Preview Notes - 2/21

All: I generally don’t take a lot of notes at Preview…from here on out the show is yours!

All: Solid opening sequence…invest it with meaning!

Dreamers: ‘There’s a girl I’…leave as the lights go down, not before

Dreamers: Late into position on ‘House Upon a Hill’…just a bit tighter please

Maya: The lights need to shift AT the song shift between moments under ‘House Upon a Hill’, not before…we don’t want the audience staring at people doing nothing

Olivia/Solomon/Clara: Dress the bed after you make it during the India transition…2nd Note.

Grace: Breathe, and slow down!

Costume: Safety pinning Grace’s apron?  Can this be a thing?

Maya: *This is a change: Don’t bring up the lights after ‘Are you my uncle Archibald’ until Maggie begins to exit

Levi: Look up during ‘For an old man knows…’ 2nd note

Levi: Enunciate.

Jackson: Much stronger with ‘Winter’s on the Wing’…nice!

Jackson: Slow down your dialogue…

Ella/Jackson: Rushed your pre-‘and you’ll be here to see it dialogue’ 2nd note.

Dreamers: You look bored during the storm…energize it!!!!!!!

Costume: I prefer Cassidy’s hair down when she’s in the bed.

Alexis: don’t come so far downstage during ‘Round Shouldered Man’…the mic’ll pick you up better a bit further upstage

Parker: gotta get those lines!

Act II

Quartet: you have the freedom to gesture…you don’t need to just stand and sing.  Find your drive.

Ella: do you know what the downbeats sound like for your jump/spins at the end of the solo dance sequence?  We should run this.

Levi: turn your lantern on.

Maggie: Not bad for a first run at the reprise…

Maddy: Pick up the vocal energy…

All: you can’t hang out in the voms during the acts or entryways…we can see your shadows (Liz, this means you!)

Jackson/Ella/Cassidy/Grace: you can stretch it out a bit more going into the Day garden…maybe explore each plant with the wheelchair

Great final moment, team…tearjerker!!!

Dress Notes, 2/20

See me if you have any questions!  -J.

All - You’ll have applause to deal with…ride the wave of energy and start on the down swing

Maggie - Late on your vocal entry for ‘Clusters of Crocus’

Dreamers - watch hissing your ’s’ on Mistress Mary…lengthen the vowel

Colin - Hankie up the sleeve, not the breast pocket

Dreamers - End couples have to be tighter on the initial line for ‘Mistress Mary’ (2nd note)

Maya - Lights on ‘There’s a Girl I’ need to come up just before they start singing

All - Hit ‘Can it be a dream?’ hard, and with purpose

Olivia and Annika - we were Late on ‘House on a Hill’ entrance

Buffy and Grady - Stand closer to each other on ‘House on a Hill’…you’re married

Dreamers - If you’re not sustaining notes the length we did in rehearsal, then at least cutoff together…that said, the final one was solid!

Dreamers - we’re missing harmony…if you’re on melody, back off a bit

Parker/Ella - Super timing on Misselthwaite entry

India Change Dreamers - The bed needs to look good…timing was solid, but dress the bed neatly

Grady - So much better on that opening solo!!! (from both Jon and I!!)

Maya - Don’t rush the cue out of ‘I heard someone crying’

Diego - Strong note and intonation at end of ‘I heard Someone Crying’…nice work!

Diego/Ella/Maggie - Hit your accented notes on ‘I am lost’

Grace - if you want to straighten the coat on the chair to start the scene (you started to) then do it…that’d be appropriate

Grace - the shocking word is ‘kill’ the mice, not ‘catch’…that’s where your emphasis should be

Maggie - As soon as the lights start to cross fade from Mary’s room to heaven you can come out

Dreamers - Dance was  hot mess tonight…angry faces, butts out, off step.  Do we need to run it?

