I am finding this whole process remarkably difficult to write about. Not because I dont have anything to say, but because I have so many thoughts that I cant put them in order. Let me just start by going through a typical day of rehearsals.
All of the actors are staying together in a cottage a little ways from the prison. So first thing in the morning there is a general scramble to get up and out for the day. Lots of hurried cups of tea, burnt sausages and crumpets usually make an appearance as we all bundle ourselves into our cars and head down the road. Once we arrive at the prison we congregate at the front gate and are given our id passes. We have a fantastic guard who has been assigned to be our liaison for the project. He knows us all by sight and will banter with us as we assemble one car load at a time. Occasionally there are questions about what we can and cannot bring in with us to rehearsal, but by now we basically have the drill down. Every once in a while there will be a random search and someone will have to empty out their bag and pockets, but since no one brings a whole lot to rehearsals this isnt too much of a hassle.
Once everyone is checked in and badged we head out to the rehearsal space. I always mean to count the gates we pass through, but I havent managed it yet. I think it is something like 6 gates, each of which has to be unlocked for us and then locked again once we have passed through. On our walk to the room we pass the gym. We usually get waves from some of the guys as we go past, there are usually at least one or two of our cast members getting in a workout before rehearsal. Once in the room we have a few minutes to grab a cup of tea, lock up our stuff and start warming up before the guys start showing up.
Now these guys, these guys are kind of incredible. I don't want to invade anyones privacy, so I wont go in to too many specifics. I don't know a whole lot about most of them, only what they chose to share, and that is pretty personal to each of them. But the fact that they are part of this production is amazing. I am pretty inspired by them on a daily basis.
Spirits are high from the moment they arrive in the room. Everyone is chatty, and the energy is infectious. Soon the room is full and we begin our day. The rehearsals themselves are both very similar to every rehearsal I have been in, and completely different. For one thing most of the guys have no experience with this sort of process. So, sometimes the chatting gets a bit noisy, or someone will wander off for a drink of water in the middle of the scene they are rehearsing. But for the most part everyone is pretty attentive. There are moments where things don't go as expected, and there are times when things can get tense, however the rehearsals keep moving forward.
The amount of work and energy these guys are putting into this project is fantastic. There have been some amazing moments in rehearsals. Moments where you realize that although the room was buzzing with whispered conversations a few seconds before, now every single person is transfixed by what is happening on stage. Moments of incredible humor and levity - the number of times the whole room will burst into laughter is staggering. And incredibly moving moments - when the entire cast joins in to sing Somewhere with Tony and Maria, the day we closed the rehearsal with Maria's final monologue.
The days are exhausting, even though the women's chorus are only in a few numbers. With these rehearsals you really have to be in the room every second. For one thing you cant bring all that much in with you. I will often bring some knitting or a book to keep myself busy when I am not being used in a scene, but I cant bring knitting needles, and most of my books are on my kindle here, which is also a banned item. Aside from that though I sort of feel like I really do have to be attentive the whole time - as an example to those who aren't used to rehearsals, but also to support the guys while they are working. It is easy to forget how foreign this sort of thing is to people outside of the business. So we are all there to be as supportive and encouraging for these guys as they step completely outside of their comfort zone.
The flip side of that is that we also have to be on all the time, to watch what we say to these guys and how we interact with them. They are not professional actors and we need to remember that. These guys are all where they are for a reason, and we just need to be cognizant of that. To be completely honest there are moments that have made me a bit nervous. And every once in a while I do sort of remember just where I am and who I am working with. However, these moments are completely overshadowed by how much you can tell this project means to the guys involved.
So, even though I am only in rehearsals a few days a week I find myself rather tuckered out the rest of the time. That being said I do look forward to these rehearsals for the entire week until I get to head out on Wednesdays.
I doubt this will be a flawless production. I miss the amount of dance that normally goes into West Side Story, and the majority of the cast have no performance experience to speak of. Nonetheless, I think this will be an incredibly powerful show when we are done. I am so proud to be part of this production.
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