The Ensemble

ensemble: noun: a group constituting an organic whole or producing together a single effect.

A major part of the Ventoux Process (or at least from what I've noticed) is the cohesiveness of the Ensemble. We are all individual actors that come together and perform as a whole. Our tune-ups are done as a group, a lot of the focus work is done to make us aware of ourselves, our body is our instrument, and of those acting around us. This group is not about one actor or one performance. This group is about performing a 'single effect,' the show.

Schedules and time constraints have made the cohesive aspect of this group more difficult, but we are all dedicated to the single effect, we all have the same goal; and regardless of what we have going on in our personal lives, we have to perform to the best of our ability. We owe the audience that and more.

The show has taken on a new life and we now know what the first layer of the show looks like, but in these next 9 rehearsals we'll step up the intensity and see how deep we can make the layers. We are playing the same emotions as before, playing the same intent and need, but now it's time to see how intense we can make that need. How many steps and layers into the process can we delve? That's for each actor to decide, and I'd like to challenge myself and my fellow actors... find those 6 more changes and take it to a place you never thought you could get to. Step it up and start to play for the single effect.

Cheers.

So.... Here we are again...

This being my second experience with the Theatre Ventoux process I find myself taking more from the Tune-Ups than I had with "This Flattering Glass." I really love the Tune-Ups because it gives me a chance to let my world melt away and allow for my creative process to come forth. It doesn't matter what I come into the rehearsal space carrying or weighting on my mind, as soon as we focus on our breathing and start playing with the Space Ball, the world as I know it disappears for the next 3 hours and I am in the zone. It's a mini vacation from my life and playing in a life I am portraying.

"Childe Byron" is an intense, touching, and kick in the pants show that is so much fun to perform. I am loving this group of actors, most of which I've performed with before and some I've never worked with before. It really is a good range of talent.

Tonight we are to be off book. The dreaded time period (I'm sure you heard the do-do-dooooooooo music and a scream in the background) as the actors rush to make sure they know their lines better than they did last night. I spent the weekend camping and sitting by the fire memorizing my script, yes even when the drinks were getting passed around, I was memorizing my script. It's strange what we are willing to do for our art, isn't it?

I know that this week of rehearsal will be a little clunky, but that is to be expected. We are getting off book rather quickly, but I can't wait to get it out of my hands and really be able to act. I especially can't wait to further develop a particular character I am playing, knowing that it's going to be an amazing connection.

So for now, I'll be walking around my office, waltz stepping (I'll let another actor talk about the Waltz Rehearsal), memorizing and speaking in a British accent as much as I can. :-)

VLB!
AL

CHILDE BYRON: Let The Games Begin...

we begin formal rehearsals for cb tonight. more of the ventoux process, dialects, rough explorations of space and relationship, on our feet playing with what is, once again, a fantastically talented and dedicated group of interpretive artists. thanks to ebay we have our props and costumes (or most of them), thanks to steve sansebastian (fresno auction company) we have our set pieces.

i guess all that remains is to rush in where angels fear to tread...but then, we're no angels. or, perhaps we are, and angels were never what we thought they were.

at any rate: VLB!!!

etonne-moi
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EQUUS: The Cast

Drumroll, please........the cast of Equus is finalized and we couldn't be happier. The production will go up this fall under the direction of Lisa Mercier-Taber, in partnership with our good friends at the California ARTS Academy. While our production is not an adaptation, it is a modern staging and revisioning of one of the more lauded and award winning plays of the last forty years. We expect it to be something wonderful, and we hope you will join us for it.

This Is Who We Are:

Martin Dysart/ Greg Taber

Alan Strang/ Stephen Torres

Hesther Saloman/ Jessica Reedy

Nurse/ Suzanne Garcia

Frank Strang/ Dave Otero

Dora Strang/ Devon Bailey

Harry Dalton/ Ronald Blackwell

Jill Mason/ Renee Newlove

Previews!!!

Well, we're finally here! It's the week of opening and tonight and tomorrow night we are previewing the show.

Dress rehearsals are always a bit tempestuous... new playing space, costumes, hair/make up, lights, props, etc. Mondays are always the worst, Tuesdays are 10,000 times better and by Wednesday/Thursday you are just ironing out the final wrinkles and the show gels nicely.

We are at that place in time where our show will reach the beauty it is meant to be. There are always 6 more changes and I have seen some new things from the cast mates even now. It is exciting and I can't wait for there to be an audience and to feed off their response.

This show kicks! I love performing in it, I love working with this group of people and I can't wait to share that love with all of you!

Thank you to all!

Break legs!!!!

