Today’s Date: 6/23/2019

Show Title: Gallathea

Director: Finch

Assistant Directors: Lauren Carlton and Cortland Nesley

Production Intern: Spencer Cohen (Stage Manager) and Jules Talbot (Dramaturg)

Rehearsal Room: Grafton Library

What we did:

Yesterday, all of the ASCTC campers were invited to watch the ASC resident company’s final dress rehearsal of Julius Caesar. The show doesn’t actually open until June 25th—this was a sneak peek. After sleeping in (Sunday rehearsals run from 1 to 4:30, much later in the day than other ones), we began rehearsal by reflecting on our experiences at Caesar, sharing observations from the production ranging from artful stage pictures and character beats to innovative uses of the Blackfriars space. Personally, I was struck by the poise of the actors on the few occasions when they forgot a line (which is to be expected at a dress rehearsal): they called “Prithee” and seamlessly resumed the scene. Every actor blanks sometimes, but the key is not getting flustered or apologetic—that example should be useful for us as we approach our off book date, especially because there are some long monologues in Gallathea. After our discussion of Caesar, we embarked on blocking act four, which is a bit shorter than the other acts, so we’re on track to finish the play tomorrow.

Quick and Quotable

From the play:

“This is the day wherein you must satisfy Neptune and save yourselves. Call together your fair daughters, and for a sacrifice take the fairest. If you think it against nature to sacrifice your children, think it also against sense to destroy your country” (4.1.463-6).

From the cast:

“Hey, Jules, can ‘sacrifice your children’ be the title of the next blog?”

“No, it cannot.”

From the director:

“I don’t like Harry Potter,” followed by scandalized gasps.

Production Insights:

When Finch was cutting Gallathea’s script into an hour-long version, she prepared a few different doubling tracks for different size casts ranging from 11 to 14 actors, depending on auditions and how many campers our show would be allocated. After the predictable unpredictability of the audition process, we instead wound up with a cast of 10, which has actually turned out really well! We’ve reassigned a few lines and even given a few actors an extra character or two, all of whom have adapted gracefully—and I’m happy to announce that your Friendly Neighborhood Production Intern and Blogger now has a cameo. Look out for me in Gallathea!