Blocking the Show

To tag on to my director's previous post, I would like to include my reflections on the past 2 weeks of blocking the show, which have gone by so fast!! In our second week of rehearsal we experienced some real breakthroughs with the process of character creation. Part of our warmups everyday became an exploration of making the transition into character both physically and mentally. I found it as a way to create the world from each person, to their connections with others, to finally their interactions from the bar. I think this kind of repetitive exercise allowed everyone to make new personal discoveries everyday, and to expand their character day by day as they prepared to enter into blocking the show for that day. As we went through the week I think we saw the benefits of this initial connection to character and particularly later on in the week when we revisited some of the earlier scenes, we were able to see substantial growth, especially for week 2 of the production process. Most particularly, on Thursday we were running Commander Osembenga's first scene, and the tension had been great in the past, but we were trying to get the entire ensemble to really react as one to the Commander's new energy. Suddenly it clicked for everyone in the middle of the scene and the actors' responses became chilling in response to this powerful man's presence. Truly this was a breakthrough in our process, because the ensemble was able to really move together, which is definitely a step in the right direction as far as the creation of this show is concerned.

Moving on to Week 3 in our process, we finished the task of blocking the show, which is always a huge step in the production process, and began to run it. The transition from blocking a show to the run shifts the entire show into a much wider focus and arc, especially for the actors. Up to this point, we as a production are thinking in the context of scenes, focusing on specific character moments, however it is the first run that allows us to delve into the character as a whole. During this enlightening time actors usually find out what the show has in store for them, and for our actors the consensus became, "Wow, this show is really hard." Though it seems like a rather elementary deduction to make, I think that such a simple statement reflects the intensity of this show. Ruined is different than any traditional theatre-going experience because it is jam-packed and it takes no prisoners in its portrayal of the ongoing conflict in the Congo. Because of this unforgiving approach, the level of dedication that these actors need not only to their circumstances, but to their characters is absolutely exhausting and for that I respect them. I think many people have come across the quote " If you're not sweating, you're not doing it right," and that saying certainly rings true in the context of this show. So I invite you all to continue reading this blog following our progress and to come out and see these actors sweat!!

Thanks and Love!

Chrich