AYL: something a little different.

So we’re heading into the home stretch of As You Like It rehearsals. It’s an interesting time. Off-book. Until tonight, however, they could still call for “LINE!” Performances begin to settle into a groove.

Settle. Not a good verb in my opinion.

A groove? Could easily turn into a rut…

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AYL: off-book

We are now in the “off-book” section of the rehearsal process for As You Like It. No more scripts in hand; lines are supposed to be memorized.

Supposed to be…

At this point in the process, if an actor blanks on the line, they can still call out “LINE!” and they will be fed the line. And I’m good with it as long as they stay in character and emotion when the call for it (none of this, “oh, sh!t…I knew this… god, what was it? oh, line!”).

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AYL: dance, dance, dance

Last night was the “off-book” deadline for actors in As You Like It. No more scripts in hands, we can begin to fine-tune performances and really explore characterization.

Not that they had any text to worry about last night.

Last night was all about the dance finale…

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AYL: this tree

Exhausting weekend… but really pretty exhilarated, too. The tree, that damned tree, this cool tree set-piece for As You Like It is pretty much done (save for touch-ups)…

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AYL: getting the band together…

So last night was our first “band” rehearsal for As You Like It.

Beyond the two musical/lipsync dance numbers, our production is filled with live music as well.

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AYL: rehearsal = magic

I’ve always loved rehearsal. It’s a place where the magic happens. Don’t get me wrong: performance is great…it’s the payoff, when you get to see how all of that hard work has created something for the audience, and that’s special, too. But rehearsal? There is just something magical–a kind of alchemy–that happens between a group of actors when you’re in the act of discovery.

As You Like It is no different.

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