Trying to chew gum and walk

From Eric Hale:

We had the first blocking rehearsal today. For those unfamiliar with the term, blocking is the actor’s movement around the stage. I don’t know the derivation. I suspect it comes from the old use of the word “block” as a mold, such as a hat block.

Basically, blocking directions are of the form “at this point in the script I need you here, then by this other point I need you there.” Thomas, as the director, is responsible for the blocking. Sarah, as the stage manager, is responsible for recording the blocking – all of it. Blocking can be an interactive process, as Thomas sees what works, tweaks what doesn’t. Sarah’s eraser gets quite a workout.

Although there are many exceptions, how you get from point A to point B is generally up to you. However, in opera, it’s can be very bad to go from point A to point B by passing in front of a principal.

Blocking has a lot of specialized vocabulary, and I’ll try to avoid using specialized terms here.

Because of the need to coordinate the movement with the music, blocking for an opera is different than blocking for a play without music. (Plays without music are often called straight plays.) An actor in a straight play can time his movement around his dialog. However, we often have to move while we are singing. That requires setting up your movement so that you can be sure you can see the conductor at all times – not the easiest trick on a crowed stage.

Today we started learning where we would be on the stage during specific points in the score. At least as importantly, we learned who we would be near during those points. In rehearsals to come, we’ll be working out our interactions with the characters near us. It is no longer acceptable to “plant and rant” during an opera. You need to appear engaged in the action.

All that will come. Today, we just had to learn how we were moving as we sang. Some people were trying to interact from the start. I wish I were so capable.I focused on just moving and singing, which kept me quite busy enough.

For me, this is one of the most demoralizing points in the process. Up until now, we had focused solely on the music, which used up most of my brain. Add unfamiliar movement, and much of what you think you know just falls apart.

This post has ended up being about blocking generally, but I have to mention one thing from today’s rehearsal. Wayne was at the rehearsal to conduct the music. About three hours in, when we are all getting punchy, Wayne brought the house down by singing the English translation of the Torreador song. Our Escamillo was not called, so Wayne sang to fill in. The translation in our score is a “singing translation”, not a literal one. Because it has to rhyme and to match a melody written for lyrics in French, the translation can be fairly absurd at times. Wayne threw himself into it like a coked up lounge singer. Funny, funny stuff.

Tomorrow, we finish blocking the opera and get to rehearse with the principals.