Alais

An Open Thank You...

as of last night we concluded the first major phase of our rehearsals for "this flattering glass." the language, relationship, emotion, action, and character exploration is done (inasmuch as those things are ever truly "done.") and, while i had absolute faith in the ventoux process , it was always the actors themselves who would prove my faith warranted.

and i now find it "all unpossible" to voice the humility and honor that i have felt in their presence for the last three weeks. they are Actors! each of them, renee, dave, hal, stephen, jessica, ron, rj, arthur, melissa, julia, rene, and matt, in their own way and to their own degree, have taken what i was confident would be a workable and useful tool for actors, and demonstrated, nightly, what Will and Dedication can accomplish when melded with Craft.

as we enter the final shaping phase of rehearsals, let me simply thank you for all you have done, and for all that i know you will continue to do.

and to alissa: thank you for joining our merry troupe and for your enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication. hell, girl, you scare me...and that's just what a good stage manager should do.

and my darling lisa, my partner, my touchstone, my wife, my Love: none of this is possible without you. more importantly, without you, none of it matters.

etonne-moi
gt

Love-Fest

In talking with my cast mates and working on this show, ya'll might not believe that our rehearsals are going as well as we are blogging. But it is! It is so nice to be a part of an ensemble and grow together and work together and be such a well oiled machine that anything can be thrown our way and we'll conquer it, together.

There are no restrictions. We did not all agree to only reveal the good things about what we are doing... there just isn't anything to complain about! That is so nice.

Tonight was amazing. In the scene I have with Isabel we were brought to the next level and it's powerful. I love the transitions we have made, the places we are in and I love being Alais. She is such a fun ride. Every night there is a new step and after we got off stage, Isabel looked at me and wanted to strangle me... I loved it! I love how we have been brought to this place, this scene, and it is so real it is bringing out natural reactions and making our interactions that much more profound. Thank you Isabel for being there with me! You are truly my sister in arms!

Thank you to the cast for taking what you've been given and making it real!

Alais

This Flattering Glass, the adventure

As we enter week three, I am amazed at the way this venture is taking shape. It is a grand undertaking, and we have no idea where it will take us. But we boldly step off the edge and trust our skills, intuition, and desires to take us to the heights we wish to achieve. What ever the result, we all have grown as a result of this challenge.

Thank you, Greg, for your dream and allowing us to be part of it. Lisa, you are so supporting and encouraging, we could not do this without your insight.

To my cast members, We are "This Flattering Glass". What we do reflects back our dedication and devotion to our craft.

Thank you all.

First Run Thru: Interlude

a few random thoughts that i had during the course of last night's rehearsal (in no particular order): oh yes...GOOD!...i told you NOT to play with the guns...YES...i really need to learn my lines...hm, it doesn't fall out when i have it...YESYESYESYESYES...i'm so happy...damn

Exciting (posted for Jesseree who is having puter issues)

Exciting is when you can't wait for the rest of your day to go by so you can go to rehearsal.... This play is exciting; this theatre company is exciting!

First Run: Prelude

so tomorrow is our first full run of the show and i am deliciously intrigued to see what will happen. of all the shows i have done, this is the first in which the actors deliberately and very definitely bring new ideas and new levels to each and every rehearsal. from the foundation of their own work, to communicating meaning, to playing the language, to listening, to communicating relationships, to physicalizing emotions...every night...something new...something deeper.

and not just some of them, but every one of them. i find it impossible to single out the exemplary work that one of them is doing for the simple reason that they are all doing exemplary work. and i choose to use that word very deliberately: exemplary. each of them is working at a level that is an example to each of the others. and, oh my, how they do feed on it.

so tomorrow is our first full run...and i have the feeling that something wonderful this way comes.

We Play With Balls

In our "focus ups" GT has lead us through a particular exercise that I find to be the most helpful. It's the Space Ball exercise. Now this is no ordinary ball, this ball can be any shape, size and it changes on a whim. This ball emotes too.

The hardest part for me is to get the Space Ball out on my head. I can picture a ball, you can say "think of a volleyball," and my mind will picture a volleyball. This is not the Space Ball exercise. The Space Ball is made of the space in front of you. It's up to you to make the Space Ball real and to play with the ball. We play with the Space Ball on our own and sometimes we combine Space Balls and play with a partner or a group. It's interesting to see what the other cast members come up with, new way to play with the Space Ball, different games to play with the Space Ball, it's all individualized and real.

Last night we played with the Space Balls as we were feeling different emotions. We were experiencing different feelings in regards to our relationship with the Space Ball. I feel bad for my Space Ball because I was more aggressive with it and it went through some abuse.

