I finished blocking the show today, and we immediately went back to the beginning (Monday's work), to run what we blocked at that time. It went so well!
I read everyone the riot act at the beginning of tonight's rehearsal. They were running wild last night, when they were out back waiting to come on stage. I let them know that they could be replaced. They all saw the large number of kids who auditioned, and realize that none of them is indispensable.
I will not put up with a lot of guff. This is going to be a good show, if I have to replace the entire cast to make it so! Of course, the thing that I hope they don't realize is that I don't want to replace any of them. They are all so very good!
But, everyone wants to be there; they just needed a little reminder. A couple of the girls need to slow down and enunciate, and some of the boys need to be a bit louder. Most of them know their lines already. We will only carry the scripts for two more days, because we have such a short rehearsal period that I have to move them along every day.
I can already see the show that will emerge!
What a hoot to find this!!
ReplyDeleteI am Grace Bradley in a local production and tonight is our first audience (dress rehearsal and a friendly, invited crowd will be watching)
I wish our director had have read everyone the riot act, as you say you have. The kids are WILD (except on stage.) When I read the other post about the show, I almost thought for a second that you might actually BE our director.. the very same things .. spots with too little movement, dedicated moms and even the twin thing are happening here.
I'm bookmarking the page and I'll be back to check! Keep posting!
Break a leg! I had so much fun with this.
ReplyDeleteQuestion for ya... when you played Grace Bradley, did it drive you nutso? I am not enjoying it. Every night, ANYTHING that goes wrong is MY fault. 'Cause I'm the grown up, and kids can't be to blame for anything, of course. It can't ever be that they missed their cue or forgot a prop.. and if the day is saved well.. it isn't ME that saved it, it's the kids those WONDERFUL KIDS.. those kids who talk on stage, yell backstage, hit each other on stage, and don't clear the exits.
ReplyDeleteFive or six of the kids are horrid. Truly. And I'm out there trying to keep it all together but no matter what, I can't succeed.
Sounds like your stage manager is falling down on the job.
ReplyDeleteI loved playing Grace. I had one kid who was horrible, and tried to shoot me into the first row when wrestling with the doll.
Many actors have said that working with kids is just what you describe--they upstage you every chance they get, and go out of their way to mess you up.
The director or stage manager needs to gain control of this situation. If he/she does not, then all you can do is your part.
The first time I directed this, in 1993, I had to throw a kid out. He was playing one of the church kids, and went berserk and joined the Herdmans ON STAGE during a performance.
It's amazing how fast the rest shaped up after I threw the brat out. I was even tactful with his mother!
Still, if the director or stage manager won't take charge of the kids, htere's really nothing you can do. Do you have an inexperienced director? Sometimes that's the problem. There is no excuse for kids to be running wild.
When do you open, or have you already?
Before I get into my whinging festival, let me start off by saying this: I've done a dozen plays - had the leads in Barefoot in the Park, Crossing Delancy, did the physical comedy in Noises Off! and I've worked with kids in Peter Pan.. always to rave reviews and sold out houses. I've never felt so discouraged as I do in this play.
ReplyDeleteYes, we opened on Thrusday - had the dress with audience on Wednesday. The director is experienced but her daughter, who is 13, is stage managing. She's a lovely girl and trying very hard.. but you can imagine how difficult it is for her (19 kids, some of whom are her age) she doesn't quite grasp the meaning of 'quiet.' either.
sorry for going on and on..
Here's what happened last night:
the scene where I say "You're all supposed to have your costumes on today!" got really messed up in the Dress rehearsal, with one kid completely forgetting that he had a line at all. What with the two rehearsal scenes being so similar (at least in our production) I was terrified to skip too far ahead and put us in the wrong place.. I waited as long as I could for the cue to be picked up and finally just went along, but by then all the kids had turned into terrified blocks of stone, with one almost crying. So... I vowed that that wouldn't happen again. Last night, a pause again, right around the same spot. I looked a the kids and they were literally ten feet off their spots, talking and laughing. So I figured, okay, just plow ahead. Well... wouldn't you know it, my decision meant that three of the girls who have no other lines in the play missed their lines about bent halos, etc.
There were fits of tears and admonishments from the mothers (who play the bit parts and hence are backstage all the time) "Her father came tonight!" "Her teacher was in the audience!"
and it was all my fault. The other night the sound booth cued the wrong song in the pageant and they sat there like rocks. So I started singing. Who got the credit? The angel choir. (and by the way, I do not need a lot of credit, but I sure hate shouldering all the blame.)
