Vaudeville Rehearsal Day 9 -

We'll start out with answering a question that Jessica from Murrumbeena sent in for Lally over the email. (Which is goodbyevaudeville(at)gmail.com)

It read;
Dear Lally, I know that you have done more than half a dozen collaborations with Chris Kohn. Are the plays you write with Chris different from the other plays you write?

This is Lally's response;

Don't forget to vote in the poll on the right. Remember voting is compulsory, fines may apply!


As promised, I caught up with Julia to ask her about the 'mirror' scene from the other day. As a quick re-cap, Julia is playing a couple of different characters that are similar and overlapping, and in fact one character might be said to 'play' the other at various times.

I was interested in how she was going about it, and caught up with her to talk about her process. Julia says she sees the role as actually playing 3 versions of a single character. At this stage in the process she is looking to be clear about intentions and actions. She says that she has a tendency to play 'states,' and that she is trying to work against this tendency by focusing on the action of every moment.

I ask her about her apparent starting point in voice associated with a physicality. She responds that she is naturally a thinker, and likes to 'think through things.' But, by the same token she also realises that she's not going to be able to 'think' her way through this role because the play isn't built that way. The focus on voice and physicality is part of a strategy to build another process outside of the thought process.

We talk a little bit about 'keys.' I ask her if she thinks there is a 'key' she will discover that will unlock the character(s) she is playing. Julia is not sure if it going to work that way. She says that for one of her characters an early rehearsal moment held an important key. In the rehearsal she had to strangle one of the other characters. The action of this moment provided an exceptionally strong immediate connection for her into a voice and physicality for that character. She sums up by saying that she thinks that if there is a 'key' to her role as a whole, it won't be a logical one. She thinks it could be a musical one.

Julia also makes the point that she is creating the character in collaboration with Chris. He directs her to play a moment in one way or another, and these directions and explorations also develop her sense of who she is playing. There is little point in her committing to decisions about the character if they are at odds with how Chris sees the character evolving. She is also aware that there are times when 'meaning' is made almost entirely from external factors. That is to say, a director might say, 'walk up the stairs, wait 3 beats, look left, then walk half way down again.' Externally this might carry enormous meaning, but she won't necessarily 'feel' it herself.

In today's rehearsal we continue working on the Julia's 'mirror' scene. It is a scene in which Julia's characters dialogue with themselves. To clarify the sense of the dialogue, Lally reads the other character's words. It's an interesting thing to have the writer read lines into the space. It's usually frowned upon to have a director read lines for an actor; it's usually viewed as short circuiting the actor's process. But the writer reading seems a different case. Certainly when Lally reads, Julia responds to it very positively and everybody feels that the result is a strong one.

The afternoon rehearsal is focused on a 'run' of everything we've done to date. We're only part way through the act, but even partial runs are extremely important for keeping everybody in touch with where we're up to. As has been already noted, the atmosphere in the second act is markedly different from the first act, both in the play and in the style of rehearsal. In recognition of this, rules of coming and going from the rehearsal room are modified to assist with concentration and maintaining the mood.

In contrast to first act rehearsals, not all of the performers have been in the room for every rehearsal. It is important that everybody catches up with what everybody else has been doing with Chris. Matt comments before we begin that he is reminded of a film shoot, in which the order of scenes is all of out place and it's hard to retain a sense of the 'whole.'

As they run there is a great deal of negotiation with the space. Over the last couple of days there have been a lot of props and bits of furniture and rostra making their way into the space. Costumes, too; Jim has been wearing a hat since yesterday. The space has begun to take on a new feel and shape that the run is now emphasising. The actors are working to find their way around it as they run the scenes. What do they with new pieces of set that weren't there before?, how do they sit on the new chairs?, where do they look when other scenes are running that they've not been present for previously?, where do they sit when they're offstage? how do you get to the spot to begin your scene, when you ended your last scene somewhere else? They're simple questions, and on one level they're easily solved, but on another level they are part of the entire pattern and experience of the performance for an actor. Every new thing must be assimilated into the actor's 'world.'

The run is understandably rough at this point, but like the run of the first act, the longer it goes the better it gets. When it's over Chris says he is happy with the emerging sense of the shape and flow. He talks about a tightening knot of relationships; it's a resonant image that everybody nods at. He goes on to talk about what each character sees or doesn't see of the other characters' scenes, and how they are going to work through that. He indicates that there is work to be done in filling out the picture with meaningful actions.

The actors talk about needing to plot out the play. They decide to get a big sheet of paper and plot all the characters' journeys on it. Chris talks about plotting a time-frame relative to an important moment in the piece- the sense of a countdown towards that crucial moment.

