Author: Kate Foy

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Second night blues? Nope.

Tonight clicked. There’s an old theatre furphy about second night being less good than opening night … or at least they can leave the actor feeling a bit ‘off’ and thus the performance is less good. I’m here to tell you that our second night was better than the first. The acting ensemble are firing, and the crew are like a well-oiled machine. There continues to be a great joyousness about working on this production. Without sounding too precious, we really do care about what the play has to say and about the performance challenges we’ve set ourselves.

And tonight was the opening night I wish I’d had last night. I woke this morning with an almost totally recovered voice. God knows how and why this happened; all I know is that almost before my eyes opened this morning, I tried out my range … humming up and down a couple of times. It was back. So tonight with a renewed confidence I feel I hit my straps. I was no longer a beat behind myself, constantly monitoring everything to ensure my wobbly voice didn’t wreck the songs or the dialogue. Tonight it was in the moment time in the most satisfying way.

And the audience? It was a Friday night. I have had a theory about Friday night theatre audiences for years. They’re relaxed, the working week is over and there is the promise of an entire weekend ahead; they’re ready and willing to enjoy themselves. And they did tonight. Up there on stage you listen for audience reaction … laughter, other non-verbal indicators of approval … applause of course, but also rapt silence … this latter is one of the most powerful indicators of focussed attention. We had the lot tonight. God bless Fridays say I!

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Opening Night

Is there anything more glamorous in theatre jargon that the phrase ‘opening night.’ Heck Broadway show tunes (Another Opening Another Show: Kiss Me Kate) and even whole shows (42nd Street; A Chorus Line; maybe even The Producers) have been written about this particularly thrilling time in the life of a stage actor. Tonight was ours.

And in the time-honoured tradition of opening night rituals there were little gifts, notes, hugs, wishes all of which reinforced the bonding we’ve created during the past 10 weeks. There is nothing quite as solid as a good ensemble … or as ephemeral. We’ll be fragmented in a few days time, returning to our ordinary lives. For a while we’ve been living in a creative space and making beautiful music together. Opening night celebrates the power of creativity and community … because of course, we get to share it as a collective with the audience.

It’s just gone midnight. I’m home letting go of the evening … the adrenaline rush has dissipated and bed calls. For me, this opening night was walked on eggshells as I’ve picked up some sort of laryngeal problem which is playing havoc with my voice. Oh yes … an opening night of a musical and I’m nursing a voice that doesn’t want to play nicely. This probably qualifies for another sub-plot in the actor’s nightmare. Anyhow, I got through and the production worked. I knew it would. Our creative team is on top of its game and the acting company had a dream ride.

Tomorrow we play again and the next day, and the next. It’s a sweet task.

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More on that ‘moment’ we’re supposed to be in …

I’ve written before about one of those phrases tossed round by acting folk: being in the moment. I recall the brilliant Dawn French using it in that sweet comedy series The Vicar of Dibley. ‘Geraldine’ was directing the parish’s nativity play. She’d dropped her vicarly garb, and was dressed in requisite directorial kit. All was not going well, so she asked the cast to ‘take a moment to take a moment’ to get into character. Not sure how many general public would have got the nuances of the jargon …

But, being in the moment extends to more than just the actor as character in performance, something that ‘Geraldine’ understood, and which much acting training tends sometimes to over-emphasise. I’m reminded as I noted in that earlier post of how the moment is also filled by the actor’s constant scoping of what’s happening on stage … in the auditorium, drifting in and out of a character’s consciousness … those lovely, fleeting but deeply felt moments of ‘being a character.’ If you could run a video of the actor’s awareness it would most probably screen as a sequence of random, abstracted images with a camera’s point of view of the action; the soundtrack would consist of dialogue and probably the silent sub-text and interior monologues … those of the character and those of the actor as s/he preps a moment of action.

And of course that moment extends during the final dress rehearsals and performance season to the actor’s daily life … off stage. Fleeting, random snatches of moments, lines, notes to self , images flit through the consciousness. These can be distracting but they need to be accepted and seen in the context of the whole creative process.

And speaking of moments and creative process … I’m splitting my attention this week as I work for a few hours each day on another production with my students. It’s a first, major public production for them, and part of my job is to assist them to make the transition from acting studio to rehearsal room, and then the stage … to learn how to put their developing skills to work on the job. It’s a project I relish, and yes it is distracting me from that other mind-chatter that is demanding my attention … work on role in a production that opens this week … tomorrow in fact!

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Playing notes: Dress 2

Tonight was a night of fix-ups all round for the Cabaret kinder; there are always final tweaks as the creative team finesse the show: lights, sound, cues, costume. We spent 20 mins or so pre-show reworking the blocking for a couple of exits. There were also acting notes from last night’s run. There are also more costume pieces appearing in the dressing room; still don’t have my slippers or glasses though. Need these for tomorrow night; it’s not a good idea to use a prop for the first time on opening night, though it’s been done before!

Personally I scored half a page of acting notes from the director. I had let it rip last night in terms of playing the ‘arc’ of the story for my character from whoa to go; it felt generally pretty good … not indulgent in any sense, and I had a sense that ‘she’ had arrived. The relationships between my character and others in the play have also developed well I think; the songs are working fine … but of course, the director or the ideal audience of one sees what I can’t see, and is there precisely to help me to craft my role in the service of the play.

Apparently during last night’s run, the emotional tone of some of my scenes had veered away from the intensity the director wants me to play. In a sense, Fraulein Schneider is one of the moral barometers of the narrative and a driver of the descent into chaos which is Act 2. It’s critical that her persona, her story and her energy fit the overall story at the right time, and in the right way.

So tonight’s run for me was about reworking a couple of scenes in particular on the fly, changing energy levels, and getting the good Fraulein back on track. With this concentration on the director’s notes, I was a beat ahead or behind myself all night long … observing, adjusting. Had a ghastly slip up in the final big solo song which was being taken at a faster pace. I leaped into the wrong lyrics, and got myself tangled up. I was rescued by the brilliant conductor of course, but it was a scare nonetheless. Guess I won’t make that one again!

Playing notes, whilst vital to the health of the show, can be a distraction, an irritation, and an unsatisfying experience for the actor. Tonight was one of those for me; it’s far nicer to be ‘on song’ and just playing, but of course, that can’t happen until the tiny pieces that make up the production are all in the right place.

And the verdict at night’s end from the director? Our overall performance was ‘good but uneven.’ Aha! Notes tomorrow evening before the final dress rehearsal. 2 days to go!