Though this wasn’t the most tangibly productive week we’ve had at the Villa, I feel like we got a lot done in ways other than casting and line-reading.  Most importantly, it seems that every week we return to the Villa and the kids have a bit more genuine interest in the subject than the week prior.  I’m not sure if that is a matter of their comfort with us, or the material, or both, but I now feel like we are getting some well-thought out answers to the questions we ask.

This past week, we took a break from line-reading, which it seemed the kids needed, and talked more about the sort of setting and mood we’d like to aim for with this play.  As I assumed, the kids were fairly bored by a historical look at Scottish royalty.  Instead, they wanted to modernize their play and roles a bit, instead opting for a roaring 20s, possibly mafia-esque sort of vibe.  They seem interested in dressing well, representing a different kind of royalty that could’ve been seen in the early 20th-century United States.

I think this will be the first week that we are able to get this thing off the ground, finally moving toward the stage and starting to set up the physical layout of the scene.  Our casting is complete and (I think) the kids now have a firm grasp of the play’s plot, so hopefully we can start to make some real progress as far as putting on a production goes.

This week was uneventful at the Villa. We were in a stance between line-reading at the table and actually acting out the play on stage due to the absence of several of our actors. Because of this awkwardness, the meeting last Thursday was more of a conversation than a rehearsal.

The main topic of conversation was the prop-list. We wanted to talk with our actors about the time period they would like for our performance to represent. We had brought this up weeks ago, but the knowledge that our actors now have of the plot helped them make a decision. After throwing around ideas, we settled on the 1920’s “Jazz Age”. The actors would dress in suits to show their status as “royalty” or “nobility”. I think that this is a great idea, our actors will appear as professionals with a unique idea.

After this discussion of the time period, the actors brought up ideas on how to get our hands on some cheap suits. One of the actors, Deandre, was exceptionally well dressed in a blazer. His friend across the table mentioned a nearby thrift shop that he had found excellent suits in. In addition to this idea, I know that the Villa has an area where clothes are made available for students: it may be a valuable resource in gathering costume materials. I have yet to speak to Professor Bezio about these ideas on costuming.

An uneventful week at the Villa, overall, but I am excited to see what we can achieve with this new framework.