Overall, the run does what runs often do; it shows everybody just how much work there is to be done across all levels of the play. There's a feeling mild anxiety in the room. It is the end of the day, with only singing practice left to do. But it doesn't feel like the usual 'satisfied' finishing energy; people are more subdued and focused than normal. Even the actors that are leaving leave with the attitude of continued work. You get the impression that they are leaving to continue working.


Chris's word for the day – composition
Jonathon's word for the day – success

Vaudeville Rehearsal Day 8 - Lally plumbs the "Magical Depths"

SCOOP!! I'VE JUST RECEIVED SOME STOLEN AUDIO IN WHICH SET DESIGNER JONATHON AND DIRECTOR CHRIS TALK ABOUT SETTING UP THE TOP SECRET 'MUDDY MAGIC.' Sure, the quality may be poor, the recording incomplete, the voices difficult to make out, the context obscure...


The rehearsing is well into the second act now. Last week Chris indicated that he wanted to finish a first pass at the whole play by the end of the second week. It's hard to tell whether we will get that far, but you never know. Chris's target of getting through the first act in Week One seemed ambitious, but things were pretty much to schedule.

Speaking of schedules let's do some quick calculations;
A 4 week rehearsal period is standard – that's 160 rehearsal hours.
With a performance time of around 2 hours that's a rough calculation of around 80 minutes of rehearsal for every minute of theatre.
Is this a reasonable amount of time?

Here are some things to consider;-
This time includes warm-ups, reads, theatrical exploration or exercises associated with each moment, design presentations, discussions, vocal and physical detailing, 'setting' to get in and out of running a scene, 'running' to performance readiness, scenes or moments that are worked on and later cut, and everything else the director needs to do on the rehearsal room floor.

Given all that, is 80 minutes of preparation enough for each minute of theatre? Does it depend on the play? Perhaps, perhaps not? Does it makes sense that there's a 'standard' at all? What do you think? I've set up a voting box over on the right. Tell us whether you think 80 minutes preparation for each minute of theatre is enough, not enough, or too much.

Back to the rehearsal.
Compared to the first act the second act contains a higher number of intimate moments. The scenes typically have fewer characters, as might be expected. The style of rehearsing has changed. There are fewer people in the room. It is quieter, and the confidence has risen to work towards more delicate moments. Chris works much more closely to the actors now, in spatial terms. Instead of placing himself always in the 'audience' position and talking from there, he spends much more time inside the playing space. The blocks of action they work in get smaller and smaller. They work very closely on slight moves, eye direction, tone in single words. The vulnerability in the creative process is higher in these intimate moments, as it is in performance. A joke that doesn't get a laugh is embarrassing but can be quickly forgotten. Moments of vulnerability that don't quite work, however, are much more disappointing because these moments are usually so much closer to the 'heart' of the artwork.

As I watch it feels to me that this 'close-in' directing can't be taught. It's about so many of the subtle conditions; instinct, trust, the invisible threads between actor and actor, between actor and director.

I promised I'd get back to Lally to find out how she went with continuing to develop the second act. I started by asking her whether her strategy for the play's continued development had gone to plan. Relieved, she said it basically had done. She was happy with the 're-fleshing' of characters, and Chris had made some suggestions to add some further 'flesh' too. In the process of looking at earlier scripts she had come across some 'floating scenes' that had never made it into the script. They were scenes that she had written quickly one day with nothing particular in mind. These 'floating scenes' had provided some wonderful additions. Lally commented that sometimes it is these kinds of scenes that often end up containing some of her best writing.
Another interesting thing she said was that she had discovered that the play required more 'magical depth.' She had worked hard over the weekend toward generating more of this 'magical depth' in the play. I'll leave you to wonder what 'magical depth' is until I get some more time with Lally later on.

Tomorrow I've a special for you; Jessica from Murrumbeena has sent in a question for Lally Katz. I've video-ed Lally's response and I'll put it up tomorrow!

One word for the day Stephen – trick
On word for the day Richard – sumptuous

Vaudeville Rehearsal Day 7 - "I'm looking at the woman, looking at the women, in the mirror..."

I had a conversation with Matt today about his performing in "Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd." Matt is a well known circus performer with Circus Oz. He has already featured, albeit somewhat anonymously, in one of the previous images on this blog. (He's the one standing on top of a stack of about half a dozen chairs.)

