Unfortunately, we only had four participants show up this week. Only one of the missing participants told us she would be absent, so it was concerning when we waited 15 minutes and no one else showed up. I know our participants have shown a high level of excitement and interest in the project in past weeks, so we are all hoping this week is a fluke (perhaps due to extended Thanksgiving travel plans) and that we will be back in business next week.

Fortunately, the actors who were present had two very important scenes together – the fight scene at the end and the first scene with Malcolm and Macduff. We were able to run through these scenes several times, giving the actors tips, refreshing their memory (the fight scene was a bit off the first time we tried it, but we reviewed the blocking and straightened things out), and discussing the meaning behind the scenes. We had a particularly long discussion about the emotions and intent of Malcolm and Macduff in the first scene. We ended rehearsal by running back through this scene, and I believe it is one of the strongest scenes in our part.

Next week is crunch time, and the final rehearsal before the show. I hope everyone is present so that we are fully prepared to put on the best show possible!