Rehearsal Period Day 4 - Writers Boot Up Act Two

The first thing of the morning is to ‘run.’ Chris wants to run through everything we’ve looked at so far from the beginning of the play. The thing that strikes me immediately is how much work has been done in the overnight period. There’s a really obvious filtering or sifting that’s occurred away from the rehearsal room. Seeds from the earlier days’ work are now already flourishing. Or, to extend the metaphor, are lying dormant to grow later, and some will inevitably fail to fertilize beyond this point.

While Chris continues to work his way through the play, Lally, Stephen and Maryanne go to another room to work on the second act. There’s agreement after the reading that the second act isn’t quite ready yet. There is some script work that is best done ‘on the floor.’ An director with actors can quickly burn off text that isn’t working, or add text that the scene needs. There is another kind of script work that can really only be done by writers and dramaturges. ‘Big picture’ script work and generally any script issues that can’t be solved by interrogating a moment are better done by the writer or writing team. It is the latter kind of script work that the trio leave to do. Chris and the actors will be working on the first act into next week, giving the writing team a small window in which to keep developing the script.

Watching Chris as he develops the scenes with the actors, it occurs to me that there are (at least) two kinds of theatrical ‘moments’ that demand different treatment. Some moments can be, or need to be, solved gradually. The moment doesn’t need to be solved in the immediate rehearsal. It can be worked to a satisfactory point, then left for a later time. There are other moments that need to be solved in the immediate timeframe. To move onto something else before solving the moment only means that you will have to begin it all over again next time. The rhythm of rehearsals are in some ways governed by the demands of these different types of moments.

In the afternoon the heat starts to build. Everybody works with a lot of focus. There’s a fair bit of chaos in the first act of the show, and working on chaos takes enormous focus to get right. Nevertheless, there are inevitably a couple of moments when wires get crossed between stops and starts, or actors don’t get to the right place in time. Just for those brief moments, the inner life of the play reveals itself and shows us what the energy might feel like once the work gets closer to performance. It’s exhilarating. And the actors are feeling like a cast more and more.

Around this time I ducked out of the rehearsal room to catch up with Lally and Stephen to find out what they were working on in relation to the second act. They talked about 3 different areas of work they had in mind; restructuring, editing and “fine tooth combing.”

By restructuring they talked about working on the ‘flow.’ They wanted the flow to specifically contrast with that of Act One, and were working hard with the structure of scenes to achieve that contrast.

By editing they referred to a list of different tasks that were being undertaken. They were looking at previous drafts for elements they thought were valuable that may have been lost for one reason or another. They talked about “re-fleshing” the characters. Sometimes character detail in the script can be lost in drafts that are focussed on the narrative and broader arcs. By “re-fleshing” they were looking to bring some of this character detail and ‘colour’ back. They also discussed re-committing to the mystery within the piece. Again, as a play is re-drafted and script issues are ‘solved’ the innate mystery of the script can be lost in favour of connecting things and trying to ‘make sense’ of everything existing in the script. Often questions can be far more interesting than answers. Finally they talked about cutting back the obvious plot mechanics. This is related to some of the above points. There is a sense that once the world is built, some of the ‘scaffolding’ that was required in the building needs to be removed for the piece to be allowed to house its own integrity.

And the third thing is “fine tooth combing.” This is much what is sounds like; running through the script word by word, phrase by phrase, line by line, and cleaning it up.

Lally’s one word for the day - structuring
Chris’s one word for the day - fun
Darren’s one word for the day – magic
Stephen’s one word for the day – eerie
Kristen’s one word for the day – mental chaos

Rehearsal Period Day 3 - One in, All in.

Yesterday’s photograph; you’re probably wondering what that was about. Well, there’s a book that has been published for the show. It’s called “Muddy Magic” and I’ve been told there’s only 4 copies in the world. What’s more, access is extremely limited. More on that when nobody’s around and I can sneak a peak at it.

Days begin and end with singing; first thing and last thing. I asked Chris to comment on that;

“Singing around the piano is a great way to set the atmosphere for the day, and the perfect tool for building the ensemble, and helping them to get into each other’s rhythms.” (despite the quotation marks, that’s not actually a direct quote. You can ask New Weekly how that goes.)

