Days 1 and 2: Meeting the Cast

Day 1: The first day: The informational, not awkward at all, meeting.

There isn't much to say about what happened on day 1 of Pinocchio. I got there, turned in my tuition (no, I'm not being paid to act.... Maybe someday, though;)), got my script, and got a brand new binder cover (it's so official!!!). Then I stood in line for a bit and talked with Mr. Dennis (aka, Gepetto). He's an amazing man. The line slowly progressed to the costume measurement stop (I won't go into detail) with Mrs. Micki, and then to the make-up stop with the wonderful Michelle.

There was much talking after that. Rules and guidelines-- be on time, memorize your lines, listen to the director, ect.

Overall experience? A little awkward, but in a good way ;) Haha!

Day 2: The second day: The table read and general questions about things.

So, some of you who don't know what a table read is, let me tell you.

The whole cast sit around a table (in this case, a bunch of plastic tables placed in a somewhat circular form) and read through the entire script. You may have seen this if you watch the special features and behind the scenes on movies, where there's some random shots of the actors reading rather animatedly from a peice of paper with the whole cast around a conference table. It's a way of familiarizing yourself with the story, as well as with how your fellow actors will respond to their roles. Our table read took a grand total of 1 hour and 16 minutes, which is really good! Considering it's an 80 page script. It can be a rather tedious business, especially if you're like me are in only one or two scenes, or even if you're the main character (Madison did splendidly with Pinocchio <3) when your voice goes hoarse after the first act.

After the table read, we all sat down around the director, the phenomenal Mrs. Jacque, and she walked us through how she wanted us to develop our characters as well as answered any questions about the play.

One thing that caught me off guard was that she referenced me when she was going through some examples of character...things. She was telling how she, as a director and playwrite, saw characters as a certain way and she kind of type casted according to what she thought she needed. But, she said that I brought something to Fare Madrina that she wouldn't have expected! She even said that it gave her chills during my call back! What?! I was so flabbergasted and flattered =) It made me feel really good about myself. Also, she said she liked my Scottish accent. Win!

Next rehearsal is on Friday! I'll try to post something Friday or Saturday morning about that adventure.

Cheers!

Dream your dream. Catch a firefly.

That's all.

~Ana