2 Weeks...

Well, we have our first performance in front of an audience in less than two weeks. Our actual opening night is 2 weeks from today... there are still things we've never worked on...A little scary until I realize that I've been in plays where the first complete run-through was our tech rehearsal or even our final dress rehearsal...

I still can't help but think that I suck... especially after getting such extensive notes about my character and my singing from the directors and then still screwing it up. Let's just say that I will never be one of those cheesy lounge singers out of the movies (not the good lounge singers that actually exist, but the stereotype of a lounge singer). I've said this before, but once my first scene is done in the show, it's smooth sailing.. I don't have any qualms about the rest of the show (although last night we severely botched the scene where I finally snap and want to kill everybody and everything)

My voice was really shot last night, too... the opening lines of "Hold Me, Bat Boy" have never sounded so... unique...

Listening to notes... 

Amen! 

The Parkers with their Bat Boy 

Bonding & Stuff

Yesterday I was invited to have dinner with some of the Bat Boy gang: Malary, Donald, Giana, Jessica, Oscar & Ben. We ate at Mi Casa Too down the street from rehearsal since Donald & I were called in at 6:30 instead of 7. A good time was had by all. It was great to hang out with these guys... I miss social interaction, even though I'm not a big talker. It has dawned upon me recently that now that I have graduated I have been cycling through friends based on what play I am doing at the moment. This is the life of an actor... no consistency... no stable relationships... Nice, huh?

Tonight Giana mentioned that she'd be giving the valentines that she had made for myself and Amanda Alvey to us in June. Amanda and I both posed the question "You mean you're still going to be our friend in June?" since BAT BOY closes in March. Giana seemed to think we were mad for even thinking such a thought, so hopefully it proves true and the Bat Boy friendships will break all theatre rules and live on.

The friends I made in my three years at UNR have completely abandoned me in the course of a couple of months. It's really quite sad that the only UNR thespians that I speak to and consider my friends are those that have moved away or have graduated and are about to move away (Paige & Kim)...

But back to BAT BOY...

Last night's rehearsal dealt with brushing up on the stuff we haven't really went over and the stuff that we have beaten into the ground but still can't seem to grasp. It was pretty productive, and "Dance With Me, Darling" is getting better and better (maybe not vocally, but at least visually)... Poor Malary was losing her voice throughout the night and almost was made to mouth her dialogue in the flashback scene at the end. She demanded that she say the lines herself and won the battle against the directors. The flashback is definitely one of the highlights of the show for both of us now, and once we get lights and the band, it's going to be a riot.

Tonight it's back to working the principal stuff. I can't wait... just as long as it's not DWMD again.

Tiny Bits of Greatness

Over the last several rehearsals, things have been evolving closer and closer towards performance quality over on the BAT BOY front. Little things, though... not many huge changes.

On Friday, we had a run through of the show again. This time, there were some moments of sheer brilliance. Summer, Ben, Oscar & Ryan have a great scene leading up to MRS. TAYLOR'S LULLABY, but one scene that jumped out at me was the confrontation between Meredith, Shelley & Bat Boy after INSIDE YOUR HEART. That scene was amazing during the runthrough.. I wanted to storm onto the stage and hug everyone (not that I don't hug everyone anyway), and the Dr. Parker in me wanted to enter and tell my family that all of the evil goings on were forgiven (the whole incest thing), everything was going to be okay and that we should all go out for some ice cream. But not really.

Singing wise, I don't remember if we did anything good or not.

My favorite number to do at this point in the rehearsal process? That would probably be my duet with Malary during the finale... Comfort and Joy would be up there if I could only get my notes right.

Tonight threw all sorts of stuff at me... stuff I probably should have been thinking about this whole time... I guess I had a different perspective of the show before... My notes from the directing team tonight centered around the fact that Parker is completely driven by sex for the entire span of the show. That is the sole thing that drives him crazy. I never really thought of it that way. I don't really think of sex as such a powerful thing... I think more in terms of love... I guess that's why I rarely have girlfriends... our society is completely sex-crazed.

So, I have to up the sexual frustration throughout the show and really play with the mental status of Parker... something I couldn't really see in Sean McCourt's Off-Broadway performance, but it could have been subtle and facial (which you don't get much of when you videotape live theatre with all of the stage lighting)... he did start ripping off his clothes at the end of DANCE WITH ME, DARLING, though... which made me assume that he and Meredith have sex that night as she promised... but our show's direction is that Meredith just promises to have sex with Parker but never does... I have a line later on saying "You made a promise to me" which I always assumed was referring to siding with me on the Edgar vs. the Town situation, but makes more sense as the affirmation that Meredith never gave it up to her husband like she promised (and would probably be more likely to sleep with Bat Boy than to ever have sex with her husband again).

