Today was our first day with costumes! What a joy it was! The energy was vibrant and I could just tell that everyone was really happy to be in the space. There are so many folks backstage to help now, which is absolutely lovely! Whenever there are new folks, I try to make everyone feel as welcomed as possible. I know it’s a new space and a lot of us are learning how to do these important jobs for the first time. I think it’s really crucial to walk around and meet everyone and make sure that everyone feels included and welcomed. I think that connections are what make great shows. For example, if I don’t introduce myself to the sound tech then I feel like there’s a disconnect between the sound of this world and Margot, and I don’t want that. And maybe that’s all superfluous, but it matters to me and I can find the time. I try to make these connections happen as early on in the process as I can so that I can focus when the time comes for me to get to work! Today I achieved that goal and I think I have officially met everyone. Hooray!
The best part of today for me as an actor though, was getting lots of time onstage to understand my surroundings and play my actions. We had several holds today for lights and sounds, some of which when I was onstage by myself. This was a glorious time for me. I love retracing my steps, patterns, moments, and beats over and over again and this gave me a lot of time to work with our beautiful set, props, costumes, etc. The design is really helping me so much and I feel blessed to be able to play with all of these intricate items and elements, like my sewing needles, the scissors, the glasses, the doors, and lights. I really appreciated this “alone time” to work through beats.
There was one beat today that we worked on, after the kisses scene, where Margot goes through her house, turns off the lights, and does a few other actions. There was a moment that took place by the french doors that I am absolutely in love with. Margot is kind of reeling from kissing Maxine and there is so much going through her head. She eyes the drinks table, goes for it, pours a rather large drink, and then the chimes of the church clock begin to ring. She’s surrounded by this noisy energy inside of her head. It is bursting out through her ears and the ends of her hair. And then we hear this noisy, aggressive bell tolling, which you know must drive her crazy, hearing it on the hour right outside her home. She takes a sip or her drink and looks out the window at the street, then she looks out the french doors, at the church and hears it chime. I take a long swig of my drink, and I mean long. The designers and Marc have gifted me a lot of time to do what I need to do, so that we can see her work through the thoughts in her head. Marc and our lighting designer Cat made sure that I had everything I needed in order to succeed during these moments and I really appreciate it.