It's The Little Things...

Seems like a long time since I took to the keyboard and put something here...and checking, I find it has been! Busy, busy, busy is all I can offer by way of an excuse. Actually no, not an excuse, a reason.

We're well into initial rehearsals as I type; blocking complete (but still being tweaked); actors getting to grips with their characters; peripherals dropping into place nicely...it's all feeling rather good!

As we run through various scenes, placing people more effectively, talking about what the character is aiming for (I hesitate to use the word 'motivation'), generally getting a 'feel' for the whole, it is the little things I seem to notice above all else. It's obvious to me - and I might be wrong, but I like to think not - that the guys have been reading the script and thinking about the skins into which they are climbing. They're getting, dare I say it, excited by the prospect of playing these characters? Several instances of me asking them to do something and them pitching in with their thoughts of what character should do...and, in nine cases out of ten, it works. They're working the roles. They get it.

There's a look on someone's face, during a break as we chat, as they feel another little piece of the puzzle drop into place, as their character begins to stand straighter in their minds, as they recognise him or her as themselves. It's very exciting!

And there's the chemistry that develops between the characters; I'm watching it grow through each rehearsal. There were several moments at the last get-together where something clicked and a scene started to really flourish into a thing with a life of it's own; that will become incredibly moving and poignant. Or particularly unsettling, planting a seed of understanding in an audience in both instances.

This little patch of ground that we have carefully turned and raked and planted will, in the fullness of time (although not too much time!), begin to bear fruit of the most amazing sort. As the books start to go down (just sayin') the real physicality of a performance will also start to develop more fully...and Lear is a very physical piece of theatre.

Another 'little' thing of note was the arrival of some of the flags we're going to use. Beautifully realised by Lyndall (thankyouthankyouthankyou!), it's another piece that's dropped into place, for me anyway, that makes me think that the time is drawing ever closer when those flags will be seen by hundreds of people within the context of what we're trying to achieve. I try not think of the scale of what we're doing; the last thing I need to be is a gibbering wreck by the middle of next week. Yet it is a huge undertaking and, thankfully, I have a brilliant cast and wonderful back-stage crew who are all beavering away. The frantically beavering away bit comes later!

Jenny (our wardrobe manager) and I will be heading off to the costumiers next week for a rummage and attempting to get the perfect mix that will compliment not only the actors but their characters. Getting that bit right, and you can't doubt the importance of this as far as I'm concerned, is paramount. It bolsters the whole incredibly and gives the cast something else to add to the arsenal of their performance. That, too, is very exciting.

The back-stage communicators arrived this morning and are currently on-charge before we wander about the flat aimlessly, testing those little suckers out. Now the crew can talk to each other without having to send runners or carrier-pigeons. A small development, but another little thing that will make all our lives easier on the night(s).

In other news:

still looking for an Oswald, 

still searching for a King of France/Servant 1/Captain.

Not panicking, not even breaking a sweat...well, maybe a small sweat. The calls have gone out...I await a response. 

I hope the rest is not silence!