First Rehearsal

This afternoon we had our first rehearsal with a couple of actors (myself included). A couple of the other actors weren't able to show up because things came up, but we had a great time with those who did make it. By the way Herman, I hope the best for your grandma! Anyways, up until this point we have spent time reading with a few actors, but these were still just an extension of the audition process. Today there were three of us actors who were all confirmed in our roles, and we were just able to go over it all and study together. Of course, I had to fill in for one of the actors that didn't show, playing a role that's not mine (as it has been with many of our auditions), but I did get to eventually play Paul - and it was really great. Months ago, when we first met with Jaclyn for her initial read-through/audition, I had to hold myself back a little. I've talked with Nick, and he even mentioned something about it afterwards, but the scenes with Jaclyn's character and mine are so emotional, and she's so dog gone good, that I had to hold myself back as an actor or I'd start crying right then and there. Today, I was still SLIGHTLY self-restrained just because of the surroundings and the lack of props and costuming, but I let myself go so much more. For the first time, I actually FELT like Paul as I delivered my lines. No doubt this is due to my recent dive back into the script, but it felt really, really comfortable to be able to finally step into this character's shoes. I wrote the script, sure, and I've always known how he needed to be - but to actually perform it, well... that's just a whole other thing.

And it's a great thing.