Fezziwig's Warehouse
The Happiest Party in London, c. 1850
| Wooly Rambles: Second workshop weekend |
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The second weekend of workshops is historically the normal weekend; no special events mucking up the schedule and we can all simply dig in and start seriously reminding ourselves what we need to know to pull this crazy thing off without too much pain. One of the things that I've really liked about the last couple of years is that the cast as a whole has built up a body of knowledge that has kept the tremendous problems to a lovely bare minimum. The time that we're spending in rehearsals is how we avoid having to teach the same lessons during fair, and I really appreciate the results.
Before I ramble on about last weekend, there are some keys to the third weekend of rehearsals that I think everyone should keep in mind. * Go to the Cow Palace in Daly City. Seriously. I hear a couple people each year confess that they went to Pacifica on automatic pilot. * The Cow Palace is not going to be warm, so keep that in mind. It's expected to be about 55 degrees outside, and since all of the doors will be open I would not be surprised if it was the same temp inside. * Ladies, all of the experts I know strongly suggest that you practice being in your corset for a full day. Ten hours is very different from a normal event, and the fewer surprises you have during the opening weekend the happier you are going to be. Even experienced Fezzi's do corset practice during workshops, so please consider it. * Dress rehearsal Sunday won't be what any theatre person would call a dress rehearsal; it will be a semi-rehearsal day where those who aren't doing construction will be in costume. Pack lots of patience, some good humor, and the great energy that I've seen so far this year and we'll get through it all fine. * If you're sick, stay home. We don't want to share. Ok, I think that's it for the stuff that is only about this next weekend. Last weekend was not a normal second weekend for me personally, in direct contrast to my opening statement... Did you end up in any workshops this year where you were saying to yourself "OMG, what am I doing in this room?" Improv II was that for me on Saturday. I'd taken Improv I last year (the one hour version) and had thought I'd learned a lot. Within the first five minutes of class this year Anna had me wondering if I'd learned anything at all. Not fun at all for me; I really hate feeling out of my depth. The good news is that there were some people who either had more experience or were doing a better job of picking up what Anna was trying to teach so I picked up some tidbits from watching them. Next year I'm going to make time to take both of the Improve classes. Somehow. Got my costume approved during lunch. There are some serious benefits to having been one character for several years, and the ease of costume approval is near the top of the list for me. By some miracle none of my accessories went on a walk last year, and I only really needed a new shirt to be ready to face this year. A spot of ironing for the collar in the morning and I was ready to go. Next year I'm going to have a bunch of maintenance needed, but I can skate through this year. Dance 3 was how I rounded out the workshops, running through Lancers Quadrille and the Bohemian National Polka. It was a pretty good turnout of students; twenty four (three sets) at the start and probably more by the end. I seem to recall mentioning that partner dancing isn't my forte? If you were one of the ladies who survived my pivots without growling then I thank you very much. I am currently just good (or bad) enough that when I have a partner who knows how I can get through BNP without a stumble. If I'm the experienced one of the pair there are going to be stumbles. It's just the opposite with Lancers. I am not sure I could forget it now if I tried, but I can be a solid dancer in a set where there are a bunch of people learning it. That, in a nutshell, is why I think all Fezzi's should go to at least some of the dance workshops. Despite the grand plans the management team did not actually have a schedule together before Fezzi rehearsal. This wasn't a problem since we've got so much we want to cover; it was just a question of what. It kicked off with a huge name circle. I'm not sure I've ever seen that many people at a single rehearsal; it was over sixty of us by the time the last stragglers joined just before Mr Scully. Scully, who keeps insisting he cannot memorize things well, got through all of the names without a hitch even after Mr Fezziwig called Christmas and mixed up the circle before Scully started. Fezzi warmups to wake up the body a bit before dancing were next. Which reminds me that most of the diction exercises are up on the Fezziwig's website (www.fezziwigs.org), for those who don't have all of those strange things memorized. The goal with the diction exercises is to warm up your accents and help you get in to character the same way the physical warm ups help you settle in to your fair clothes and get your body ready. This year we're doing significantly simpler warmups than in previous years and leaving individual cast members to do more if they feel that it's needed. Personally I add two things to my fair routine this year: basic vocal warmups and pushups. I know from experience that if I don't spend time reminding myself that I'm a baritone I will blow out my voice before the end of the day, and that is frustrating. Last year I started doing some pushups after general warmups and found that it got my energy ramped in a way that the warmups just don't do. Somewhat to my surprise I learned that some of the ladies like seeing a man do pushups. A couple of minutes of exercise that gets me moving and makes someone else smile... heck ya! So I'll be doing pushups again this year and welcome company if people would be amused. Did you notice I'm not through Saturday yet? That's because I wasn't actually at rehearsal on Sunday, due to the Lamplighter's Gala. My informants tell me that Sunday had more set dances, Wink, and some fun characterization practice trying to get the porter to find your luggage after the ferry ride to Calais. My trunk is the one with the sheet music and lots of empty space for presents when we come back... I really would have liked to be there but Mrs Bagnet was performing with the Lamplighters this year and there was no way I was going to miss that. At any rate, after warmups came dancing. Mostly set dances as I recall, plus the Jolly Dog's Polka. There was a bit of a misfire in one of the sets while we were practicing the Northdown Waltz, but it was worked out. The Northdown and the Duke of Kent feel very similar, and the gentleman teaching blended the two so the progression didn't quite work as taught. Here's the thing: the set had self corrected before the end of the dance. No big drama, just quietly getting things back on track. Now this isn't something that we want to weather during fair, so if you end up as the head couple and feel that something is off as you're teaching a dance, flag over a group or shift lead if there isn't someone immediately in your set. I still remember a time during fair where I'd started teaching Sir Roger and changed to Strip the Willow in the middle. A Fezzi in the set got me back on track; I'd gotten on the wrong autopilot. It happens, so when it does try to fix it without significant fuss and fluster. I think I've said this before, but I avoided memorizing a part for Stagecoach for years. I didn't think I could project, I couldn't learn the lines, and I was afraid of having everyone on the floor staring at me. Yep. Did I mention stage fright? I've got a lot of sympathy for the vast majority of you who for one reason or another aren't learning parts. The problem is that we need Fezzi's to step up, 'cause there aren't enough who know parts to handle the game every day without some folks skipping their break. We do it because we're that kind of crazy, but it makes for some grumpy Fezzi's which increases the chance of unpleasant drama over the run. First year, third year, seventh year, I don't care; please, learn a part. The script is on the website, and each one is surprisingly short. It's also, once you get past the raw terror part, fun. *grin* It's time to stop rambling and let you get back to your lives. I shall be there all day both Saturday and Sunday, and I hope to see each of you at one point or another. Your devoted and sleepless servant, Wooly Bagnet
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