Ink Rehearsals: Day "Aaaaaargh

 

Tonight was our designer run; the first opportunity for our costume, set, lights, and sound designers to see the show run through from beginning to end. It also happens to have been the our very first attempt at actually running the show through from beginning to end.

To say that it was a little rough would do a grave disservice to the masterwork of chaos, confusion, and general bewilderment we treated our intrepid designers to this evening.

To be fair, I admit that I'm being a bit hyperbolic here. In all honesty, given the complexity of this show, and the physical and emotional demands on the cast, we are about where I expected us to be at this point in the process. Note that "at this point in the process" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that statement. It is, after all, all about the process. 

"Do the Work. Trust the process."

These are mantras every theatre artist learns very early on, and returns to on difficult evenings like this one. There is always, without fail, that one point in rehearsals for every show when all of the progress you have made to that point seems to disappear, leaving you confused, bewildered, and utterly convinced of your own ineptitude as an artist.

"Do the Work. Trust the process."

But, we know where the rough spots are now. We've exposed our underbelly and revealed our weaknesses. And "at this point in the process" that's precisely what we need to be doing. Now begins the work of smoothing out those rough spots, and polishing the spots that are already relatively smooth. Never mind the fact that we happen to have more rough spots than smooth right now. It's all part of the process. We will do the work.

"This is fine."