Diego - Lovely work on ‘Girl in the Valley’…nice register switches

Ella - You have to come all the way in for ‘Are you my uncle Archibald?’ (2nd note)

Levi - Look up if you have to to get the beat

Grace - Look over the end of ‘It’s a maze’…

Levi - Watch over playing the physicality…keep him slow and deliberate

Jackson - Big improvement in Winter’s on the Wing…push for even more deliberate moments and choices, as it’s almost there

Ella - Gotta add the key in the plant to your preshow checklist…I know why it was missed today, but can’t in the future

Nick - Show Her The Key felt slow tonight

Ella/Jackson - Don’t rush the dialogue into the last ‘…and you’ll be here to see it’; you have more time

Grady - Nice timing for ‘Rose’ line

All - Solid timing and energy on ‘Bit of Earth’ scene prior to song

Dreamers - Looking out on Storms = good; looking out passively and w/o intensity = boring…find your intensity

Kian - Don’t oversing @ the start of Lily’s eyes…give yourself somewhere to go

Kian - Don’t breathe in the middle of a word (ex. Ha-zel)

Kian/Diego - Watch your phrasing of breath

Diego - Watch going flat at the end of the song

Dreamers - You have to clear quickly at the end of Storm II

Cooper - Are the overhead mics up for Alexis at the top of ‘Round Shouldered Man’ for the ‘oohs’

Cassidy/Ella - Hold out true a bit longer…it’s beautiful!

Parker - You and Ella were too far stage left after you drug her off Cassidy after ‘Round-Shouldered Man’

All - If you are unmiked and have dialogue, you must seriously project it and aim at a miked character’s element

Maya - Lights came up on ‘Final Storm’ too early

Gordon - Final Storm wasn’t enough energy from the orchestra

Props - All of the lanterns need their lamps painted with polish

Ella - Don’t rush the final exit

Act II

Ella - Come out in the blackout to start act II

Ella - You super rushed the cross Stage Left after having mom and dad hold hands…light cues time off that

Johnathan/Solomon - Come in strong on that transitional…otherwise good work on the timing; also, open your mouths and sing!

Maggie/Buffy - You rushed the dialogue in ‘Quartet’

Buffy - Keep the chest voice notes bright, or you’ll lose them

Maggie/Buffy - Sing ‘Children’ at the end of the song…all we heard were the consonants

Annika/Olivia - You need to come out with Levi and Colin after Quartet; also, don’t breathe between your last two words ‘never-known’

Cooper - We missed Colin’s mic to start the transitional into ‘Race you to the top of the morning’

Maya - we rushed the light cue into ‘come fly away home’ transitional

Props - We need to add ‘clean up the shrubs’ to the reshow list

Jackson - Get timing on the first note of ‘Wick’

Jackson - Much stronger on the movement during ‘Wick’

Ella/Jackson - Watch bobbing your head to the music to keep time!

All: Diction…clarify and enunciate every single word…that’ll also slow your rate of speech

Maggie/Cassidy - the word is Gar-Den, not Gar-Din…sounds prettier properly pronounced

Grace: Lantern can be brighter

Lexa/Alexis: Much better timing at the start of come spirit come charm

Grace: We have to secure that apron

Grace: Great job of pushing the tempo WHILE syncing up with Caldwell!

All: nice relationship work after the dance in come spirit come charm

Maya: can we dim the light level on the screens?

Costume: we have to work on Maddy’s hair

Maddy: Find your energy…it feels like you’re sick or tired

Maddy: Does her behavior shock you?  Is it expected?

All: The timing and staging went to poo at the end of the group work in Archie’s study

Grace: Check your lyrics to ‘Hold On’; also, you can take a bigger breath before ‘away’…trust yourself

Props: No flowers in the small-leafed plant…it’s a water plant and it looks funny.  the remainder have improved immensely!

All: Better timing in Day Garden lead in

Grady: ‘Crocus’ is higher, note-wise

All: 8-bar phrases, not 4-bar

Crew: Reseal the curtain edges

Notes from the Stage Managers

-no cups backstage…unless they have a lid they are a safety hazard! 

-mic check is at 615pm, you have enough time to get into costume and get your mic placed, being on time will give us more warmup time

-audience tonight, so no walking on stage preshow/during intermission!

-fancy day tomorrow

-We need to leave enough food for the orchestra…their call is later than yours!

