Pieces become a whole, final post

November 15th, Sunday, start of the final week before showtime!

The set is going up! The lights and switches are being tested, cued up today. John and the crew are hanging wood planks from the ceiling to cover the sound stage where James’ piano will be set up.

A wall has been knocked down on the side of the stage area to create more space. The bed is set up with posts and doorknobs and ship ropes decorating it.

James is up on the sound stage, playing piano from time to time, blowing the fog horn. The other sound crew member experiments with horse hoof sounds by clip clopping the wood blocks that hang from the ceiling together. This also can very much resemble the sound of water lapping against the side of a boat.

Deb asks me to melt the candles so they stick onto the puppet theatre. Everyone is busy setting things up or warming up to start the run through.

Out in the fireplace lounge, there is a spoken word rally going on for equal marriage rights, and later there is punk music playing so loudly that the actors have a hard time hearing one another.

The cast runs through the whole show, marking the physicality and saying all the text quickly, yelling out cues to each other to remember things. I find it interesting to compare this to the mark through of a dance piece, in which the dancers will skip most of the big stunts unless they are decided upon.

Everyone wishes each other good luck for the first full run through. Sheila says, “See you on the other side!”

The lights go down and the run through begins. I can feel the stress in everyone’s minds as they put all they test out everything they have worked on. Bob watches critically and makes notes to share with the cast afterward. Kristin keeps time and gives lines when the actors forget.

I am finally seeing all the pieces put together, and I love noticing all the little touches they have added since they first began rehearsals. They have come so far as a cast.

I like watching Dario play with the stove that Barbra cooks on when she is remembering her mother. The stove is just a stool with a hole in it under which Dario holds some ripped pieces of paper and shakes them around to simulate a flame. It’s very dreamlike the way they are using the white pieces of paper for so many props.

James is experimenting on the piano up on the sound stage behind the hanging wood planks. Bob wants him to keep playing while Barbra is speaking but to play quieter so we can hear Barbra better. Bob is standing downstage where the audience would be and is motioning to James, but James can’t see him. Bob walks over where James can see him and signals with his hand. James stops playing for a second, but then Bob motions to keep playing and nods. He makes a shushing sign to tell James to just be a little softer. James understands. I am amazed at how in sync Bob is with the cast and crew. Everyone has such easy communication because they have spent so much time working together and knowing one another. It’s really something beautiful.

The fog horn from the sound stage is perfect. It sounds just like a ship coming into harbor. The cast finishes the run through, and Bob gives notes to cast and crew, recognizes errors and glitches that still need to be worked out. All in all, I think they will be more than ready by opening night.

I am confident in their abilities to deliver a spectacularly moving performance this weekend. I am excited for the full tech rehearsal and to see everything put together in the final product. I know that their work has transformed the piece from its first stages to what it is now, and that is something to be truly proud of. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to observe this process, and I thank everyone who has been involved for allowing me to watch their artistic minds at work.