Monday, June 25th
Show Title: Volpone, or The Fox
Director: Mary Finch
Assistant Directors: Miranda McPherson and Chase O’Neill
Production Intern: Abraham Joyner-Meyers
Rehearsal Room: Hunt West
What we did
Before blocking act four, Finch led our cast through a series of movement exercises, including the “seaweed exercise” (where one participant reacts to the physical stimulus of another letting their natural motion take over). The cast has also begun a fight call to carefully practice all moments of physical contact between actors, even those that are not explicitly violent. At the end of this morning’s rehearsal, Finch proudly announced, “just act five left!” Tomorrow’s schedule includes blocking the final act, working on music (my favorite), and an evening rehearsal at the Blackfriars.
Quick and Quotable
From the play
AVOCATORI 3: Preserve the honor of the court.
This line stood out to me today during the cast’s vocal workshop with ASC actor Brandon Carter. Caroline, who plays the 3rd Avocado, harnessed the power of her voice to fill the room with this line establishing the strength of the court.
From the director
FINCH: [turns on music] We’re going to do the seaweed exercise.
SCARLET: [responding] Is that the soundtrack to Finding Nemo?
It was indeed a Thomas Newman composition.
From the cast
LUCY: It’sa me, aCorivino!
SPENCER: [responding] Please don’t put Corvino in Nintendo. It’s too sweet.
Production Insights
As the play continues to come together, it is exciting to see the pace and comedic timing.pick up. Actors are moving away from their scripts, and Jonson’s quick transitions are feeling more comfortable. Tomorrow we tackle a new challenge, a short small scene that divides the climactic courtroom reckoning. To quote our director Finch, it feels like “Jonson was writing for TV.” I think our cast is well up to the challenge.
Mia and Carina work on collaborative movement.
Spencer equipped with his trusty guitar.
Abraham Joyner-Meyers
Abraham Joyner-Meyers is a fiddler, a juggler, and a huge Shakespeare nerd. He completed watching the Shakespearean canon in the fall after seeing ASC’s production of The Fall of King Henry (Henry VI, Part 3). His passion for the Bard also led him to attend ASCTC for two summers, where he acted in Two Gentleman of Verona and Much Ado About Nothing. When Abe is not furiously reading, seeing, or acting in Shakespeare plays, he’ll often be found teaching himself to play new instruments, dancing at contras and with Morris teams, or training with his school archery team. He just completed his freshman year in the dual degree program between Harvard University and Berklee College of Music.