lillibet | Reviving The Margaret Ghost

You can read my latest post for the Brown Paper Tickets blog about The Margaret Ghost below, but you should really check out the site, where several actors and staff members have also been posting about their experiences with the show.

There's a moment in every rehearsal process that I like to call "the stumble-thru". This is the point where we've blocked the whole show, everyone's mostly off book, and we can see whether or not we have all the piece of a show.

It's not "the first run" because the expectation is that there will be problems and lots of them. The stumble-thru is good practice for the actors, but it's also an excellent diagnostic tool for me. What's working? What's not working? When we just keep going, rather than stopping every time someone misses a line or crosses to the wrong side of the stage, I can see the shape of the thing and know where I need to focus our attention.

Stumble-thrus rarely look much like the final version of the play. There is too much missing, both in terms of the technical aspects (set, props, costumes, lighting) and in terms of the acting. Usually this is the actors' first chance to really let go and be these characters and it's often fairly spotty.

Not this time. This time the characters are so familiar already that even when there are mistakes and moments of laughter, the actors quickly slip back into their grooves. A couple of people have stopped by to watch and there is laughter and silence at the appropriate moments. The actors are comfortable enough with the infrastructure of their parts to begin the vital task of play--finding the reactions and gestures that, even when they're not the focus of a scene, that make the play breathe like a real thing. Already, this is closer to a performance than some plays I've seen on stage--at least one of which I've directed, lest I be accused of casting stones.

It's not ready yet. The actors are beginning to reach the point of giving me even more than I'm looking for, which is a marvelous gift for a director. And there are still some places where what I hoped would work isn't, so it's time for me to come up with something else to try. There is much work to do in the remaining weeks.

But we're getting there.