What an unusual experience this week has been.
On December 9, we had our last full cast rehearsal before our Act 1 stumble-through, during which we staged the St. Dunstan's Marketplace scene and did some review of the opening of the show. I then had three rehearsals (December 10, 12, and 16) for which no more than five actors were called at any time, and it was only two people for very large periods of time.
It's hard work rehearsing a large cast show. It doesn't really matter how focused or hard-working any cast is – and this cast is really focused and hard-working – running a large rehearsal is very hard work, and you always feel like you spend more time doing traffic control than you spend directing, so I was really looking forward to doing the three smaller rehearsals. Those rehearsals were really fun for me. We got to assemble some very challenging musical moments. We got to polish scenes that we had already staged, playing with different levels and different intentions and exploring the power dynamics between various characters. After staging one scene, we actually had time to do table work, reading the text to discover the rhythm of the scene, before putting it back on its feet. Those moments are the real joy of the work for me – they are the reason that I will always prefer rehearsing over simply performing a piece.
Given my enjoyment of the smaller rehearsals, it was surprising to me, on Monday night's stumble-through, how excited I was to see the entire cast back in the rehearsal room – it made me feel all "warm and fuzzy." I think that people who work in theatre are (absolutely must be) inherently collaborative, and it was a real joy to share our work with the rest of the company, to see how the work of people had developed during their week off, and just to spend time again with people who are working so hard on the same project as me.
This is a very special cast, and I am very happy to share this rehearsal period with all of them.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Act the Second
Having completed the Act I stumble-through (which had significantly fewer stumbles than some shows I've been in) I have to say that the show is looking really good. There were several moments that sent shivers down my spine. The moment that hit me the most was in Poor Thing; the masqueraders were dancing around Turpin and Johanna and it was really eerie watching the two through the crowd.
I'm really looking forward to starting Act II tonight, as that's where the story gets even meatier (I had to, I'm sorry!). I can't wait to see what we bring to the table for the second act.
--
Matthew Hyslop
Art imitates life imitates art.
I'm really looking forward to starting Act II tonight, as that's where the story gets even meatier (I had to, I'm sorry!). I can't wait to see what we bring to the table for the second act.
--
Matthew Hyslop
Art imitates life imitates art.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Belly Laughs
Tongiht was the first stumble through of act one of Sweeney, and overall, I think it went very well. What I loved the most was the humour that is in this show. Sweeney has a reputation of being on the darker side, and it does have some tremendously powerful moments. But these are balanced, or perhaps accented, by moment of sheer belly-laugh-inducing humour.
Tonight, my five biggest laughs came from five small moments:
1) Perelli's high note in the blackmail scene.
2) Perelli's hand doing its best "thing" impression.
3) Toby holding out a star chart for consideration by the crowds of the barber competition.
4) Mrs. Lovett's line, "That's all very well, but what are we going to do about the Italian" just after the emotional high of Sweeney's Epiphany.
5) Andrew (our dear Sweeney) counting his entrance timing out loud during "A Little Priest" which, I will say, both he and our Laurie (our Lovett) got through, off book, having just learned the scene approximately 27 hours earlier.
Yes, this vengence play is bloody. But it also has moments that are bloody funny! Thank you, everyone, for making me laugh tonight!
Tonight, my five biggest laughs came from five small moments:
1) Perelli's high note in the blackmail scene.
2) Perelli's hand doing its best "thing" impression.
3) Toby holding out a star chart for consideration by the crowds of the barber competition.
4) Mrs. Lovett's line, "That's all very well, but what are we going to do about the Italian" just after the emotional high of Sweeney's Epiphany.
5) Andrew (our dear Sweeney) counting his entrance timing out loud during "A Little Priest" which, I will say, both he and our Laurie (our Lovett) got through, off book, having just learned the scene approximately 27 hours earlier.
Yes, this vengence play is bloody. But it also has moments that are bloody funny! Thank you, everyone, for making me laugh tonight!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Every Twelve Years (Or So...)
I've realized, recently, that I have a very odd relationship with Sweeney Todd. The show seems to re-enter my life in a particularly powerful way every 12 years, although, to be fair, it has never really been that far absent since my first encounter with the recording when I was 14.
In 1988/89, I was a graduate student at the University of Western Ontario, deep in the throes of writing my master's thesis, "The Solo Scene in the Musical Theatre of Stephen Sondheim." (I felt things so deeply then. I remember having a great discussion – in the best, most enjoyable and most challenging, sense of the word – with my thesis advisor over that title, since I really wanted it to read "...in the Music Theatre of...", and that was very important to me at the time.)
