Open Rehearsal: The Court Theatre Blog
September 2, 2008
My daily task is done
Hi, I’m Harriet Nzinga Plumpp. I am the Washing Machine and the Moon in Caroline, or Change.
Well, let’s see….where to begin. First off, I want to say how happy I am to be back on my feet in rehearsals. My son is 11 months old and I have not done a show since my first trimester with him in the Winter/Spring of ‘07. Our cast is full of parents so I feel a great sense of support—Yay to that! It’s an even bigger delight to be in rehearsals at Court Theatre. Caroline, or Change is my third musical at Court (I had the pleasure of working on Man of La Mancha and Raisin). It is great to be back.
Just yesterday I was conversing with Melanie Brezill, who plays Emmie in the show. We were discussing how valuable the rehearsal process with Charlie Newell is for us as actors. At Court, the musical is treated first and foremost like a play. This theatre definitely strives to present a strong, focused point of view. Many of us have been in this business for many years and have experienced a rehearsal processthat does not allow time to explore and to ask questions about who you are as your character.It should be natural…second nature. For me as an audience member, it’s much more enjoyable to follow an actor’s journey when every breath, every gesture andthought has intent behind it. Oooweee, don’t get me wrong, this is not an easy feat—but, it’s a great thing to strive for. In rehearsal, Charliegives us this time to explore. Which is, as Charlie says, “fantastic!”. So, hopefully, by the time you see the show our instincts are settling in. You can feel our anguish, our joy, anticipation etc… This takes a lot of energy, focus, and patience from everyone and can be exhausting.
We did our first run-thru of the show two days ago and I was exhausted afterward, in a good way;-) Because I am playing the Washing Machine and the Moon I need to figure out how to separate the two vocally, mentally, and physically. This past weekend it dawned on me that whatever energy Caroline (E. Faye)has I must feed off of it for the Washing Machine to work. The W.M. is truly a part of Caroline. Once that clicked, I was able to start taking the W.M. and the Moon on their own separate journeys.
I’m off to rehearsal now, so I look forward to seeing you in the house. Enjoy the show! I have a great feeling that you will.
Peace, Harriet Nzinga Plumpp
1 Response to My daily task is done
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It is so cool to read about the process. Can’t wait se the play!
By Sugeiri on September 12, 2008 at 6:20 pm