From the Costume Team

Hello, Company -

Please remember to bring in the following items to flesh out your costumes by Sitzprobe on Saturday, Feb. 18:

Male Roles: Belts

Female Roles: Pantyhose, Character Shoes

Specifics:
-Dr Craven/Soldiers: Brown formal shoes/dress shoes
-Archie: Black formal/dress shoes
-Ben/Colin: Boots
-Dreamers: Dress shoes (Black or Brown)
-Mary: Lace-up Boots

**Please match belt to shoes, if possible**

This IS a period piece, so nothing ultra modern...we're evoking 1906 England/India.

If you have any questions, or don't have what is listed above, please contact Kai, Clementine, Girsch, or Deja!

j.

Notes: 2/10

Notes: 2/10

-p. 9: Maggie, start your initial entry earlier, but move a bit more slowly

-p. 9: Lennox family, great physicality and pace on the initial entry

-p. 10: Dreamers, sell the dance throughout!  The steps are pretty much there, now engage each other a bit more.

-p. 12: Ella, find her bratty, pompous attitude...look down your nose at people below you.

-p. 12: Clara, just speak the lines...don’t actively try to ‘do’ anything with them.  Keep it simple.

-p. 13: Johnathan, ‘correct’ your wife with the line ‘What a nightmare it must have been’...it’s more of a ‘go easy on the girl’ kind of statement.

-p. 13: The wagon comes on in the dark prior to the Shelleys’ lines...we’ll restage this today.

-p. 14: Dreamers, go over your entry/initial singing cues for ‘High on a Hill…’

-p. 17: Colin/Annia, group tighter on the corner when you come to a stop.

-p. 18: Grady, nail both the physical entry, and the vocal entry.

-p. 19: Maggie, enter just a bit sooner prior to ‘I heard someone crying’

-p. 19: Diego, stand DC of the platform for ‘I heard someone singing’

-p. 21: Grace, solid with the dialect...just slow up a tiny bit.

-p. 22: Grace, really try to console her with ‘eh now lassie…’

-p. 22: Grace, don’t grab the wall...it’s fake ;-)

-p. 25: Ella, leave first at the end of the scene.  Let Grace’s line ‘Mary Lennox’ bring you back.

-p. 26: Annia, watch rushing your curtsey during the dance...try and sync up with the female characters in front of you

-p. 26: Alex/Johnathan, watch having your turn-steps getting out of sync with the rest of the group...be precise.

-p. 27: Diego, open up to the audience.

-p. 27: Both, let’s get you moving around the space more.

-p. 28: Ella, on Diego’s ‘and then one morning…’ line, you can hear and react to how bizarre that series of words is.

-p. 29: Jackson, start the song onstage

-p. 33-34: Ella/Levi, good scene

-p. 36+: Jackson, slow up and clarify your diction a bit...got a bit rushed.

-p. 39: Ella/Jackson, you did what I asked trying to ground the opening to the song and take your beats...a little too much!  Now, after those initial couple of lines the pacing can pick up.

-p. 40: Ella, convince the bird to let you in...it’s improving, just be clear in your arc here.

-p. 41-42: Ella, stay focused within the scene

-p. 41-42: Jackson, smile!  Enjoy this!

-p. 44: Ella, find your intimidation and awkwardness during the conversation with Archie.

-p. 44: Diego, her reaction to the school option really throws him...he really doesn’t get kids

-p. 45: Diego, don’t rush ‘Speak up, child’...let her hesitate

-p. 45: Diego, let the spoken ‘A bit of earth’ be a realization...a ‘huh, really?’ sort of statement

-Dreamers: In general, let’s do a little more physical work.

-p. 49: Diego, make sure you’re not farther center than Annika and Alexandra when you sing ‘Lily’s Eyes’

-p. 51: Ella, take the candle with you to explore the house during Storm II

-p. 52: Ella, wait for the Dreamers to clear before you say ‘Who are you?’

-p. 53: Cassidy, find his bossiness on ‘Come back tomorrow’

-p. 57: Cassidy, stay lying down after the shot.

-All...get those lines down!

-All...stay in character/focus throughout, until you’re offstage.

-p. 60: Dreamers, once you face front on the weird, discordant stuff, don’t turn to face Mary any longer.