Chapter 4 of my thesis is about Sweeney Todd. It was the first chapter that I wrote in full version, and it was the chapter that helped me discover my writing style for the entire work. While researching my thesis, I dove into the conventions of melodrama and positioned Sweeney within those constructs. I also spent a great deal of time discussing pastiche, particularly in relation to Mrs. Lovett's music, since Chapter 2 of my thesis had introduced those concepts in relation to Follies. Rereading the work now, however, the most detailed analysis is of song structure or form. Sondheim had said that he believed the content of a scene dictated the required form of a musical number, and I took that assertion to heart. My thesis contains (among other things) a detailed analysis of the structure of Todd's final solo in Act 1, "Epiphany," and I go to great lengths to show the progress of Todd's thinking from his frenzied opening through the development of a recurring theme – in a number of smaller rondo sections and a possible overarching structure of a loose rondo – which represents his quest for vengeance. I became almost Todd-like in my obsession with the structure of that number.
In 2000/01, I was fortunate enough to be hired by Scarborough Music Theatre to music direct their first production of Sweeney Todd. (I felt things so deeply then. I remember having a great discussion – in the best, most enjoyable and most challenging, sense of the word – with Randy Leslie, who was the extraordinary director of that production, about the lack of music for the curtain call. Spoiler alert: there is still no music for the curtain call.)
Despite having discovered the same thing as a student 12 years earlier, I again became fascinated with song structures. Randy asked me to write a program note as music director to help the audience understand the piece better, and I once again turned to structural matters in the following. "Listen for moments of greater simplicity in the music: compare the traditional style and harmonies of Anthony's love song to the disjointed structure of Todd's 'Epiphany,' in which his evil plans are finalized." I had to live inside the music in a much deeper way this time, however, as I had to teach the score – teaching the notes is hard enough work, teaching people how to find all of the dramatic moments on top of learning the complex melodies and rhythms was incredibly challenging – to a group of people with varied musical background. I learned so much more, finding new dramatic impetuses for action in the music and discovering new things about these complex characters.
It's now 2012/13, and I've returned to Sweeney Todd at SMT. I still feel things so deeply, but it's still a little too fresh to talk about my great "discussions." Already in rehearsal, however, certain moments, certain relationships, and the willingness of the cast to throw themselves into the material has moved me almost to tears.
Unsurprisingly, I have found myself again intrigued by song structures. In my preparation work over the summer, I learned something fascinating about "A Little Priest," which I have taken opportunities to discuss with the choreographer and the two cast members who will work with me, next Sunday, to stage the number. The song structure, which had remained hidden to me for the past 24 years despite writing a thesis about the work and conducting it, revealed something surprising to me about the relationships of those characters and the way in which they are trying to control each other. Other lessons in song structure keep coming back to me. Teaching Judge Turpin's version of "Johanna" – both the music and the blocking – returned me to the structural analysis chart I wrote in my thesis 24 years ago. That may not have been particularly helpful for the actor, but it really helped me prepare for the staging of that number, and it kept grounding me in the honesty, as opposed to the melodrama, of the moment.
It is interesting to be this deep within the piece again after an absence of so many years. I find that I still remember how I taught certain sections of the score in 2000/01 – I remember the tricks that helped that cast learn its complexities. There are, however, vast passages that I don't remember teaching at all. I'm sure that we performed them, and I remember them onstage, but I have no recollection of conducting them. I've also been 21 for 12 years longer than I had in 2000/01. I relate more to the emotions of the older characters, and I feel the depth of emotion in people's desperation to attain something, but my body is going to struggle with the physicality of the conducting, and I'm always slightly more tired and less energetic in rehearsals. That doesn't make me enjoy the process any less – it just makes me worried about what I might be asked to do in the 2024/25 production of Sweeney...
In 1988/89, I was a graduate student at the University of Western Ontario, deep in the throes of writing my master's thesis, "The Solo Scene in the Musical Theatre of Stephen Sondheim." (I felt things so deeply then. I remember having a great discussion – in the best, most enjoyable and most challenging, sense of the word – with my thesis advisor over that title, since I really wanted it to read "...in the Music Theatre of...", and that was very important to me at the time.)
