thoughts on the show

tonight is the first tech rehearsal for the christmas show. it's basically a meet and greet with the technical people and then running lights and sound, cue to cue.

my actors have the potential of being fantastic in their short play. the guy with the most experience (in film) seems to be the one holding up any real progress since he hasn't fully gotten off book. he's spread a bit thin doing showcases and background work in a paramount film. i'm assuming he'll be a late bloomer and miraculously be ready by final tech and opening. it just makes it hard to keep giving character notes and intricate bits and not see much progress in the pacing and timing of their argument when the momentum is killed with line problems. yesterday's rehearsal was supposed to be fully in character, but everyone broke character multiple times with dropped lines. i know this is to be expected at least once in a rehearsal period, but we've had very few opportunities to rehearse due to everyone's professional and work schedules.

this is a freebie production (actors are not paid) so i know it might not be their immediate priority, but it's their asses on the line if they screw up on stage. i want to see a clean performance with the nuances i've given them to make the audience laugh. that's my reward...getting the actor to a place where they have the audience engaged, laughing and enjoying their evening.

fingers crossed.