Act II:

-Diego, general note: I think he fears messing things up.  He kind of wants to help and to do the right things, but he also can be paralyzed into retreating.

-p. 73: Jackson, tease her through that opening sequence, have fun with your friend!

-p. 75: Ella, great job nailing down the actions under the lines during the song and dialogue here!

-All...the word ‘yea’ is pronounced ‘yay’.

-p. 77: Cassidy, great energy!

-p. 77: Parker, tighten things up here...it’s gotta cook!

-p. 78: Parker/Zoe/Grace, you have have to nail down the sense of countering each other in your movement...constantly read and react to each other’s movement relative to the audience

-p. 79: Grace, very well motivated on the exit.

-p. 79: Cassidy, every time he has to admit he’s messed up, it’s gotta be almost painful

-p. 81: Cassidy, great arc under Maggie’s song...keep it up!

-p. 81: Maggie, a blocking change here - don’t sit down right away, go to the headboard and look down.  Don’t sit until the two of you are singing simultaneously.

-p. 89: Cassidy/Grace/Jackson/Ella/Levi, keep the reality of sick boy/middle of the night tense throughout.

-p.89: Cassidy, you can’t stand up straight...you’re too tall

-p. 93-94: Maddy, much stronger in terms of timing and attitude

-p. 95: Ella, you have to pass downstage of Maddy after the food stomp.

-p. 98: Grace, you have to enter much further into the room

-Diego, ‘Where in the world’ was great

-Cassidy, the end hug was totally delightful...keep it

-Dreamers, smile and look at Mary as you hit that final song

No Rehearsal Today, 2/3

Just a quick reminder that there is no rehearsal today.  The district has (wisely) closed buildings due to icy and dangerous driving conditions, meaning no access.  Please review your music, listen to the dialect recordings, listen to the show recording, be doing something each day that helps you do your part to push the show forward toward our 2/22 opening!

Dialect Files are Up! (Finally)

The necessary files to begin dialect work are now up on the blog, under the microphone image to the right of the page.

Please read the 'How To Use This Book' pdf first, so that you understand how the instructions work.  Then select the reading file germain to your character: Yorkshire, or British RP.  The audio files are the examples that are quoted in the readings...and are great for getting the basics in your ears.

The underlying truth to this work is that for all the authenticity we may strive for, our primary concern is creating a truthful illusion for our audience...to establish the location and relationships aurally.  We must 1) be clear in our communication with our audience; 2) be consistent, to establish the truth of our world; and then 3) sound like the recordings.

This is a layer to be worked.  When you're memorized, and have some down time on the show, this is a good thing to use to help us bring the audience into the play...bon appetit!

j.

Crew Meeting - 1/30

Attn: Crew (or potential Crew) - Meeting at Lunch on Mon. 1/30! 
Come whether you've signed up, or you just want to get involved! #SW2

Public Meeting 2/2 @ 700pm

Attn: All parent/guardian/alumnus/supporters of the (SW)2 Company -

I'm calling together all of those folks who would like to be a part of the fine work at Wilson HS through our SouthWest StageWorks Theatre Company in the Theatre Lab/Drama Room on Thursday, February 2nd at 700pm.  

I'll be laying out a basic vision for our work, some ways people can get involved in the Company, ways to support (SW)2, and hopefully to open up a structure for building a strong network for enabling the fine and compelling work we're famous for.

Please bring your ideas and input!  I look forward to working with you as we take our Company and our work forward into 'The Secret Garden' and beyond!

J. Miller, Director

Secret Garden Tickets Now Onsale!

We are officially dialed in!

Dates for The Secret Garden are set and tickets are onsale! Go to southweststageworks.com to get yours now!

#SW2

Time to Band Together...

Well, nothing like a record-type cold/snow snap to test the best laid plans of people...

In case you've not seen the notices, PPS has closed all buildings, including WHS, until Tuesday, eliminating both the Sunday tech call, and Monday's rehearsal.  This makes the remaining schedule very tight, and will demand a lot out of all of us.  I believe we can do this...but we both have to want it, and be ready to make this show our primary concern over the next several weeks, along with Finals.  I'm allowing all of you a 24-hour window to comment on the schedule privately with me via email (mjamie@pps.net) before I finalize it.  I'll assume everyone I DON'T hear from is fine with it.