Chapter 4 of my thesis is about Sweeney Todd. It was the first chapter that I wrote in full version, and it was the chapter that helped me discover my writing style for the entire work. While researching my thesis, I dove into the conventions of melodrama and positioned Sweeney within those constructs. I also spent a great deal of time discussing pastiche, particularly in relation to Mrs. Lovett's music, since Chapter 2 of my thesis had introduced those concepts in relation to Follies. Rereading the work now, however, the most detailed analysis is of song structure or form. Sondheim had said that he believed the content of a scene dictated the required form of a musical number, and I took that assertion to heart. My thesis contains (among other things) a detailed analysis of the structure of Todd's final solo in Act 1, "Epiphany," and I go to great lengths to show the progress of Todd's thinking from his frenzied opening through the development of a recurring theme – in a number of smaller rondo sections and a possible overarching structure of a loose rondo – which represents his quest for vengeance. I became almost Todd-like in my obsession with the structure of that number.
In 2000/01, I was fortunate enough to be hired by Scarborough Music Theatre to music direct their first production of Sweeney Todd. (I felt things so deeply then. I remember having a great discussion – in the best, most enjoyable and most challenging, sense of the word – with Randy Leslie, who was the extraordinary director of that production, about the lack of music for the curtain call. Spoiler alert: there is still no music for the curtain call.)
Despite having discovered the same thing as a student 12 years earlier, I again became fascinated with song structures. Randy asked me to write a program note as music director to help the audience understand the piece better, and I once again turned to structural matters in the following. "Listen for moments of greater simplicity in the music: compare the traditional style and harmonies of Anthony's love song to the disjointed structure of Todd's 'Epiphany,' in which his evil plans are finalized." I had to live inside the music in a much deeper way this time, however, as I had to teach the score – teaching the notes is hard enough work, teaching people how to find all of the dramatic moments on top of learning the complex melodies and rhythms was incredibly challenging – to a group of people with varied musical background. I learned so much more, finding new dramatic impetuses for action in the music and discovering new things about these complex characters.
It's now 2012/13, and I've returned to Sweeney Todd at SMT. I still feel things so deeply, but it's still a little too fresh to talk about my great "discussions." Already in rehearsal, however, certain moments, certain relationships, and the willingness of the cast to throw themselves into the material has moved me almost to tears.
Unsurprisingly, I have found myself again intrigued by song structures. In my preparation work over the summer, I learned something fascinating about "A Little Priest," which I have taken opportunities to discuss with the choreographer and the two cast members who will work with me, next Sunday, to stage the number. The song structure, which had remained hidden to me for the past 24 years despite writing a thesis about the work and conducting it, revealed something surprising to me about the relationships of those characters and the way in which they are trying to control each other. Other lessons in song structure keep coming back to me. Teaching Judge Turpin's version of "Johanna" – both the music and the blocking – returned me to the structural analysis chart I wrote in my thesis 24 years ago. That may not have been particularly helpful for the actor, but it really helped me prepare for the staging of that number, and it kept grounding me in the honesty, as opposed to the melodrama, of the moment.
It is interesting to be this deep within the piece again after an absence of so many years. I find that I still remember how I taught certain sections of the score in 2000/01 – I remember the tricks that helped that cast learn its complexities. There are, however, vast passages that I don't remember teaching at all. I'm sure that we performed them, and I remember them onstage, but I have no recollection of conducting them. I've also been 21 for 12 years longer than I had in 2000/01. I relate more to the emotions of the older characters, and I feel the depth of emotion in people's desperation to attain something, but my body is going to struggle with the physicality of the conducting, and I'm always slightly more tired and less energetic in rehearsals. That doesn't make me enjoy the process any less – it just makes me worried about what I might be asked to do in the 2024/25 production of Sweeney...
Friday, December 7, 2012
Actors are a strange bunch...
At one point in Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, the Player King states, "we're actors. We're the opposite of people."
As I work to get off book, I am amuzed at how this fits.
Who but an actor would look forward to going home to sing lyrics of a man tormented by the lust he feels for his adopted daughter? Who but an actor would look forward to practicing ripping off his shirt and scourgin himself while singing these lyrics? Who would then look forawrd to using his kitchen scissor (the ones he uses to cut open his milk bags) to trim the extra length of his practice whip, so that it hit his back just right?
Moreover, who but another actor would comment to this first actor, "I'm so jealous! I wanted to flaggilate!"
