April 11 Rehearsal Notes

Reminder:  Next practice is TUESDAY at 12:30!  Everyone should be ready to go by 12:30!

Aaahhh!  It’s coming together.  I think each one of you stepped up your game to some degree, and it showed.  We’re still a little sloppy, and have some areas to work on, so don’t get lazy!  But, overall, nice job, everyone!

I’m not able to notice everyone and point everything out, but I am singling out the people I particularly noticed.  If I don’t mention you by name, it doesn’t mean you weren’t doing a good job as well.

In Thomas, Morgan and Krista stood out to me – nice job with your lines.  Emma & Evan also did very well, as did the artists – Micayla, Marie and Savanna. 

Morgan & Krista - your Beatrice & Elizabeth are fun to watch!  

Erica and Nora – I liked your reactions to Jo!

Workers in general – remember some of the instructions Mrs. Kluge has given about being blocked.  If you see someone is directly in front of you, that means we can’t see you.    We want to be able to see you!  Shift your position so we can see you.

Maddi & Juli – you two work very well together.  You’ve been on top of your characters since the beginning of rehearsals, and keep adding to them.  It’s been fun to watch.

Buddy & Seth – you’re also a fun pair to watch!  There’s nice chemistry between the two of you as comedic partners.

Elena – you look so lovely on stage!  You’ve been a great Koong-Se from the start, as well.

Brandon – it’s good to have you back!  We needed 3 people to fill in for you last week!  Your Chang is spot on, and so much fun to watch.  I loved the ‘nooooo’ as you were being led off.

Families – you did a nice job with your songs!  Try to be even a little louder, so the audience can understand why you’re in trouble (remember, there are going to be a lot of grandmas and grandpas watching who have trouble hearing).

Megan & Gabe – I especially noticed how well and how loud you two were singing.

Maddie F. – good reaction with the tea, etc!  Try positioning yourself a little more to the right so you’re not right behind Tso-Ling and we can see you better.

Coulter, as always, excellent job with your character and delivery of your lines!  You do a great job of selling Tso-Ling!

Ethan & Juli – you did a nice job covering when one of the characters wasn’t on stage!

Emma & Nora – I positioned you too far downstage in Scene 3A.  Sorry about that!  We’ll try to find a good spot for you where we can still see you.

For Shi-Jing – we’re letting Isaiah and Elliot off the hook, and we’re just going to use the younger boys, so you all have matching outfits.  If I have time on Tuesday, I’ll try to put pieced of tape down so each of you boys knows where to stand.

Sailors – be sure to look at the audience while you’re singing!

Michelle – nice singing!

Maddie – good job catching the table when it was going to be caught in the curtain!

Thugs – good job with your song & dance!

For the scene where the workers come in to hit people with plates, etc. – I’ll try to come up with a plan for who enters when & where, etc.

Ethan & Sloane – After Camellia asks how the story ends, let’s try to separate the two of you a little from C & C.  You could take a step right as you’re saying ‘well’, then turn to the audience and emphasize the ‘Mrs.’ As you finish your line.  We might need to play around with that a little. 

Those are all of the notes I have.  Again – everything was much better, but we still have a long way to go! 

Practice is on Tuesday – be ready to go at 12:30!  It took way too long to start this week and to get in places for Scene 1A!  That can’t happen again.  Also, we need to be sure we get out on time.  A school group had to wait for us to leave.  They were very patient, but we need to be respectful of the fact that we’re the ones intruding on their territory.