Back again and ready for action!!!

 After taking a brief hiatus from rehearsals for work last week I bounced (bounce, get it) back into the production this tuesday. We started with a game of 'bang' which was very fun, if a bit scary and stressful for me. It was a new game for me and it was a pleasure to be introduced to the game of bang by the students of HCC. It quickly got everybody's energy soaring and we were ready to start another rip roaring oliver Twist rehearsal.

  This rehearsal was a basic blocking rehearsal of one of Fagin's dens scenes, but Louise had assigned me to do some extra character work with Suresh and Kit who are playing Mr and Mrs Bumble respectively. We needed to explore how the characters relationship changed throughout the story, from humble work colleagues to embittered married couple. So I took the two of them aside and got them to read all the small scenes they had together. After that was done I got them to look at and think about they're beginning scene together, in the workhouse, and they're last scene together, as a disfunctional couple, and ask them how they felt the relationship had changed between the two scenes. This was followed by an activity where I got them to improvise a small scene where Mr Bumble proposed to Mrs Corney to bridge the gap between the two scenes, which Kit and Suresh did very well. After that I felt my work was done and we blocked the next scene with Mr Bumble and Mrs Corney all prepared.

  Today (Saturday 11th October) we finished off the last bits of blocking for act 1 and ran it for the first time. I was once again assigned to work through small bits of character and voice work with some of the cast that weren't needed for certain points. That all went well and then we ran act 1 in it's entirety for the first time. It had its hitch ups but for a first time run it was very good, especially since we didn't have everybody there. Cant't wait to next time when we shall approach act 2! It's gonna be great!!