Hey, folks -
Hope that everyone is doing great and enjoyed a nice holiday weekend! Mine was a blast. The gig at Savor last Thursday seemed to go over very well, and we had a great time. The getaway to Florida was fantastic, and just what I needed. Believe it or not, I actually did focus on the show quite a bit. I spent a lot of time in the script - okay, mostly on the plane, but I still did. The other thing I did was read the novel High Fidelity (by Nick Hornby) from cover to cover. That was probably one of the most valuable things I could have ever done to help develop the character of Rob. The movie and the stage show are both derived from this book, and the perspectives I gained about characters, lifestyles, attitudes, etc. are invaluable...
I missed being with the cast on Thursday and Sunday afternoon. Thursday the cast came prepared with all sorts of interesting "backstory" facts about their characters and their relationships with Rob. I heard tidbits about a few of these reports, and I have been impressed (and very entertained) by them. Apparently Rob has more issues than even I knew about...
Just a few minutes after I got home on Sunday night, Aaron and Zachary arrived for us to review the text for the publicity we were filming that evening. We had a hilarious and hopefully entertaining video shoot at our friendly neighborhood record store, Record Exchange. The owner, Jean, has been so kind to help us publicize this production. Go check out his store sometime - it's a very unique experience... I'll send more info about the video piece when it's done.
Monday and Tuesday we had our first full run-throughs. Overall, things went quite well. This is when you can really see true glimpses of what the show is going to be like. I'm getting very excited. I'm discouraged that I'm getting more line notes than others, but most of them are fairly minor (sort of), and the volume is hopefully proportionate to the higher volume of lines. I'm going to stay focused on that. Many thanks to Trisha Bakula, our stage manager, for her diligent and tedious work to help us with this.
One more run-through in the rehearsal space tomorrow night, then we move into the theater. That's when I really start getting pumped. There's something about rehearsing a show in the space where it will actually be performed. And when the set and the costumes and the lights start making their appearances? That's when the magic really starts happening, for me at least...
Gotta run. I must go review these lines again while I have the opportunity. Seriously.
Rock on,
Jeff
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Hi Fi, High Gear
Well, almost another week has come and gone since my last post. The title says it all - we've definitely shifted into high gear...
Last night we ran Act I for the first time completely off-book. Before we started, our primo photographer, Michael Daft, took some extremely cool PR photos. Many thanks to our fantastic costumer, Amy Kelly, for providing the perfect costume pieces for this.
Tonight we ran Act II twice, again off-book. Both nights actually went quite well. Everyone is doing a great job getting into character, and recalling lyrics/lines/choreography/etc. I feel fairly good about where I'm at with the lines. I know I'm paraphrasing here and there, but most of 'em are fairly locked in, I think. Still more work to do on that for sure, though...
On Sunday, Robin put her magic touch on the choreography for "Number Five With a Bullet" and "Crying in the Rain." All the dance numbers are set and awesome, with some room for cleaning and fine-tuning of course. Really cool stuff...
On Saturday, some of the guys made a field trip to the Record Exchange, as sort of a character study. I live about 2 blocks from there, so several of us (Zak, Todd, Joel, Scott and me) met at my house, had a couple of beers, then walked down to the store. We spent at least an hour in there, checking out all of the fantastic stuff available. We found some great LP's and 45's to use as props, as well as some other really cool stuff. Then we came back to my pad, sat outside in the beautiful weather, and grilled out, listened to music, laughed a lot, etc. It was really cool. We missed the rest of the cast, though. Next time...
I'm actually going to be away from the next couple of rehearsals. I had Thursday 5/22 and Sunday 5/25 down as schedule conflicts at auditions, so it's nothing new, but it still feels strange. Hopefully none of the momentum we've gained will go away. I'm sure it won't. The reasons for the conflicts are kinda cool, though. On Thursday, I'm joining about 10 other local singers to perform in the St. Louis Singers' Showcase at Savor (www.cabaretatsavor.com). One of the songs I'm singing is "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds. As it turns out, this song is one of the source/inspiration songs for "Laura, Laura" from our show. That's kinda cool... This weekend, I'll be on a Florida getaway for Memorial Day weekend. I'm really looking forward to that. I will have lots of time away from distractions to concentrate on completely memorizing everything too, so the show will be front and center in my mind. It's been a long time since I've studied lines while laying on the beach. I'll let you know how that goes. I can't wait...
