EYE to EYE
Stumble Through on 4/26
NOTES
Devised Chapter One
Adriana
lost almost all lines in
solo sections. Voice up!
Johnny
lost the word “lumped”
Eve
Enunciation lost a bit in
monologue. Don’t let the emotional
nature of the piece get in the way of clear storytelling. Lost the word “ignore”.
Kit-Kat
Aidan
Was really “mumbly”
throughout - bite the consonants more.
Lost a lot of words.
Matt
When Patrick says “I just
loved them so much”, go ahead and sit on the steps. Then rise again on “What are you gonna do…”
Ben
In general, we lost some of
the humor on all the “melodrama” lines…like “I just loved them so much” and “I
would look at myself.” Really go
HUGE on these line.
Matt
Take the taser; that’s the
whole point of grabbing her hand.
Lindsay
In general, she needs to be
louder, bossier, more strident.
Just take everything you are doing and ramp it up 5 clicks on the dial. J
Devised Chapter Two
Johnny
You aren’t slamming the book
on beat 1. We will review.
Marcelino
That rhythm at the end of
the rap is still wrong, so you’re jumping out of the 4/4 meter. You also must ramp up and nearly
scream: And wish we were done.
All
Remember to start big with
the chanting and then back off when Marcelino comes in. Also, the talking as you all enter can
be much fuller in volume.
Revisions
Ana
You’re still over playing
the “Oh, my God.” Try saying it to
yourself while sitting and then getting up. Cross slower.
Tucker
Don’t look away from her in
the silence after “We had a deal.”
This is a change; maybe it will look less awkward.
Tucker
I loved the “I’m not stupid
section.” To review: You stayed seated, slamming your hands
on the desk for “I’m not stupid.
Stop treating me like I am.”
Then you stood up, still looking at her and continued with
“Bullshit. You’re no better than
me. At least I try.” Then you took
a few steps a way, caught your breath, turned back and began the monologue. Let’s keep it like this!
Ana / Tucker
Overall, this was a
fantastic run. You have both
consistently set the standard for a professional approach to the work. Your timely memorization, attention to
detail, openness in rehearsals, and discipline have landed you in great spot. Thank you for being such a fine example
for the company. Don’t get
complacent! It’s a tough piece…but
you should feel confident and proud.
Devised Chapter Three
Adriana
Lost nearly every word. You need to take your volume,
projection, and enunciation and multiply it by 5. You are also talking over music, so it’s even more important. That said, your approach to the
language, the emotional content, and the movement all look great… Just make sure we can all hear it. Please, please work on this.
All
There was still a ton of
“human “ movement. It looks like
people are just “going to their places.”
Johnny and Marcelino are more on the right track. There should be a dreamlike quality to
all the movement. Resistance in
the physicality - as if under water - is the key. Also - nearly everyone upstage was on top of the audience.
Spectral
Specific notes will be given
this weekend. With the new cuts
coming, this will affect things, and I don’t want to overwhelm you. So…in general…
All of you are diving off
lines - quite a bit. Losing your
words. And it’s all in
relationship to how close you are to each other. Here is the standard:
When Bowen is the aisle talking to Michael who is on the steps, that’s
the one time I felt comfortable with the voice work in the show. That level of diction and projection is
necessary even if you are two inches from each other. That…is actor technique. J Also -
almost every scene was 25% longer than it needed to be. Act ON the lines, not BETWEEN the
lines. This was not much of an
issue with Terra / Sylvie which require a level of listening and silence. But almost every other scene was
“precious”. In your defense, I
could tell how hard you were working to “drop in”…and now that you have…you can
pace back up. If you have sections
where lines are rough, you must fix it.
My patience with unknown lines / blocking is really thin. It’s completely unacceptable at this
point to make those sorts of mistakes.
And what’s going to make it harder? You’re about to get a ton of cuts and re-blocking. So dial in!
Devised Chapter Four
All - the table is not on
the floor. When you dive in for
food, you can’t go low. See the
table, make it real in your heads.
Given this is still pretty new, my main note is about specificity. There is a fine line between it “being
gross because you are all eating” and “actors are trying to be gross”. I want the former…
Justin
Learn your
blocking…rough. I need a better
roll up the body for that one move.
Blank
Emily
When you say “Nice seeing
you again” really land that…every audience member must hear it.
Emily
In general, you are diving
off lines. I took the note when
you said “something”…I’m only hearing “Some…” You must have breath support to the last syllable of every
sentence.
Emily
When she asks if you will
walk with her, you say “Of course”…but it’s reading like you are suspicious of
her. The subtext is: “Of course
I’ll walk with you; we’re friends.”
Ava
When Neala comes on and you
see each other: see her, stand,
hold for 3 seconds, then turn and go.
Ava
You don’t know your lines - not
well. That simple. It’s so vague and all over the
place…especially half way through…
Losing words, intention, reality. It feels like you’ve addressed the
first half…this needs to be much more steady come the weekend!
Claire
Better vocals today. You have some sticky sections with
lines that are sort of the same every run…work it!
All
Dove-tail scenes.
Jackson
When you come in and say
“Who’s Phoebe”, don’t sit. Just
stand in the entrance by the block and go from there.
Emily, Neala
The lines for the climax,
with Emily holding her from behind are a mess. There are huge pauses, gaps, and so the throw to the flow is
almost comic. There cannot be a
single pause…not one…the lines must flow…
As well, Neala is to claw Emily’s hands off of her, and then Emily keeps
putting them back throughout.
Connor
Much better with voice
work. Be cautious that he doesn’t
become a “clown” from another type of play.
All
Prep the zippers on your
bags. Have them slightly open to
help access.
Devised Chapter Five
All (no Barrett / Marcelino)
Remember that the soap opera
is in slow motion.
Barrett
Don’t play the whole
monologue as if he’s “sad”. Defend
your position.
Marcelino
Better - but keep him high
energy…let him be fidgety, physical, loving the outdoors. Maybe poke Barrett, even try to get him
off the block. Improv some of that
as you keep devising.
B2
General
First half was…okay. I can tell it had not been run. Lost some of its zip - but that will
return. You must balance the speed
of the second half (which cannot slow down at all) with vocal clarity. The speed is pushing many of you to
scream all of your lines…and when people scream in this space, we cannot
discern. I understood NOT ONE WORD
of the entire circling section before the drop to the ground. It might as well have been “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
BLHHHHHHHHHHRAHHHHHHHHHHHHGRAHHHHHHHHHHTAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHHH”
(Beat).
“Liz, what are you doing?”
