This week was a little bit overwhelming compared to past weeks because we had ten students show up to class. We found it a bit difficult to keep the students focused because only a few of them could be on stage at one time. We also struggled with character assignments because some of the students had already established a connection with one of the characters from past rehearsals, and a few of the students’ choices overlapped with each other. We managed to work it out though, treating the rehearsal as a sort of audition for the parts, and assigning different students to the same character in different scenes. This not only solved the problem of students fighting over a character, but also allowed Lexi, Matt, and I to get a better sense of who we should assign to each role for the final production.
Despite having so many students in attendance, the rehearsal was very productive and we got through the majority of ACT III. Lexi, Matt, and I continued to mark changes as we went so that we can bring the students finalized scripts the next time we meet. These finalized scripts will hopefully be without any of the words that caused many of the students trouble and will make for an easier transition into the final performance.
Our next meeting is (terrifyingly) the day before the final production, so as we left we encouraged the students to practice as much as possible. I suggested that the students who felt shy, and struggled with projecting, should stand in front of their mirrors at home and practice.
Hopefully next week will be another productive one during which we can get a good sense of who will be at the final production, what roles they will be playing, and how much help from Matt, Lexi, and I they will need.