During the readings he was completely silent, naturally, given that his character is mute. It was during the Script Discussion, mentioned in a previous posting, that his extensive knowledge of old Australian vaudeville became apparent. Matt foregrounded the historical links between circus and vaudeville, telling some stories about wonderful figures he met in various parts of the country; people who have incredible histories of their own in vaudeville.

'Vaudeville' is the first play of this type that Matt has performed in. Interestingly, when he was young he acted in plays with youth theatre companies, and was interested in being a character actor. Through his development as a performer he was drawn toward circus, however, and went on to forge a successful career in this area. As such, this theatre show is particularly interesting for him.

I asked him what the differences between rehearsing for circus and rehearsing for theatre are. This was his response;



Another particularly interesting comment was that details in circus are far more onerous and time consuming. Apart from the trick itself there is the rigging, the safety issues, the live band, as well as the inability to use aural cues because of the high amount of noise. When preparing for a circus act half the day can be spent in just coordinating the technical details for a single act.

Matt's character is mute. We talked about how mute characters are often especially poignant, and in this way his character is a very 'theatre' character, yet he also draws heavily on his circus skills. I asked him whether how he considered the particularities of being a mute character.
This was his response;



In the afternoon Julia works on a scene with a mirror. She plays a couple of different characters in the play, which are similar and connected. In fact, at the risk of generating spoilers, one of her characters actually 'plays' the other at certain times in the play. The moment they rehearse consists of Julia playing both her characters at once, having a conversation between the two, while looking at her own image in the mirror. It's a fascinating exploration. Playing two similar characters is perhaps a far more difficult thing than to play different characters with obvious contrasts. As Julia is explores these overlapping characters, she is trying to tease them apart in her mind and her voice.

Julia talks about the characters' voices as she's working through the scene. The 'voice' of the character is a very important notion for her. Last week she was looking for recordings of the time period, not especially for the music, but so she could tap into a style of 'voice' for the time. She wants to feel the rhythms, the intonations, the turns of phrase that in their turn provide a powerful 'in' to understanding the people of the time. We often hear the wonderful expression that the eyes are the windows to the soul. For Julia it seems that the voice is the window to the soul of a character.

In conversation with Chris, Julia demonstrates the voices of the characters she is playing, and the physicality that she has developed in relation to those voices. At this point in time the voice in combination with its physicality is the largest part of her definition of the two characters. But because of the overlapping nature of these characters this definition is being challenged by the demands of the scene. Julia works incredibly hard, all the time looking at her own image in the mirror; whether this makes the work harder or easier is difficult to tell. It's brilliant to watch. I'll try to find some time to talk with her about this scene and some of the details of how she builds character later on.

I'll also get back onto to Lally to find out how she and the writing team have gone in their development of the second act.

One word for the day for Julia – Shirley Jones
One word for the day for Darren – radical action
One word for the day forChris - accumulation
One word for the day for Lally – texture

Vaudeville Rehearsal Day 6 - "It's not a flat Earth"

For those of you following, I'm still on the track of what's in the closely guarded, top secret, 4 editions in the whole world, "Muddy Magic" book. Darren is keeping a very close eye on his. This photo is about the closest I've got to it!

And another thing, we're now taking questions. If you have a question, please feel free email me on goodbyevaudeville(at)gmail.com and I'll try to get somebody on the team to answer it for you. On to the day's rehearsal...

The morning was spent cleaning up some of the details of the first act left over from last week, so that it could be run in the afternoon. Lally had been working on the second act over the weekend. The afternoon session began with a reading of this most recent draft. Last week Chris discussed with the actors that the second act will inform the first act considerably, and help fill out some more of the details the actors were exploring.

When the cast read the second act they did it on the stage, rather than around a table. And with the week's work that had already been done the reading is much more in performance mode than the first reading was. The voices are fuller and the rhythms are developing in a way that makes the reading carry more meaning than the previous read. The actors recognise the words and moments that carry deeper meaning. They work these words and moments with greater muscularity.

The reading is around 25 minutes shorter than last week's second act. Structurally it is somewhat deceptive. The cast talk about where the act's climaxes are. In this play scenes don't necessarily serve the purpose in the piece that they appear to, or scenes of their 'type' usually do. Chris talks them through how some of these scenes will work in performance. His explanation elucidates the structure more clearly for the group. He gives them an understanding that the functions of some scenes are not necessarily recognisable from their form. A scene that might seem like a romantic scene, may not serve as a romantic scene in the piece. A death scene may not actually contain a death. Scenes that seem like climaxes on the page, may not contain a climax in performance.