Sunday evening, soon after I get back to St. Louis, we are to shoot some promo video at the Record Exchange. Sounds like a lot of fun. Michael Daft is continuing to take some great photography of individual cast members several times a week. St. Louis Magazine did an interview with Scott Miller and me for their June edition which should come out any day now. Even a photo shoot to go with it. So there is a lot of cool publicity surrounding the show as well. To say I'm getting excited would be a huge understatement.
Happy Memorial Day to all. Be safe and have fun. More next week...
Rock on,
Jeff
Last night we ran Act I for the first time completely off-book. Before we started, our primo photographer, Michael Daft, took some extremely cool PR photos. Many thanks to our fantastic costumer, Amy Kelly, for providing the perfect costume pieces for this.
Tonight we ran Act II twice, again off-book. Both nights actually went quite well. Everyone is doing a great job getting into character, and recalling lyrics/lines/choreography/etc. I feel fairly good about where I'm at with the lines. I know I'm paraphrasing here and there, but most of 'em are fairly locked in, I think. Still more work to do on that for sure, though...
On Sunday, Robin put her magic touch on the choreography for "Number Five With a Bullet" and "Crying in the Rain." All the dance numbers are set and awesome, with some room for cleaning and fine-tuning of course. Really cool stuff...
On Saturday, some of the guys made a field trip to the Record Exchange, as sort of a character study. I live about 2 blocks from there, so several of us (Zak, Todd, Joel, Scott and me) met at my house, had a couple of beers, then walked down to the store. We spent at least an hour in there, checking out all of the fantastic stuff available. We found some great LP's and 45's to use as props, as well as some other really cool stuff. Then we came back to my pad, sat outside in the beautiful weather, and grilled out, listened to music, laughed a lot, etc. It was really cool. We missed the rest of the cast, though. Next time...
I'm actually going to be away from the next couple of rehearsals. I had Thursday 5/22 and Sunday 5/25 down as schedule conflicts at auditions, so it's nothing new, but it still feels strange. Hopefully none of the momentum we've gained will go away. I'm sure it won't. The reasons for the conflicts are kinda cool, though. On Thursday, I'm joining about 10 other local singers to perform in the St. Louis Singers' Showcase at Savor (www.cabaretatsavor.com). One of the songs I'm singing is "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds. As it turns out, this song is one of the source/inspiration songs for "Laura, Laura" from our show. That's kinda cool... This weekend, I'll be on a Florida getaway for Memorial Day weekend. I'm really looking forward to that. I will have lots of time away from distractions to concentrate on completely memorizing everything too, so the show will be front and center in my mind. It's been a long time since I've studied lines while laying on the beach. I'll let you know how that goes. I can't wait...
Sunday evening, soon after I get back to St. Louis, we are to shoot some promo video at the Record Exchange. Sounds like a lot of fun. Michael Daft is continuing to take some great photography of individual cast members several times a week. St. Louis Magazine did an interview with Scott Miller and me for their June edition which should come out any day now. Even a photo shoot to go with it. So there is a lot of cool publicity surrounding the show as well. To say I'm getting excited would be a huge understatement.
Happy Memorial Day to all. Be safe and have fun. More next week...
Rock on,
Jeff
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Do We Really Open in Four Weeks?
Well, it's been a week or so again since I've posted... Hope that anyone and everyone who reads this is doing well.
It's amazing how much happens within a week of rehearsals. Last time I checked in, we hadn't even touched Act II, and now it's completely blocked. We've been working hard, but also laughing like one wouldn't believe. The "Conflict Resolution" scene alone is enough to make even the toughest Harley guy blush. It's really funny though...
