of it). The contrast created in the distance between the two, and the dramatic change of that distance. (Standing up, watching the non-watcher)

Both,
Faith leans casually against the upstage wall. She reaches out with her left foot. Julie approaches slowly from the house and lies at the foot of the stage. She runs her hand along the edge, hovering just above it. Julie kicks out her right leg. Runs her hand along the stage edge again.

Notes: Leg stretching out and suddenly contracting back in to the body.

Break (8:05)

Marc,
Single floor light aimed at SL. Marc stands center, eyes closed. He walks slowly downstage toward the light. Eyes remain closed. Faith moves along the upstage wall. She matches Marc's pace. As Marc gets closer to the light his shadow is cast along the upstage wall and ceiling, towering over him. Faith turns out, back to the wall. Marc lifts his left hand to the side of his head and turns his face toward it. He begins to vigorously scrubs his face with both hands. He drops his hands and his eyes open wide. Julie joins him down center and they stand back to back. Faith moves slowly downstage. Music plays. Marc and Julie turn to face each other, mouths open wide. Marc turns to face out and slowly backs upstage. He sits on the edge of the stage in Julie's shadow and lifts his hand to Faith's.

Notes: The contrast of moving slowly into the house, with the fast repeated gesture of scrubbing the face.

How do we move forward when everyone present is in the scene? Who is the observer?

Julie- Focusing on highlight moments seems more useful as building a set of tools, rather than creating successful scenes. Consider ceding observer status to Joanathan. Speed-dating etudes.

Jonathan- Not useful to note what we like about making performance. Want to make material, generate content. How can we use this method so that we walk away with something tangible?

Faith- Moments that stood are not specific blocking, vs. conceptual. Should we be honing before we have generated a larger amount of content? Impossible to give feedback when everyone is in the scene. Work with solos?

Four Reactions to Solaris (Ch.29) Fever Dream- (Order: Faith, Marc,

Marc,
Lights out. Lights up. Faith sits in chair downstage L. Julie sits upstage R. Lights out. Lights up. Both sit center. Julie faces Faith. Lights out. Lights up. Faith walks slowly right. Julie sits L. Lights out. LIghts up. Faith sits UR, Julie walks slowly from left to right. Lights out. Lights up. Julie stands behind the lights her back to us. Faith sits center. Lights out. Lights up. Julie sits center, Faith sits left. Both reach. OUT UP>. Faith stands behind light facing us. Julie leans back in chair center. OUT UP> Faith sits center. Julie walks right. OUT UP> Julie sits UR, Faith walks right. OUT UP> Julie sits UR Faith sits center. Both reach. OUT UP> Faith sits L, Julie stands behind light back to us. OUT.

Notes: Moving together after so many moments without unison action.

Faith:
Julie stands in front of Marc upcenter. Her right hand is raised, palm up. She turns to face Marc. She turns back to us, hand raised holding a muffin. Marc steps to her right but stays behind her. He leans forward and grabs the muffin with his mouth. Julie slowly lowers her hand and sinks to the floor. Marc watches her the muffin held in his mouth. Julie sits on the floor holding her knees with her hands. Marc begins to attempt to talk around the muffin. Julie stands and leaves off left. She walks back in and past Marc, glancing at him. He takes the muffin out of his mouth and leaves off left. Julie looks after him over her shoulder.

Notes: Marc's casual removal of the muffin after having held it in his mouth for so long. A nice casual gesture on stage following a very surreal, dramatic one.

Julie:
Faith sits on a white stool at center. Julie stands left facing back wall. She turns and walks along back wall to center. Turns to face out at us. She raises her hands, the right higher than her left and laughs. Faith puts her hands on her shoulders and stands. She has a sweater draped across her back, she turns upstage and lets it drop to the ground. Faith and Julie walk right on a parallel path. Julie raises her hands and laughs, Faith turns to look at her. Faith turns back to us and raises her hands. Both drop hands and turn their heads slowly to look left. Both raise hands. Both slowly drop hands.

Notes: Julie seemed to be taking the sweater off of Faith at a distance, then they moved into a unison walking pattern. The surreal instant switch that denotes a non-reality.


Jonathan:
Dim light onstage. Julie sits on edge of stage. Stands up, kneels on upstage facing wall. Speaks. Crosses to upstage R. Tape deck plays a blast of noise. Long pause. Julie moves center stage, holds microphone to mouth. Faith speaks into microphone off stage. Julie leaves, Faith enters. Holds microphone to mouth at center. Julie plays tape recording of text offstage. Faith crosses to R. Holds tape deck up ear. Julie speaks text. Faith moves to center. Plays tape deck next to ear. Julie speaks text.

Notes: Faith kneeling in silouhuette lip sync to her own words.

NOTES FROM ETUDES ON 3/3/10 (Weds Rehearsal)

Jonathan, fear look at the door-

Notes: Leaving space, so the audience can make their own connections. Text came across as ominous, would be interested to see it again with more promising text, less pausy, strange, tense.

Julie, the blowjob test tube-

Notes: Music-'Susperia' by Goblin. The simplicity of watching Julie walk on (a scientific fairyland quality). The foaming was a nice payoff for the mystery of what was in the test tube. Evocative of long shots from classic sci-fi. Exploring the simlarity of science fiction and western styles of long, establishing shots. THe music allows the viewer to stay with the image and enjoy it without the sense of waiting for something to happen.

Faith, laugh, jump, laugh-

Notes: Spaces in the action, constrast between music and maniacal laughter was pleasing. Faith's appearance at the end sealed up the narrative, would have enjoyed it becoming even stranger (wanted image to seal up and then explode again). Stopping and starting feels deadening, unless it's pitch black we try to see in the dark. Two people coming together, who are similar has potential to be very striking. Etude took on a maniacal "crazy" energy, where a joyous one was more the intent.

Julie, test tube picnic.

Notes: Simple trick of seeing something out of order. A call back to Julie's first etude, with the dressing of the paint suit. Now we understand why Julie is in the suit. Reversing order of scenes automatically gives us a different tension. What was zipped in the bag? Why? Suit left on ground at end evokes wasps shedding their skin when they molt.