Coronado rehearsals - week 2

It’s happy fun time being off-book

So we were all off book by today for Dennis Lehane’s Coronado at SF Playhouse, and had the producer’s run this afternoon, a travesty for actors and an absolute necessity for designers, who don’t like our acting any better than we do at this stage of rehearsal.  It is however, an evil that cannot be avoided.  So the extremely talented designers for lights and sound and costumes all watch as the actors try desperately to make sense a very good play.

I am constantly amazed by how much fun the role of Will is to play, and how excited I am by the thought of opening.  Usually around this time in the rehearsal process I am introspective and thoughtful, but currently I am sky high with excitement and challenge and anticipation for a great show.

The flip side of this coin is that I am thoroughly exhausted by the rehearsal of this play, and will probably be doubly exhausted in the performance of it.  That is an excellent problem to have .

People think about theatre as ‘fine’ art for the overeducated and love-y.  Well, as you can see from “Real World” to “Ice Truckers” to “Rock of Love”, theatre tends to be outside the normal entertainment  envelope for the normal .  The great thing about this play is that it has all the sex and violence of popular entertainment, but with the thought and complexity of good writing.  Just look at Apple computers.  People will pay money for a superior product.  All you have to do is make that product so good that they have to have it.

So wish me luck, and come see Coronado.  Stay tuned for more bloggy.

There’s more to life than being really really ridiculously good-looking. And a blog entry without a photo, boring.