Much deserved sigh of relief...
The past two weeks have been a dozy. We arrived in New Haven and began our Technical Rehearsals. If you've ever been a part of a theatre production, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, let me explain. A Technical Rehearsal period (usually a week to a week and a half), or as we loving refer to in in the theatre world: "Hell Week", is when all the elements that make the performance start to come together. The crew begins to work in tandem with the actors and directors and creative teams to set and focus the lights, learn the easiest way to make the scene changes happen, see how best to handle the quick costume changes and mix the singing and orchestra and sound effects together so nothing is too over or under powering for the audience - or the actors on stage. With all of the departments now working together - it becomes a long, slow process, especially for the actors - who basically spend most of the time waiting for their scenes to come up or pausing during the scenes so lights can be adjusted. My big number in Act 2, Moon And Me - is probably one of the most technically challenging pieces in the show. There is so much going on that the audience is not supposed to see to make the 'magic' happen - and it has to be very precise. I think after all was said and done, we spent a total of 10 hours just to perfect that 2 1/2 minute number.
At the same time, its very exciting. As an actor, Tech is the first time you are seeing all of the elements you will be using in the show. You have a day to learn how to put on the make up that has been designed for your character - and you get to see everyone in their costume for the first time. Its also the first time you get to hear and sing with the live orchestra - and believe me, most songs sound a million times different when just played on a rehearsal piano in the studio than they do with full orchestrations. The first day we started to run rehearsals in full costume and make up was absolutely mind blowing - seeing the characters take on their physical personas was so exciting. Especially with such iconic figures as in the Addams Family.At the end of our Tech period we began to preview the show. Basically, that means we were performing for live, paying audiences - but the creative team was still around to make adjustments and tweak scenes/jokes/songs that weren't landing right yet. Its a great time, because you actually get to see how an audience will react to the piece. After a month of rehearsals, you start to wonder "Are these jokes funny?" "Am I putting the right emotions into my song?" So its great to have a crowd there to react to what you're doing and give you some assurance that you're on the right track still. I was very lucky to be able to invite some friends from NYC and the CT area to come out and see one of our Preview shows - so that was an extra bonus to hear their words of praise.
Even with the 12 hour days - we found some time to unwind and explore the city of New Haven. If you ever find yourself in town...there are tons of restaurants worth visiting. Some of the ones I'd recommend are: Claire's Cornucopia (a great Vegan place that offers everything from Italian sodas to cupcakes to delicious lunch and dinner entrees), The Meatball House (Meatballs any way you can imagine them), The Noodle House (Some for the best Asian soups I ever had - and HUGE) and Prime 16 (Really imaginative burgers and a great selection of local beers). There's also the home of the first hamburger: Louis' Lunch. They make it the same way the did back then, cooking it in what appears to be an 1800s cast iron version of a Foreman grill.
New Haven is also the home to Yale University. On our day off, a few of us took a visitors tour of the campus. The introductory video they showed us in the Visitors Center was enough to make me wanna go there - it was a musical - and hysterical. In fact I was really pleasantly surprised by the tour. I always imagined Yale, Harvard, those Ivy League schools to be really stuffy places. But there's actually a really light hearted feel all over the campus - which is just beautiful. The most interesting thing I saw were 2 bas relief sculptures over the doors to the Law School. One depicted a teacher yelling at his law students because they fell asleep in class - the other depicted citizens yelling at a judge because he fell asleep in court. It was really eye opening - I never pictured humor fitting into Yale...especially their law school. All in all - a very pleasant day...and now I wanna go to Yale.
Finally, though, all of our hard work paid off. We have officially finished our rehearsal period. Our previews were a great success and incredibly well received. We are ready for tour to begin. We are getting ready to head off to Rochester, NY in the morning for our official opening night and start of tour! Woo! Plus - its our first real bus ride as a tour (7 hours). While its sad to leave New Haven with its fun college atmosphere and beautiful architecture - I'm ready to start the next phase of this show and see how it settles into itself. Its been quite a journey to this point and I'm already incredibly proud of the work we are doing. It'll be even more fun to see what it becomes as time goes by. Onward to Rochester and Opening Night!
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