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Jun. 29th, 2004 11:38 amWe finally got through a rehearsal last night without Nora being all pouty and offended about something. Tom (I ran into him on the street) and I got there around 8:30 and waited around until we were needed. Tom is playing Poseidon as well, so I got to see his scene, where he plays the God of Exposition (basically saying that Troy is ruined because of Athena's hatred) and Athena says to him I want to screw over the Acheans (the Greeks) as well, because they allowed my temple to be desecrated. They make it an interesting scene, although it doesn't have much to do with the rest of the play, and they've added some staging where he whirls her around and acts very flirtatious and sexual with her (ew! Poseidon and Athena are uncle and niece! Of course Zeus and Hera were brother and sister, and they were married...I guess when you're a goddess it's hell trying to find a guy on your level. [catty] Suzanne is a bit long in the tooth for Athena [/catty]). I pointed out to Tom later that his holding her in the waltz position was anachronistic, and he asked me what that meant. I explained, and said you might want to find another way to hold her/dance with her that looks more suitably ancient and Greek.
Tom and I were talking about our scene and I put on my director cap and told him we should add blocking at the end that nakes it clear even thought Menelaus talks about having Helen killed, he doesn't actually do it. I said "we need to make it clear, with something physical, that you're still susceptible to me, like you can't let go of my hand or something. We could also look at each other the whole time but I think something physical, actual blocking, would be better." And then another idea occurred to me: "you could say all this stuff about 'take her to Greece where she will be killed as a punishment for her sins' and then completely contradict it by immediately dragging me off." I had to break down the humor for him, why that would be funny--"because the louder you get, the funnier it is when you contradict yourself, and immediately, by taking me off, especially because the audience is going to know why you can't kill me."
On a completely mean-spirited note, this blocking is especially satisfying because I know damn well the audience is not going to be listening to Nora after we leave--they'll be too busy imagining what's going on between Helen and Menelaus. *smug smile* I feel like Tallulah Bankhead--I can upstage someone even when I'm not on stage!
So--this blocking worked. We did the scene and Nora behaved herself. And Julie actually added blocking (gasp!). Tom was pretty funny at the end--he was getting more and more worked up as Menelaus and then jerked me upstage for our exit. It went well enough except I was annoyed at the end when Julie was only giving direction to Tom and me, and said nothing to Nora. Believe me, there are a few ways in which Nora can improve her performance, like be a lot less boring. (Although I guess that's not the easiest note to implement. "Suck less.") I think Nora's been complaining to Julie, and Julie wants to appease her, which all sort of disgusts me. Nora, your problem is personal. If you have a personal problem with an actor, you resolve it yourself, you don't go running to the director. But OTOH, if Nora isn't getting criticism and Tom and I are, our performances will only improve, whereas she'll stay the same.
Tom and I were talking about our scene and I put on my director cap and told him we should add blocking at the end that nakes it clear even thought Menelaus talks about having Helen killed, he doesn't actually do it. I said "we need to make it clear, with something physical, that you're still susceptible to me, like you can't let go of my hand or something. We could also look at each other the whole time but I think something physical, actual blocking, would be better." And then another idea occurred to me: "you could say all this stuff about 'take her to Greece where she will be killed as a punishment for her sins' and then completely contradict it by immediately dragging me off." I had to break down the humor for him, why that would be funny--"because the louder you get, the funnier it is when you contradict yourself, and immediately, by taking me off, especially because the audience is going to know why you can't kill me."
On a completely mean-spirited note, this blocking is especially satisfying because I know damn well the audience is not going to be listening to Nora after we leave--they'll be too busy imagining what's going on between Helen and Menelaus. *smug smile* I feel like Tallulah Bankhead--I can upstage someone even when I'm not on stage!
So--this blocking worked. We did the scene and Nora behaved herself. And Julie actually added blocking (gasp!). Tom was pretty funny at the end--he was getting more and more worked up as Menelaus and then jerked me upstage for our exit. It went well enough except I was annoyed at the end when Julie was only giving direction to Tom and me, and said nothing to Nora. Believe me, there are a few ways in which Nora can improve her performance, like be a lot less boring. (Although I guess that's not the easiest note to implement. "Suck less.") I think Nora's been complaining to Julie, and Julie wants to appease her, which all sort of disgusts me. Nora, your problem is personal. If you have a personal problem with an actor, you resolve it yourself, you don't go running to the director. But OTOH, if Nora isn't getting criticism and Tom and I are, our performances will only improve, whereas she'll stay the same.
