Today’s Date: July 29, 2019
Show Title: The Roaring Girl
Director: Stephanie Ann Foster
Assistant Directors: Cortland Nesley and Molly Harper
Stage Manager: Joe Marsh
Dramaturg: Madison Miller
Rehearsal Room: Hunt West
What we did: Our final space rotation of the session. After having spent time in Grafton Library and the Deming black-box, now finally we have made it to the Hunt West space that you may have seen during the orientation day. We started the day with some warm ups, then began our full run of the day. Our time is now at 1 hour and 1 minute! Every day we cut down on empty air and increase the pacing of each moment in the play. We then took time to review the show and listen to notes from the director and assistant directors. After notes, we decided it would be best to work transitions and tableaux moments to sharpen intention and imagery.
QUICK AND QUOTABLE
FROM THE PLAY:
“These sights are excellent!”
-Omnes
Fun fact, omnes is not a character, but a Jacobean way of saying “all” it appears rarely (only once or twice) in Shakespeare’s canon.
FROM THE DIRECTOR:
“And you’re like… *tiptoes* sneakin’”
-Stephanie Ann works characterization
FROM THE CAST:
“I don’t want to chuck a sparkly garment at a gallant.”
-Lily
Consideration.
Production Insight:
Ah yes, the power of the pause. Today, as we cut out a whole five minutes of dead air from the production, it brings me to reflect on the power of the pause. When working with comedy, it is crucial to understand where your pauses are, and where they don’t need to be. In theater pauses are often a dreaded space killer that messes with energy and tempo, but when employed with precision—as our cast is working on—it can fill a theater with laughter rather than crickets. Once lines are learned and blocking memorized, cutting out unnecessary pauses in transitions, and in scenes ups the energy to make the comedy…well…funny!
Maddie Miller
Maddie Miller (she/her/hers pronouns) is a North Carolina native, and a sophomore BFA Theater Performance major at Emerson College. In her free time she can be found COQ (crying over quarto’s [Ask her about Q1 Hamlet and her wonderment at instability in early modern text]), taking power naps before planning her world domination, and finally: writing monologues, and poetry about intersectional feminism, art, and Shakespeare. She is more than ecstatic for her first year as a production intern, and can’t wait to get to work!