So, the title of this blog is a tad intimidating. We really do open four weeks from tomorrow. I have every confidence that we'll be more than ready, and I am so excited. But I also know how quickly four weeks can go, and we still have many miles to go... I've spent a good amount of time studying lines, but I'm still not where I want to be. Next Monday we are to be completely off book/score, so we'll make that happen no matter what.
Still having a great time and thrilled with the experience. The cast is awesome and giving some major moments already. There's a lot of fun stuff going on outside of rehearsal too. New Line's photographer, Michael Daft, is taking some amazing photography for this show. I don't want to give too much away just yet, but suffice it to say that you simply must see the lobby photography and headshots for this show. I had a photo shoot with Michael a couple of weeks ago, and I am amazed at what he can produce... He's an unbelievable artist. He'll be taking some PR photos for the show next week at rehearsal as well - look for 'em!
Time to sign off for me, for now....
Rock on,
Jeff
It's amazing how much happens within a week of rehearsals. Last time I checked in, we hadn't even touched Act II, and now it's completely blocked. We've been working hard, but also laughing like one wouldn't believe. The "Conflict Resolution" scene alone is enough to make even the toughest Harley guy blush. It's really funny though...
So, the title of this blog is a tad intimidating. We really do open four weeks from tomorrow. I have every confidence that we'll be more than ready, and I am so excited. But I also know how quickly four weeks can go, and we still have many miles to go... I've spent a good amount of time studying lines, but I'm still not where I want to be. Next Monday we are to be completely off book/score, so we'll make that happen no matter what.
Still having a great time and thrilled with the experience. The cast is awesome and giving some major moments already. There's a lot of fun stuff going on outside of rehearsal too. New Line's photographer, Michael Daft, is taking some amazing photography for this show. I don't want to give too much away just yet, but suffice it to say that you simply must see the lobby photography and headshots for this show. I had a photo shoot with Michael a couple of weeks ago, and I am amazed at what he can produce... He's an unbelievable artist. He'll be taking some PR photos for the show next week at rehearsal as well - look for 'em!
Time to sign off for me, for now....
Rock on,
Jeff
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Act One, Take One
Tonight we ran all of Act I for the first time. As one would expect, it is far from perfect... But it does seem like there is some great stuff going on already. There are a lot of funny moments and touching moments, and some pretty awesome vocal moments, too. Also, it's such a fun and supportive group of people, which is extremely cool...
I'm disappointed in myself because I don't know my lines very well yet... We were expected (more like encouraged) to be off-book for Act I tonight, but we absolutely must have everything memorized by the time we run Act I again. That's certainly fair and necessary, but I definitely have my work cut out for me. Rob's character has an immense line load. I've been focusing more on music so far, so my bad for getting behind on memorizing lines. We don't run Act I again for a while, but really that's no comfort. See, we start blocking Act II stuff at the next rehearsals, so all of that must be memorized as well. Crap. I'm on it though. I should log off now and go spend some time on it.
On another note, there are two more bloggers in the bunch now: Joel Hackbarth and Todd Micali. For some reason, I'm having trouble getting Blogger to add their links to my little list to the right here. Until I can figure it out, know that they can be accessed at kleptoboy.blogspot.com (Joel) and tmpmitw.blogspot.com (Todd).
Rock on,
Jeff
I'm disappointed in myself because I don't know my lines very well yet... We were expected (more like encouraged) to be off-book for Act I tonight, but we absolutely must have everything memorized by the time we run Act I again. That's certainly fair and necessary, but I definitely have my work cut out for me. Rob's character has an immense line load. I've been focusing more on music so far, so my bad for getting behind on memorizing lines. We don't run Act I again for a while, but really that's no comfort. See, we start blocking Act II stuff at the next rehearsals, so all of that must be memorized as well. Crap. I'm on it though. I should log off now and go spend some time on it.
On another note, there are two more bloggers in the bunch now: Joel Hackbarth and Todd Micali. For some reason, I'm having trouble getting Blogger to add their links to my little list to the right here. Until I can figure it out, know that they can be accessed at kleptoboy.blogspot.com (Joel) and tmpmitw.blogspot.com (Todd).
Rock on,
Jeff
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