After our exercise is completed, I can feel my palm tingle as if I can still feel the ball, my arms are warm from the movements and playing, my legs tingle from focusing on moving to get the ball, and I'm a little out of breathe (because I am out of shape) from playing with the ball. My whole entire body is so focused on playing with the Space Ball, it is that real. And it's totally trippy to experience.

I love this exercise because it not only focuses my mind but my entire body too. I can put that energy into playing on stage with the actors and the space. Placing emotions into our Space Ball exercise raises the stakes and makes the playing that much more intense.

I have to say thank you to the ensemble for letting go of inhibitions, for following the exercises and for giving 100% to the space... the ensemble makes the environment open and welcome to be free to play! Thank you!

Alais

On Our Feet

Tonight we got up and started staging the show. Relationships are starting to appear, intent is coming through, and the language is melodic.

As a character on stage witnessing the scenes unfold I didn't know what to do at first, but felt comfortable and encouraged to play. Having the freedom, I started allowing my character to flow and natural reactions poured out of me. It was amazing!

This group, ensemble is the better word, has been working so well together... I can't wait to get the scripts out of our hands and see the real playing begin!

Thank you!

Alais

This Flattering Glass: Day 1

What an amazing beginning we have made. I cannot thank the cast enough: Renee, Hal, Dave, Jessica, Arthur, Matt, RJ, Julia, Melissa, Dave, Ron, Jag, Rene...you all dove in with both feet and more! If we opened tomorrow I would be proud of this show.

I look forward to where you take me. And thank you, Lisa, for keeping me on task.

etonne-moi
g

A Muse of Fire, Part Four: The Rest Is Silence

rehearsals are done. the show has become a dark, roiling thing that none of us could have ever conceived of...and it is wonderful
thank you, all
see you at the rogue!!!

A Muse of Fire, Part Three: Thank You

after much reflection, all i can really say after tonight's rehearsal is thank you. thank you to the amazing group of people who joined us (both in body and in spirit) at theatre taber for a wonderful, astounding, inspirational, and humbling evening of totally attitude driven bullshit...and some of the finest acting i have ever been privileged to see.

thank you and thank you and thank you.

and a special shout out to marcel and renee for your support...it's good to know who your friends are. and to mister albritton: thanks for chronicalling the event. we look forward to working together again.

as to the rest....the proof is in the work.
etonne-moi
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A Muse of Fire, Part Two: Character Counts!

tonight's rehearsal was devoted entirely to character work. one solid hour of complete and total, full-body physicalization of a character's emotion core, spine, effort action, image, and attitude line. the intensity was such that i found myself, as director/coach, having to do a step-out to detach from what was happening.

we began with a game of red light, green light to get warmed up and to get the nature full-body involvement squarely seated. from there it was straight into emotion core: the single, central, driving emotional force within a character. lisa's terrifyingly helpless regret almost brought me to tears and stephen's rage shimmered like blacktop on a hot summer's day. spine work opened up some new vistas for a number of people. finding the character's essential need (beyond the limits of the scene or the play) brought a delicious vulnerability to suzanne that was simply compelling. when we began the effort work, the physical transformations were astounding. from light to heavy, indirect to direct, sustained to sudden, and free to bound the actors ran the gamut of what the body can become. i've never seen devon freer, and i thought dave was going to collapse in on himself. then they combined the elements into full effort actions and gave birth to brand new people. with imagery new physicalizations blossomed. i have no idea what the images were that they were using, but i couldn't take my eyes off jim's hands except for those moments when i was being drawn into arthur's subtle, but undeniable, presence. we ended our focus work with attitude line and, once again, the transformations were striking.

the evening finished with a couple of monologue runs. i can't say much about that for fear of spoiling the surprise...but i can say that ron brought it all to bear and owned the room.

tomorrow is our last official rehearsal: a little warm up, a little play, and then some well deserved and highly anticipated sharing of the work for group response...and then a little wine and a lot of good talk with even better people. and it just struck me that, whatever this show becomes, and we won't know that until next friday, we'll have done it all on about four hours of rehearsal.

well whaddya know about that...?

A Muse of Fire, Part One

we had our first group rehearsal for muse of fire last night... i am still stunned almost 12 hours later. we've worked individually on visualization, fluency, language, relationship, emotion, action and character, and we continued in that vein as a cast yesterday. the dedication to the craft, the commitment to artistic excellence, and the willingness to rush blindly into new territory were palpable. everyone brought their own work to the process and then enagaged this new process of ours as fully as they were capable...and who could ask for more?

tonight we move into specific character work and i'm so looking forward to what emerges.

thank you all (lisa, tom, jim, dave, ron, suzanne, devon, stephen, arthur) for being who you are and for doing what you do.

etonne-moi

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