Lesson's in previews

It's been a while!

I was recently cast in a show (which has turned my schedule upside down), but I wanted to get off an update before our opening. We've been in previews all last week, and I'm delighted to say they've been nothing but fantastic. I'm blessed to be a part of such a great cast, and our audiences have been wonderfully engaged and responsive to the work.

Previews are a fun time. You really begin to fine tune things and let let the work you do in rehearsal  sink in and come to life. You also start figuring out how you're going to keep that performance alive and fresh five days a week after that "opening night" energy has worn off. A few things I find helpful:

1. Relax, let go, and listen - there comes a point in a show where I have to let go of the lines, and simply relax, listen to my surroundings, and live in the scene. It requires a lot of trust. Trust that everything (lines, actions, etc) will come to me from the muscle memory I've created in rehearsal.
2. I also find it best not to try and re-create moments. If I find a spontaneous moment that garners a response from the audience I don't try to force it the next night. Forcing things usually never works out. Instead, I focus on the work that got me that moment in the first place, and trust that I'll re-discover it the next night.
3. I like to focus on behavior and actions, not on the lines. Life is behavior. Dialogue is a small subset of behavior. When I focus on lines, it just connects my head to the scene, but when I focus on behavior it'll connect my whole body to the scene.
4. I like to let go of emotions. Emotional responses are great when they happen, but if I anticipate them they usually won't happen for me the next night. Or sometimes they'll happen in different and unexpected places (which can be a great discovery during the run of the show).

That's all for now! If anyone would like to see the show here's the info:

"The Man of the Hour"

playing at the Metropolitan Playhouse (220 E. 4th Street)

Tickets at:

http://www.metropolitanplayhouse.org/manofthehour