April 4 Rehearsal Notes

Please comment after you've read the notes:

Mrs. Green mentioned this, but we REALLY need the workers to sing louder for Thomas.  The lines in the song are important for the audience to hear so that they can understand what’s going on in the story.  I was standing right at the edge of the stage, and I still couldn’t hear some of you.  Please practice raising your volume!

Now that we have the tea cart, everyone needs to be aware of it and adjust your movements accordingly.  It was a little awkward today.  We’ll talk about this more if it stays an issue.

We need to see some more action in the background when Parimutuel is talking.  Try turning to your neighbor and reacting as he’s speaking.  I’d also like to see more reaction during Lock, Stock & Barrel.  What he and you all are singing about directly affects whether or not you’ll have a job and what your pay will be.  It matters to you, so you should be interested and react.  I’ll try to watch this on the video to have more suggestions for reactions.

Nice discussions amongst yourself after Lock, Stock & Barrel!

Confucius Say -  Families, you did a terrific job on your songs!!  As you’re leaving, though, remember to bow and back up.  Everyone should leave stage right (I know we did it differently at first, but I can see now that it would be better to go stage right).

Elliot – good job on your lines!

People behind the scrim in Shi-Jing:  just a reminder that you need to all come back to sing the final 2 lines of the song.  It should be that Michael goes off the stage and comes right back with the rest of you.

No playing behind the scrim if it’s not part of your scene! 

Handle with Care sounded great!  Gabe and Peter Fuller did an especially good job, but I could tell everyone’s been working on it!  Conner – nice job on your line!

Ann & Kathryn – your consoling each other looked very good!

Sloane – something I should have said from the start:  Your songs are so lovely!  I love watching you sing them!  You’ve been doing a great job with Kathryn from the start, but yesterday you were especially on your game!  Terrific work!

Just before the puppet show – I think we’ll reposition Grace and Hope so you’re not blocking where Feng & Zhong or Chang need to be.

I wrote a note for the shadow players to be sure the sticks were facing you instead of the audience, but I think you corrected it while I was writing.

Good job, Thugs!

Michael – I liked the way you beckoned the thugs to come over to ‘fire’ Thomas!

Isaiah – the audience NEEDS to be able to hear when you say “Stop, I don’t want your daughter for my wife!”  Otherwise, they won’t understand how the story ends.

Don’t worry about correcting someone else on stage – the audience WILL see you doing that.  Just focus on what YOUR character needs to be doing!

Thanks again to Christian, Maria and Maddi for filling in for Brandon.  Thanks to Morgan for filling in Krista’s lines.  Thank you to Elena for being Michelle for the day (sorry, I forgot to mention that at the end of practice).  You all did a great job and helped rehearsal run smoothly!

Hannah Bergmann – You did a super job on the curtain, especially since the script has a number of changes!

There was way too much noise in the background, yet again!  Some of you are guiltier than others.  I don’t want to have to single you out in front of everyone else, but I will do that if necessary.  I will also talk to your parents, if necessary.

Remember – no food in the theater!

Drink a Cuppa Dancers:  Next week please meet @ 11:30 at Bethany Church to go over your dance.

Parasol Dancers:  Next week, please meet @ 11:30 to go over your dance.  I put markers on the stage floor to show you where to stand, but then I forgot to tell you about them!  Please help me remember to show you next week!