This was a very full day! We did a few warm-up exercises and then went straight into story structure and character building. This mornings story was called Carnival. It began as what seemed like a haunted house, but then it turned into a fun house with an indoor roller coaster.
After a snack break we workshopped with props for the first time. Just random things backstage. It was a lot of fun seeing how normal objects could be used in different imaginative ways and how they could help to inspire story and character. Bonnie did a beautiful job demonstrating and the girls came up with some really creative choices.
Then, the girls went into a second story in the morning each using one prop to inspire the story and the character. It was too hot to go outside today. The second story was called Grandparents Day. Jaden used glasses and they inspired her to become a character that was supersmart and she played a teacher. Maddie had a candle. It had a bit of a life of it’s own and sometimes talked back to her. Gabrielle had a hairdryer that was sometimes working and sometimes not. Zara had a backscratcher attached to her but it wouldn’t do the job. And, Leela had a cane and became a grandmother figure visiting the classroom.
The props brought out the comedy in the girls. Our grandmother character was very cranky and it appears that she had done some jail time for robbing fast food establishments. They did a GREAT job!
Lunch was fun. It was scheduled to last an hour but the girls wanted to jump back in with only half a lunch break. They had been thinking of Gertrude Ederle since yesterday. That’s when we watched some video clips of her. So, we read her monologue today from Cynthia Coopers script and they jumped into the work. I think the biggest reaction from the students came when they realized that the newspapers had already printed Trudy’s failure even as she completed the task and walked out onto the beach. There was some discussion about that. But, their version really captured the celebratory spirit of Trudy, I think. They didn’t focus on her obstacles so much as telling the story of her amazing successes.
We then rehearsed the first half of the How She Played the Game June performance. The work will be connected by voiceovers from Eleo. This isn’t fully in Cindy’s script so we had a nice phone conversation today. The show begins with the outrage of Eleo Sears as she shares a letter from D. S. Harnes demanding she stop wearing pants. This has always been the fuel for the play. Then, we use the convention of letters via voiceover to go from scene to scene. This will allow the campers to tell these adult stories in their own improvised ways at the ages of 6, 8, 9, and 10. The audience witnesses Eleo sending a letter to Althea Gibson, then Gertrude Ederle, then Sonya Henie, and finally Babe Didrikson. So, I’m at the computer now doing quick voiceover cuts to put in the show.
I also hope to use the images of the real life women in the show. The clock is ticking.
Tomorrow we will focus on reviewing vocal projection and staying open with staging first thing. Then we’ll build another story with Bonnie and Maddie for the final time. After lunch we will get Sonya down and incorporate her into the whole show by doing a full rehearsal/with tech and props and costumes. Friday will be really busy for us. We’ll work up Babe in the morning and run the show throughout the day. We will have a public performance at 7pm. Tickets are $5. I hope to blog on Thursday. I don’t think a Friday blog is likely.
See you soon at the Venus Theatre Play Shack!
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