We are in rehearsals for the Finnish Dinner Theater, and we have entered the portion of the process that I enjoy the most: actors making discoveries about their characters that are fun, that take them to interesting places, and that make connections to the other actors.
But it can also be a frustrating time because they…aren’t….quite….off the script…yet. Chunks of it are memorized but much of it isn’t. So you have to work thru it as best you can. Luckily, these are talented folks who are fun to be around, and I am doing a lot of laughing and smiling every night.
For example, Monday night, Minden took her character away from a negative (trying to catch the man she thinks is her true love in a lie) and brought her into a positive (she is so in love, she thinks he is playing a game.) That’s brilliant, and very fun to see when it happens. Or Rachael last night, feeling free enough with her character to start adding bits of physicality to the part that make perfect sense and are very funny. Or Nate and Greg, every single night, adding some bit of comic business that is totally rooted in the reality of their characters. Or Sharon’s meticulous method of setting the script down and fighting thru line drops in character. Or Nick’s discovery of sitting and scratching and belching, etc.
Every night it’s something new and delightful to watch. I love working with this group.