Judge Turpin's song, Johanna, is a rich and deep song. For all the whipping and lust, there's a tremendous depth, conflict, and journey. Turpin doesn't actually have a lot of time on stage, but his presence is ever felt; this song is one of the reasons. It's what I like to term a "juicy" song. It's a song that can very easily suffer of, as Michael terms it, moustache twirling, but the genious of the song is that all of the signposts are there in the music to keep you away from that urge, if you pay attention to them.
I continue to be thankful and excited to have the chance to look for these signs. I've already found a few of them in the past couple days of practice at home. I look forward to finding more in the upcoming weeks, and to bringing an audience along with me on this dark, but satisfying journey.
As I work to get off book, I am amuzed at how this fits.
Who but an actor would look forward to going home to sing lyrics of a man tormented by the lust he feels for his adopted daughter? Who but an actor would look forward to practicing ripping off his shirt and scourgin himself while singing these lyrics? Who would then look forawrd to using his kitchen scissor (the ones he uses to cut open his milk bags) to trim the extra length of his practice whip, so that it hit his back just right?
Moreover, who but another actor would comment to this first actor, "I'm so jealous! I wanted to flaggilate!"
Judge Turpin's song, Johanna, is a rich and deep song. For all the whipping and lust, there's a tremendous depth, conflict, and journey. Turpin doesn't actually have a lot of time on stage, but his presence is ever felt; this song is one of the reasons. It's what I like to term a "juicy" song. It's a song that can very easily suffer of, as Michael terms it, moustache twirling, but the genious of the song is that all of the signposts are there in the music to keep you away from that urge, if you pay attention to them.
I continue to be thankful and excited to have the chance to look for these signs. I've already found a few of them in the past couple days of practice at home. I look forward to finding more in the upcoming weeks, and to bringing an audience along with me on this dark, but satisfying journey.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Speedy Todd
So, here we are, almost 3 weeks into rehearsals and this weekend we're about to stumble the first half of Act I... OFF BOOK, OF COURSE!!
Let me put this into perspective for you. In less than 3 weeks, the cast has managed to learn and memorize most of the music for ACT 1. That's music, choreography, blocking... even scene changes! Do you have any idea just how crazy that is??? 3 WEEKS!!! That's a testament to just how committed this cast is and how well prepared our production team is.
The problem I have with all this... If things continue to move along so well,, what are we going to do for the last 3 weeks of rehearsal before we open?
Answers on the back of a postcard please... (does anyone even USE postcards anymore?)
Let me put this into perspective for you. In less than 3 weeks, the cast has managed to learn and memorize most of the music for ACT 1. That's music, choreography, blocking... even scene changes! Do you have any idea just how crazy that is??? 3 WEEKS!!! That's a testament to just how committed this cast is and how well prepared our production team is.
The problem I have with all this... If things continue to move along so well,, what are we going to do for the last 3 weeks of rehearsal before we open?
Answers on the back of a postcard please... (does anyone even USE postcards anymore?)
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Technical Language of Dot
Apparently I have a unique way of describing movements. It
has been pointed out to me that I make up phrases and words all the time. Although,
I don’t believe for a second that I am the only person who has ever watched the
dance sequence in Poor Thing and thought to call it the Happy Rape Dance or
Festive Fornication. I mean, of course, the crowd in Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir
turns into an Angry Mob Bubble that lead Sweeney and Lovett’s Parade of Sorrow. Right?Whaaaat?!!
The cast understood me. Or at least faked it well. Thanks guys!
Hitting the Ground Running
So we’re into our 2nd week of rehearsals – well
full cast rehearsals. Our leads had already been hard at work learning the
crazy score with Michael for two weeks with awesome results.
For me the first week was a bit of a trial by fire. I had 3
big numbers in the first act to choreograph and they were all scheduled for the
first week. Insanity! But good insanity. It’s been a long time since I’ve
choreographed and at first I panicked thinking “oh God, how will I make all
these people move around the stage and make it make sense and how will they
remember everything when they’re trying to sing this crazy Sondheim score at
the same time?!!!!"
Apparently, I worried for nothing. We have an ensemble full
of folks who are talented and eager and focused. We whipped through those first
three numbers and when we had some review time they got up and just did the
numbers they had learned during the week. Usually when you start to make folks move while they sing it goes a little bit to hell in a handbasket. But not these kids. There was very little that had to be
fixed. I swear, I’m not having a dream sequence, they really nailed it.
