
01/15/2024 - 01/21/2024
"He would be able to create a scent that was not merely human, but super human, an angels scent, so indescribably good and vital that whoever smelt it would be enchanted and with his whole heart would have to love him."
Patrick Süskind, Perfume
This week has been an absolute whirlwind. Last Monday was our first day of rehearsal for Big League's touring production of Little Women, and we've been hard at work every day since. Day one was a general company meet-and-greet, followed by a read through of the show. Day two we got specific and learned all of the music, and the rest of the week has been staging, dancing, and running all of Act One.
In case you aren't familiar with the musical, my character, Professor Bhaer, has very little to do in Act One. I have a brief scene with our heroine, Jo, right up top, establishing her as a struggling writer living in New York in 1865. We quickly flashback to life in Concord, Massachusetts, where we meet the rest of the titular sisters. Spoilers: I'm not back until Act Two, even for group numbers or transitions, so I've had a lot of down time in the studio when we aren't running my first scene.
Rest assured, I've made good use of the time offstage, typing up some future blog posts, and of course working on memorizing my lines, but I'm actually grateful to just sit back and watch the process. It's been almost two years since I've been in a show, and six years since I've worked in New York, but I forgot how much I love rehearsing material. It brings me such joy to watch a performer have that eureka moment and stumble upon pure genius. I love being in the room where it happens, even as an observer.
It's also been truly remarkable seeing the vision of our director, Jeffrey B. Moss, take shape. Most directors I've worked with will teach their preplanned blocking to the actors as quickly as possible, then eventually we'll find time to get specific and make discoveries the more we run through it. With Jeff, we'll pause for ten or fifteen minutes to plan out our movement, down to the fingertips. We aren't just working out the technical "How does this book get from here to here?" or "When should I stand and cross?", etc. Jeff wants to slow down and discuss and solidify each moment before we move on. And the beauty is that if we agree that something doesn't work the way we thought it would, he's quick to try something else until it's right. Every movement, gesture, and breath in this show is loaded with subtext and purpose, and it's creating some wonderful theater.
I'll be honest, there are some songs in this show that I used to find boring and skippable whenever I'd listen to the OBC album. Now, watching this team of artists has made me think of them in a new way. Seeing John Brooke's physical discomfort melt away during "More Than I Am," or watching the girls dance and play in "I'd Be Delighted" has been a revelation. Every day I grow evermore impressed with the sheer talent we have in the room, and I keep wondering how I fooled the production team into letting me in here.
Seeing everyone work through the script to tell the best version of this story has made me contemplate my own scenes and character. Starting later today, in fact, we begin tackling Act Two, and I'm very excited to get up and play. My first impression of Bhaer when I read the book was the same as most everyone else's; a kooky, stuck up LitCrit who's inclusion in the novel, arguably, ruins its ending. Upon careful reflection, I've found a quiet kinship and understanding with that unassuming German fellow. All in all, I'm thoroughly excited for all of the elements to come together to make a magnificent show.
Most of my days have been occupied with rehearsals, and taking the train to and from rehearsals, and thinking about what I'm going to do when I get to rehearsals, so I don't have much else to report. I have officially launched Between the Lines, the review portion of my blog where I can talk about plays and novels in depth, and I'm excited to read and share more plays with y'all. Once I feel more comfortable with all of my stuff in Little Women, hopefully I'll be able to relax and read more this month.
I will say, last Thursday I finally finished my first novel of 2024, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind, and it made my skin crawl. The book was written in 1987, and follows Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the slums of Paris and abandoned by his mother, left to die in a fishing basket. He grows up to be a sinister young man who, despite having no natural body odor of his own, possesses an incomparable sense of smell. He quickly masters the ancient art of mixing flowers, herbs, and oils, but his quest to become the "ultimate perfumer" starts him down a dark path of betrayal and brutal murder. Scent and body odor are used as metaphors for the human soul in the book, and even though Grenouille possesses a superhuman ability to smell out the true nature of human beings, he is himself scentless, therefore soulless. The book is pure poetry, with hardly any dialogue, and after page 100 went off in a completely different direction than where I thought we were going. This book is usually written off as the shocking and edgy "I hate all of humanity, everyone must die" book, but I was deeply moved by its closing chapter, a sneaky plea to find your soul and purpose in what you create. 8.2/10
In any case, the New Jersey Leverage's are officially a couple of working actors, folks. Heidi is back to rehearsing her show after her holiday hiatus, and she heads into the city pretty much as I'm coming back home. In fact, last Friday at Secaucus Junction, I was boarding my train home seconds after her city bound train arrived, and we had to say "Hi/Bye" through a train car window. We knew that these few weeks before I hit the road would be our last chance to spend time together, but the reality has hit me pretty hard now that it's actually here. She has been an absolute angel, tending to household chores while I'm in the city all day, volunteering to make dinner once I'm home and mentally exhausted, editing out unnecessary commas in each of my blog posts, all the while managing her own acting career? She's a warrior, and I'm grateful to her every day.
Looking forward, I hope to soak up as much Wife Time as I can, so there has been a lot of cuddling, napping, and gaming together this weekend, and we're planning out date nights and mini-adventures whenever we can find the time, like getting Wawa and putting air in the tires; the simple joys. I know we're all so often preoccupied with the relentless stress and frustrations of every day life, but it's so important to slow down, stand still, and pay attention to the important stuff. Take a bath, read a book, go for a walk, love yourself, and love each other. Go find your soul and purpose in what you create.
And scene.
Comments