Okay, enough character analysis.

Observances: Still loving John in Reverend Hightower mode. Still loving the onstage antics of Jeff and Tony. Giana still cracks me up and continually makes me break character. I'm still having a hard time not laughing at Oscar's final CHRISTIAN CHARITY REPRISE pose. The CHILDREN, CHILDREN dance is blocked and choreographed great. I'm still shorter than Donald by a lot. Now I'm shorter than Malary by a lot when she puts on her character shoes for the show.

Poor short fathers.

Imitating Art

As part of our rehearsal process last night, our director showed us more of the Off-Broadway production.. most of Act I.. so I've seen pretty much the entire show now. Even though it may be the worst bootleg in the existence of bootlegging, I have found myself even more in love with the show. Devin May is absolutely hilarious.

Watching Sean McCourt as Dr. Parker is really hard. In a way, I think that he doesn't do much with the role, in others I feel that he is doing everything 100% right. My run-through of my first scene in the show was greatly affected by the viewing of the bootleg--I couldn't stay in character and I was flubbing my lines left and right. My brain was working overtime to try to make things more up the standards of Sean's hilarious, and at times really low key, performance.

Donald continues to kick ass, and Christian Charity is still one of the best scenes/songs in Act I.

Tonight we run/work the rest of Act I. It's funny: I think that once my first scene of the show is over, the rest will be cake. I dread that first scene because I have a lot riding on it. I have to be convincing as a drunk and as an older guy & father figure--difficult to do when your son in the show is a foot taller than you are. (I exaggerate... but not much)

So this last part of Act I should be easy. I have a lot of dialogue, but the only songs I have are Show You a Thing or Two and Comfort and Joy, and both of those are generally easy (though I'm still a little unclear of my harmonies).

I really hope all of you reading this will come see the show (if you aren't already a part of the cast, that is)

Here are just a few pictures from BAT BOY rehearsals. See? We're having a good time! 

Inadequacies

I hate not having my lines memorized yet. I feel like I'm letting everyone down. I have so much work to do with my character, that I should really be off book right now.

Last night we sat around watching the staging of "Another Dead Cow" for a couple of hours before moving into the "Christian Charity (Reprise)" where I got to go on stage but Malary, Donald & Giana had to remain in the audience--watching and waiting. After all of that, the four of us got to work some scenes... and I had to do my first scene.. which I didn't have off book very well at all. I kept going blank or skipping lines... I guess I was all right, but my acting wasn't worth shit. I'm getting a little scared as to whether I'll be able to pull off this role or not.

Tonight we're supposedly doing "Comfort and Joy." I have that song down, but not the scene leading up to it. We did that scene last night, too, but I was all over the place one again. Some parts are okay, others, umm... not so much.

I'm thankful that Paul and Ted have decided to work with "The Family of Four" on Mondays during the extra hour and fifteen minutes. I will feel so much better about things once stuff is solidified. I have a hard time coming up with things on my own, so some good solid direction would be great right about now.

In other news, I may be getting on the nerves of several people with my picture-taking. I used to have a camera with me at all times back in the day--either my video camera or a disposable camera--but I stopped about a year and a half ago because people were getting annoyed by it. I've only had my camera for a few days this time (and haven't even completed a full roll) and people are already complaining... Maybe I'll bring in my video camera tonight and see what they say... heh. I'll keep you posted.

Creeping towards off book

I am thoroughly enjoying BAT BOY.

Last night we ran ACT II as Off Book as we could possibly be. Thankfully, I did an okay job (I only needed help with my monologues at the end of the show).

The show as a whole is looking very good for having a couple of weeks of rehearsal under our belt. When looking at it in the same way I look at UNR shows, I would say we were about on target. UNR gives a month to get a show up--even a musical. With BAT BOY, we now have over a month to polish what we have already accomplished... a completely framed show (albeit with some holes in the choreography).

Donald scares the crap out of me in act two. The stuff he does during the song Apology to a Cow...I'm just glad I don't have to be out in the audience to watch him every night. My heart couldn't handle it. I've had to see it 3 times now (at least) and every time I get the same feeling of "Oh my God, Please don't kill yourself."

I think my friends will find it amusing that I play a drunk throughout most of the musical. It provides for some fun moments... and I've never played drunk on stage before, so I'm trying my best to pull it off (since I've rarely ever been drunk in real life). I'm going to have a ball playing Dr. Parker for the run of the show, and I hope the audience is receptive of me.