(Day 3) More Blocking and Pictures Galore

After a short music review in the morning, we jumped right back in with blocking. Sadly, we don't have any time today in the Arena. Instead, we have taped out the shape of the Arena on the floor in Aidekman 75. It's not quite the same size, but the proportion is pretty much the same and helps the actors to orient themselves in the different space. Because we aren't in the Arena (and because the show is still several days away), we don't have any of our set pieces. Instead, we use rehearsal blocks (the big orange cubes, oblongs, and chairs) to mark wherethere will be benches, boxes, walls, tables, picture frames, statues, and just about anything else you can think of.

The pictures above are of a rooftop scene between Warren and Deb. The orange rehearsal blocks mark the edges of the roof.

Blocking is far more than the director simply telling the actors where to stand as they speak or sing. It is constantly interspersed with character work, discussing the motivations behind each action. Below, Nadav sits with Matt and Jenna to talk about one of their duets before they run it.

"This is a song where the audience could know everything about it just from reading the lyrics. So it's really important that you use the intonation and the spaces to share what you're thinking, to share something about your character. Because it's not really about a bagel, or Brooklyn and beer."

Then they ran the number.

The show is starting to really come together. We have already worked on the music for every number. By tonight we will have blocked every scene, and after that we are mostly working on fixes and details, and later incorporating the real set and props. Then comes cue-to-cue and all such fun tech stuff- I'll tell you all about those when we get there!