Early in the day we were treated to one of Matt’s signature circus acts. We were talking about circus yesterday in the script discussion. It was mentioned that circus acts are so appealing because we see the performers doing things that shouldn’t be possible. It’s an expression of optimism and inspiration because it cracks the limitations we think constrict our lives. Matt was performing the act so the designers could judge whether it would fit in the confines of the set. While he was performing it there were jokes and commentary until a very specific moment. At that moment the act tipped over into what everybody felt was dangerous territory, and as one, everybody in the room fell silent. The power to spellbind a crowd; now that’s power for an actor.

The morning carried on with the script from where we left off yesterday. We moved on to the first big group scene. So many different things to work on all at once in this scene! The first big group scene is an establishing scene in many ways; spatially, in narrative, character construction, character relationships, tone, atmosphere, rhythm...the list is endless.

The process is one of ‘feeling’- Chris, Mark on piano, and the cast ‘feel’ their way into the world of the play. Everybody works through the scene making tentative offers of all kinds. There are subtle exchanges between everybody in the room. Chris encourages the performers to explore the ‘stuff’ of their characters when they aren’t the focus of the scene. He carefully insists that everything is available to change. It’s not a process of decision making. The group makes a series of offers that combined begin to define a sense of the world, while at the same time they feel their way through what the script is guiding them to do.

You get the sense that the greatest progress being made is perhaps not to the scene itself. The progress is in the slow definition of their world.

The first part of the afternoon is dedicated to working on Maude & Doris, the character played by Christen, and her ventriloquist’s dummy. Christen is not an experienced ventriloquist, and the process of learning to work with the dummy is wonderful and fascinating. Seems like something that could serve as valuable actor training in the same way that mask work is a part of many training courses. She is creating two characters who are the same person, using different tools for each. It seemed to me as I was watching that the kind of technical, practical questions that are necessarily asked of the dummy could quite often elucidate things for a 'human' character. I’ll try to talk with Christen about this when an opportunity presents itself.

I snuck a couple of questions to Richard, the lighting designer, as we watched the rehearsal. I asked him what he was most looking for at this stage of the process. His response was,

“Physical blocking, tone of the piece, feel of the world…”

And what does he see as his biggest questions to answer at this stage? He had two responses;

“I need to know more information about the set,” was his response. The shape and intent of what will be built is clear from the design presentation, but some set elements have a lot of detail that won’t be totally understood until it’s been built. This is an ongoing issue for professional theatre-makers. How do the artists develop a relationship with their physical world if they can’t interact with it?

And,

“How am I going to tackle the third act?” Yeah, the imaginative demands are massive for the third act. This is one of the big design/direction questions of the play.

Finally, I asked Richard how much of his work is technical/practical and how much is interpretative/creative. He said it is about 50/50.

Darren’s word for the morning – blocking
Darren’s word for the afternoon - cut
Richard’s word for the morning – entertaining
Stephen’s word for the morning – spread

Chris's word for the day - door

Rehearsal Period Day 2 - Things get unreal.

There is a recent tradition in theatre that on a particular given date the cast and creatives will assemble on stage after the performance and field questions. These discussions are usually rewarding and elucidating for audiences. But after today’s script discussion of the cast and crew it seems to me that theatre goers would give a lot to be present at the discussions the artists have in the early stages of rehearsal.

It’s impossible to cover the breadth of discussion as the group revelled in all the issues thrown up by the play, from historical to meta-physical, theatrical, meta-theatrical, practical, psychological, social, musical, anecdotal, and everything else the reading of the play threw up the previous day.

One theme of discussion revolved around locating where the ‘reality’ or ‘realities’ of the play (co)-exist. The actors have very finely tuned antennae to what their characters understand as ‘real’ or ‘pretend,’ and a complex understanding that what is ‘real’ to their particular character may not be ‘real’ to other characters in the piece. Identifying points of realisation and transformation are vital to the actors as they map their journeys. The discussion itself echoed the theme, interchanging seamlessly between ‘real’ history and the ‘pretend’ world of the play, as well as the mythology of vaudeville existing somewhere between the ‘real’ and the ‘pretend.’ Of course this is a fundamental theme of the theatre, but one which is particularly poignant in relation to Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd.