On top of their ridiculous ability to retain information they have a great give and take. I really believe that it's important for everyone on stage to have a motivation, to be engaged and in the moment. There is nothing worse than watching a show where the ensemble is the equivalent of singing scenery. Dead eyes. Pasted smiles. This group loves to play and aren’t
afraid to try things. You give them an idea and they totally take it and make
it their own. They are building their own stories within the scenes. Not a single wooden flat among them. Who could ask for more. Not me!
I’m grateful that I have this opportunity to try something
new. I am learning a lot and am feeling more than a little blessed by the team of folks I have to
work with.
On to the next number! Wheeeeeeee!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
my friend, my faithful friend: the mylar
Sometime in the last couple of years, a mylar covered screen was erected on
stage left side of the SMT rehearsal unit to simulate a mirror. I’ve always avoided
looking into it while performing because the few times I mistakenly looked, I
saw myself and not the character I perceived I was portraying. It always
disappointed me. But at Sweeney rehearsals, it has become a friend. At the
first rehearsal, I sat at the back, snuck a peek and mouthed to myself, “OMG.
You are Sweeney. You really are Sweeney. OMG. OMG. It’s you. Yes, you. Yep, you.” and
continued to mug for the mylar while making sure no one was looking.
The conversations with the mylar have progressed. At Wednesday’s rehearsal, for example it played shrink to me. I looked up and the reflection told me, "Keep going Andrew. Nobody said this was going to be easy. Pull it together." And it was then I randomly noticed what a damn good looking cast it is. I don’t think I've ever been in one this pretty. Maybe. Well? No. I don’t think I have. This is the prettiest. They’re all really good looking. And some of the sounds that I've heard excite me so much that I keep trying to find the opportunity to connect with some of them. But alas, I forget how alienating it can be when you’re playing a lead character. I feel kind of segregated for a hefty amount of time and then when a break comes, I feel so consumed with instruction and information that I find it rather difficult to chill out and socialize. That is one thing I really miss about being in the Joseph ensemble. I developed friendships quickly and really enjoyed the bond of being in the midst of the cast as opposed to feeling like I’m on the outer edges. I mean I know I do this for the artistic gratification but without the interaction of other creative types, it can feel kind of meaningless. Maybe I will be able to bridge that in the coming weeks. If not, I'll just have to develop my bond further with my faithful friend, the mylar.
The conversations with the mylar have progressed. At Wednesday’s rehearsal, for example it played shrink to me. I looked up and the reflection told me, "Keep going Andrew. Nobody said this was going to be easy. Pull it together." And it was then I randomly noticed what a damn good looking cast it is. I don’t think I've ever been in one this pretty. Maybe. Well? No. I don’t think I have. This is the prettiest. They’re all really good looking. And some of the sounds that I've heard excite me so much that I keep trying to find the opportunity to connect with some of them. But alas, I forget how alienating it can be when you’re playing a lead character. I feel kind of segregated for a hefty amount of time and then when a break comes, I feel so consumed with instruction and information that I find it rather difficult to chill out and socialize. That is one thing I really miss about being in the Joseph ensemble. I developed friendships quickly and really enjoyed the bond of being in the midst of the cast as opposed to feeling like I’m on the outer edges. I mean I know I do this for the artistic gratification but without the interaction of other creative types, it can feel kind of meaningless. Maybe I will be able to bridge that in the coming weeks. If not, I'll just have to develop my bond further with my faithful friend, the mylar.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Choreography Lessons
Though not in the cast, I happened to be at rehearsal as they were learning the choreography for the prologue and since there were a couple of people missing and it's much easier to figure out spacing if you're not trying to remember that there's an invisible person standing next to you, I filled in as a body and learned the choreography along with the cast.
I learned several things.
1) As amazing as the cast sounds when you're sitting outside watching, they're even more amazing from in the middle.
2) Sopranos can be really loud. Especially when you're right beside them and they're singing really high ear-splitting notes.
3) Even with partial hearing loss from being next to a soprano, the cast sounds pretty amazing from in the middle of them.
4) If the cast does their jobs well then the opening sequence is going to be really creepy. Especially if you're sitting in the front row.
I learned several things.
1) As amazing as the cast sounds when you're sitting outside watching, they're even more amazing from in the middle.
2) Sopranos can be really loud. Especially when you're right beside them and they're singing really high ear-splitting notes.
3) Even with partial hearing loss from being next to a soprano, the cast sounds pretty amazing from in the middle of them.
4) If the cast does their jobs well then the opening sequence is going to be really creepy. Especially if you're sitting in the front row.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Beginnings
Rehearsals started this week. Check back over the next few months to see how they're going!
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