Some keys to making this work:

1) Communication to/with your families.  This is going to seem like a big ask, and to any new families to theatre, totally unreasonable...I know.  The reality is still, this is no more than most athletic teams ask of their people and families...we just usually try to accommodate more than the average organization.  What won't work is if you don't share the new schedule with them and then badger them with obligations and requests.  Share now!

2) Plan ahead.  There are rehearsals during Finals Week...there's no way around that.  Do not assume you'll be able to pull an 'I have a test tomorrow and really need to study' card, because it won't fly.  You will need to start that process now, as I won't be excusing students for study related needs...but I also won't be holding you for more than a standard rehearsal, and rehearsal will not begin until AFTER any Tutor Time periods each day.  You'll have time, if you use it thoughtfully.

3) Take care of yourself.  Get sufficient sleep, eat sufficient quality food, drink sufficient water, and don't let yourself fall behind on your obligations (and thus increase your stress and anxiety levels to an unhealthy place).  We're not going to be the most socially available people while we put this show together, and we're all going to have to accept that fact...myself very much included.  This is something with which we must all be ok.

4) Take care of your business on the show.  We will have very little time to go over things in rehearsal that we've said should be taken care of individually.  Work your music, memorize your lines, review the dramaturgical/table work items (once they're posted), have the necessary materials each day, and adhere to the three prior items on this list...it's a lot to ask, but anything worth doing always asks a lot of us.

5) Keep your chin up!  It's easy to get frustrated and angry when things keep piling up...but we'll get there.  The weather shows nothing in the 15-day forecast to suggest more stoppages/delays.  We'll get there, but we have to believe we can get there.  I do.

Again, look at the 'Revised Revised Schedule' tab and send me your thoughts via email by 100pm tomorrow...and be looking over music and lines, doing your homework/projects for class, hit the readings/basic dialect recordings once they're posted, and keep well!

Much love team...see you Tuesday.

j.

Tech Call - Cancelled (1/7)

Due to the likelihood of inclement weather, including 1-3 inches of snow and potential freezing rain, the Tech Call on 1/7 is cancelled.  We all know that Portland does a meh job of clearing streets, and safety of our people must come first.

The next Tech Call we have on the books is on 1/15 from 12-5pm...hope to see you there!

j.

Revised Show Schedule - Please Read

In consultation with our creative team, the (SW)2 T-Board, and your scheduled conflicts, and as a result both of days lost prior to Winter Break and the potential for more lost days in the next 2 weeks, I have built a new schedule for the production that accomplishes our goals of 1) Seeing the show through to performance, 2) Doing our best quality work, and 3) Wrapping our process in time for Spring Sports practices to begin.  The schedule is posted in detail on the linked Google Sheet Calendar

-The first key to reading the schedule is to know that every actor and management team member is now officially called every day there is rehearsal (tech calls are excluded).  Actors, when not actively involved in staging or music rehearsal should be working on memorization, dialect work, movement, individual music, or homework.  We need the flexibility to use our time in rehearsal efficiently, and we need to insure that actors are making measurable progress on show-related work (which has not yet been consistent).  SMs will be available to help and facilitate work.  **Note: all listed, posted, and communicated conflicts will be respected…new ones will be addressed as possible, but my first priority is the ensemble as a whole and the show.

-The second key is the show moving one week later into February.  We will be teching beginning February 6^th, with the show opening February 16^th, closing February 25^th, and striking February 26^th. This insures we have adequate time to make up for that we lost, and any future delays due to inclement weather.  This also insures we are still wrapped in time for tryouts for Spring Sports, Solo/Ensemble, etc.  All key dates have shifted, so make sure and check the calendar.

One of the ‘joys’ of collaborating on a piece of live theatre is the thrill of uncertainty…where any number of things can step in and potentially derail the entire project.  That is also why there is such a fulfilling reward when you overcome those variables and create a truly inspiring work of art with your peers and move an audience emotionally.  We took a number of curveballs up front, but I know we can still hit this one out of the park.  That work starts now.

See you all very soon!

j.