During rehearsals the director had chosen to have the WHOLE CAST at EVERY ONE right from the start. The kids went rangy at about week two. We rehearsed for 8 weeks Mon-Thursday and Saturdays for 2 hours. It was too much. And yet, we never had a run through till two days before opening. She never threatened to throw anyone out. They kick each other right on stage. They don't pay any attention, they talk and drop things and it is EXTREMELY distracting. Last night a kid had a singing toy and the stage manager let him keep it with him!!!
It's been trying for me. I know it's all about the kids but it'd be nice to have had some direction specific to making my part funny. I don't get a laugh excpet when I'm dealing just with the husband in the play (which shows, I think, that it's a question of rection and timing and not pure missing the point on my part.) I efel SOOO lost out there.
You don't know how grateful I am for your response. It's tough because I feel I have no one who understands to gripe to about this. It would be tactless to do so at the play, and my husband.. well he's never been in theatre and so far has no clue what to say. And to top it off, my daughter plays Alice (she's WONDERFUL.. got an amazing review just today) so it would ruin the experience for her if I were to complain too much. .. but I kind of have already...
ten performances left and I dread each one. Last night I "had decided to just do the best I could, under the circumstances..." but by the end of the play, when the tears came I wanted to shoot myself again. Who can sleep after that?
I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. Life has been busy today.
ReplyDeleteI am also sorry that this show is turnign into such a nightmare for you.
Can you talk to the director? She is probably tearing her hair out as well. She has to know that a 13-year-old stage manager is not going to cut it, without adult backup.
I caught some flack when I was directing from the woman playing the minister, because my Beth was a tad bit officious backstage. I got the minister (a former marine) on Beth's side, and she backed up the SM from then on.
I have had it be a bit of a free-for-all, and learned that there's no help for it if the kids are out of control. I let them know from the get-go that they can be replaced.
It may get better a the run wears on, and everyone gets into their roles, and the terror factor wears off.
Break a leg! I'm off to see my 16-year-old son in "A Christmas Carol." He has four small roles, and the company I work for costumed the show.
Check in later. I may get time to make an entry out of all this.!
Ronni you are a gem. Don't worry about not getting back to me right away! I feel lucky that I have your ear at all.
ReplyDeleteTonight's performance was very low energy - the kids are righfully exhausted and don't know how to handle it. Some of them have reached the end of their attention spans, it's fairly obvious. When on stage, I can be speaking directly to one of them and the person beside him will start talking across the bench to ANOTHER kid, who immediately joins into the conversation. And in scenes where the mass of them are on but not involved in the action forget about it... they push one another and laugh and make weird noises. Did this happen in your production? I mean come on the play is only an hour long!!
I spoke with the 'grown-up' stage manager today who is stationed in the booth (the 13 year old is backstage) and asked him to talk to the kids. No go. Seems he's having his own issues with the lighting crew (which I don't get because there have been no errors or omissions in terms of the lights.)
blah blah blah. i'm sick of hearing myself already!! :) Oh, and guess what? You know the histrionics that erupted after the missed lines and the Dad who was there and didn't get to see his girl do her funny bit? yeah. Well....
First, I come to find out that it was worse than I'd even thought. The mother of the 'offended' child went on a tear asking everyone from the properties manager to the other actors to the producer to please "talk to Sherri" about missing the lines. That was the piece of news I got BEFORE the show. And oddly, the mother approached me for the first time tonight, asking all about me, being very sweet and subdued and .. well... basically kissing my ass. It was odd.
But after the show...
I saw the Dad backstage (he's a high ranking military man).. he looked very very happy and so I felt at ease going up to him to apologize for the night before. Shock of shocks when his wife came up to me and said, "yes, well, he wasn't here last night. He couldn't make it."
a-HA! That explained a lot. And let me off the hook. It was a painful hook.
Tell me how your son did! I was in "A Christmas Carol" too! played Scrooge's fiancée. It was a technically difficult piece but audiences go nuts for it. Lots of special effects. Tell me about this production!
... and Ronni... Thank You.
I think if you click on "current posts" in my sidebar, it will take you to my front page. In case you hadn't noticed, you are in my archives. I've moved these comments to the front page, and made them an entry.
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