My amazing thesis advisor watched us run through the piece as it stands so far and took terrific notes on what she saw. After Wes, Penny, and I had finished our whirlwind performance, I sat down with my advisor and absorbed all of her wonderful advice. To summarize what I came away from this rehearsal with, I will use 3 points:
1. There are underlying themes that I have unconsciously included in each scene (either through the choice of the scene or the way I have staged it). These themes are: stone (that one was intentional), breath, and isolation. Further emphasizing these elements where they already exist and drawing them out where they could exist will serve to unify and streamline the piece as a whole.
2. My advisor proposed lots of little fixes, as opposed to lots of overarching fixes, which is a great indication that the piece makes sense! Yay!!!
3. After my advisor confirmed some inklings I've had recently about certain technical elements of the piece I have decided to make two changes to my original idea:
a.) Instead of using recordings of museum noise/commentary on the sculptures during the statue moments, these moments will now be silent.
b.) Instead of using my small allocation of money on white body paint and white hair spray I am only going to buy full-leg and long sleeved unitards for the 3 actors. I am stepping away from a literal marble look and moving more towards the representation of marble through the white unitards. My advisor and I agreed that it will be far more important to see every bit of our expressions than to believe we're entirely made of marble. There is nothing wrong with the audience being aware that these are actors performing this piece. I like the idea that this performance of "Stone to Stage" is the deconstructed and simplified version (as the premiere) and that it could be developed beyond this point aesthetically. This is, after all, an acting thesis, so my focus should be on the performance, not the tech.
My favorite part of receiving notes from my advisor was that she pushed me to go further with my ideas. It is always encouraging to hear that people want more of what you're giving them. I feel confident that my actors and I will be able to deliver more (especially once we stop calling for lines!) and make this piece as emotionally full as it promises to be on paper. I want the audience to walk away from this performance thinking, "That was EVERYTHING."
Speaking of everything...let's complete this post:
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