During lunch the rehearsal room has been set up ready to begin work on the first scene of the piece, including old temporary rigged curtains. The changing set up of the room is a powerful signal that scene work on the script is ready to begin. It’s another level of anticipation, another level of focus; the initial period of acclimatisation is ending and everybody is ready to get working on the floor. We start at the start; simple choices, understanding the spatial set up, feeling the words in the space, the first sketches of character, the first interactions of actor to actor, character to character. Christen works with the ventriloquists dummy for the first time; how does the mouth work, how do the eyes work, how does the neck work. They are technical skills and questions that need exploring. Although the other actors don’t have such direct technical questions to explore, the impression is that they are doing something similar in relation to themselves and their characters in the space.

I had a quick word to Lally to get a sense of what was going through her mind. I asked her what specific questions she was asking herself on Day 2. This was her response;-

“I’m asking myself if I’m going to be able to rewrite some of the script that’s going to make it good enough to honour the possibilities of what it could be. Given the time, the support, the people who’ve given their time, their stories, the history of vaudeville…”

“What’s the best way to tell the truth of the characters and have it be theatrically satisfying?”

“What is the best technique of re-drafting?”

Lally’s words for the day – launching, re-remembering, inviting
Julia’s one word for the day – rejuvenating.

Rehearsal Period Day 1.

As the cast and crew assembled for the first morning in the Malthouse foyer Michael Kantor’s welcome speech drew attention to the fact that this was only one of the project’s ‘first mornings.’ When prompted director Chris Kohn revealed that the project had begun back in 2005. Across a series of development periods there had already been a series of ‘first mornings’ before this one. And of course, that’s only in relation to "Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd." When you take into account the more than half a dozen collaborations between Lally Katz and Chris Kohn, the number of ‘first mornings’ builds into many, many more. We so often think of plays as discrete works, and in some ways they are, but in other ways they can be seen in the context of multiple collaborations between artists over many years.



The morning was spent reading the play. How to start a rehearsal process can be a difficult question; a new play, a new group of performers and creatives, with various existing (or non-existing) relationships. Reading the play can be as much about breaking the ice as it is about putting the play as whole at front and centre. Also, it allows everybody to be present and bear witness as the work begins. After this morning it is possible that all of the creatives won’t be in the room at the same time until the play is into dress rehearsal or even opening night.



After lunch it feels as though the creative work in rehearsal begins for real. Mark Jones, the composer and actor, leads the cast in learning the show’s first song. It’s a group choral number, which allows everybody to work together. Learning songs requires hard, detailed work, but sitting around a piano in a group to sing is a traditional joy that’s hard to resist. It’s work that allows the actors to hear each others’ voices, to work rhythmically together, to start to get in touch with each other. While the actors are singing as characters, and questions of character do emerge, their focus need not be as much on individual understandings of character as when they are rehearsing scenes.



Further, working on a song helps to prioritise the ‘forms’ of theatre at the heart of vaudeville. Before exploring the play about vaudeville, they are practising becoming ‘vaudevillians.’ The mood lightens, the group start being able to joke with each other and get to know each other’s creative energy. At the same time as the actors sing the rest of the group work on their respective responsibilities. Laptops come out and the team of designers continue to work, sneaking pieces of Chris’s time to ask a quick question or clarify a feeling they’ve been working with. Lally has loads of notes and ideas stemming from the reading already. A new script is generally a living document during a rehearsal period. As the text on the page is transformed into the spoken word nuances are continually being yielded up that writers will want to seize upon; advance or remove as it serves the play.



The group singing is broken up by a design presentation. Jonathon Oxlade [set and costume designer] and Chris talk about the visual design elements of the show. The fact that Jonathon is an illustrator as well as a set designer means that the sketches and materials he presents are especially close to what will eventually appear in the show. They are not merely functional design documents, so much as artworks in their own right. The actors feed off the presentation, inspired and excited by the clues the visual design elements present of the characters in Chris and Lally’s combined imaginations.

It will be all I can do not to accidentally fill this site with ‘spoilers.’ Nevertheless, over the next couple of days I’ll try to get some time with Jonathon to ask him a question or two about his process.

The day in a word for Lally - thrilling

The day in a word for Chris- soup