Conversation again moves to what is real and not real; what is 'actually' or 'really' happening in any given moment. This has been a constant question throughout the early rehearsal period. Some of the connections are incredibly complex, and it prompts Alex to bring up Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Aspects of the narrative are not necessarily linear and aren't necessarily made clearer by a 'logical' analysis. Chris talks about 'blind spots' and 'horizons lines;' just because something is below the horizon line doesn't mean it cannot exist, or isn't there. It's more a matter understanding the shape of the world in a different way.

The anchor for the actors will probably not be a logical one; it will be a 'pitching' anchor and a 'rhythmic' and a 'feeling' anchor. The premise is that audience does not have to unpack a play's logic to feel the truth of it.

The cast run the entire first act of the play. Of course there's a long way to go. There's always in these situations a combination of anxiety at how much work is still to be done, and amazement at how far it has already come.

One of the actors describes the run as a 'skeleton.' It seems that perhaps a 'skeleton' is an underestimation of what is already growing there. There are definitely organs and muscles already growing with the skeleton. I imagine it a bit like a growing body, only with some bits of the body growing much faster than others. A nearly mature skeleton, with a baby sized oesphagus, some different sized muscles beginning to take shape, a little bicep, one large buttock, some big lungs, stumps that might later exude fingers, a tiny nose beginning to grow out from a flattish face. A mix of recognisable form and fleshy potentials.

Word for the day Lally – full
Word for the day Stephen – expose
Word for the day Chris - reality
Word for the day Julia – displaced
Word for the day Richard - humour
Word for the day Darren – hot water

Vaudeville Rehearsal Period Day 5 - ...and the pace is building

Vaudeville on "The Family Guy"

This morning’s singing practice is especially arresting. They are singing a song in which they all have contrasting parts. Chris describes the song as being a little like morphine. Not by coincidence the first scene of the day is the scene that has the song at its heart. The working relationships are getting more ‘natural’ every day. The flows of energy between people in the room are feeling much stronger, which in turn makes the work seem to be getting ‘easier.’

Chris takes advantage of the growing confidence to instil slightly more pace into the morning. There is a subtly increased emphasis on moving through the scene work and getting through moments more quickly. With the base that they’ve been slowly building over the previous 4 days there is now a collective desire to really get stuck into the scene work. It’s like the capacity of the group to digest the play is growing massively, and with it the appetite.

After the first scene has been worked through the group breaks into smaller groups to make the most of their time in preparation for the next scene on the schedule. Simultaneously Mark plays the piano with Matt on clarinet, Chris discusses some of the fundamental relationship curves with Julia and Jim, Christen sings into a mirror with her dummy, and Alex meditates on the script sitting by himself, occasionally mouthing lines. It’s a soundscape of singing, discussion and music that is separate, yet deeply and intimately connected; perhaps the kind of soundscape that is entirely unique to rehearsal rooms.

When scene work resumes with the entire cast they are working on a scene that has elements of a ‘play within a play.’ One of the actors asks the question, “Who is this bit for?” He wants to know whether the precise bit he is doing is meant for the actual audience, or one of the other characters in the play, or one of the other character’s characters. Does he ‘know’ he’s performing, or does he think it’s ‘real,’ or is he pretending he thinks it’s for real for the benefit of another character? These are really important questions to the play, and have the potential to become infinitely complex, and for the answers to loop back on themselves. The important point though, is that the actors must play something specific; they can’t play a meta-physical conundrum. There is a lot of work in finding this specific reading to play.

I caught up with Jethro in the afternoon, to see how his work is going. Jethro has worked as Sound Designer on all of the collaborations between Chris and Lally going back a number of years. I started out by asking him what question is uppermost in his mind right now in relation to the show;

“I looking for the overall tone and feeling; broad strokes. I’m looking for the sound journey, the beginning, middle and end of the sound journey. I’m asking what the colour palette is. At the moment it is a dirty rust colour.; old film, greys, blacks, brown.”

I asked him whether he was conscious of a body of work when designing for the collaborations between Chris and Lally, or whether he treated each show as a discrete entity. His first response was that he treated each show discretely, but with some thought forwards that there are definitely connections between previous works and the current work, and a similar feel to some of the worlds.

Finally I asked him whether he was working closely with the composer, Mark. He said that usually the sound designer and composer would work very closely together. But so far on this project they had not because Mark was performing the music live, so there wasn’t quite the need as when all the sound is recorded. He says that he expects to work more closely with Mark as the piece progresses, and that in many ways Mark’s composition has led the direction of the sound design.

Chris’s one word for the day – untangling
Darren’s one word for the day - dust