10 September 2009

Last night I held my second rehearsal. This rehearsal was good for me to get on the same page as my cast, in terms of meaning behind the piece. With my first rehearsal, I felt the need to throw material at my cast, and really understand each and every one of them and how they move. I believe that the pairings I made with the audition phrase and the Intro Phrase we worked on prove that I understand them as dancers.

With my last piece, I took the fantasy route. From the moment lights came up on my piece, I asked the audience to suspend their reality and believe that two young girls are dreaming about being ambushed by a band of clowns. With this piece, I'm looking walk the fine line between realism and post-realism. I plan on presenting four, 2 minute sections, each with a quote projected on the scrim, to set the mood.

Here are two quotes I am working with, the first being the quote to open the piece and the second being the quote to close the piece.

1st quote: "Encompass'd with a thousand dangers,

Weary, faint, trembling with a thousand terrors....

I, ...in a fleshly tomb, am

Buried above ground."

- William Couper (English poet; 1731-1800)

[On several occassions, Mr. Couper tried to poison, stab, or hang himself.

The above lines were written after one of his suicide attempts.]

2nd quote: "Then I climbed the sharp hill that lead to all the years ahead."

-Novelist Evelyn Waugh, recounting a failed suicide attempt.

The following are two music clips, by composer Thomas Newman. Here is a clip of his from the film "Revolutionary Road."

Here is a track from "Angels in America," the miniseries on HBO, written by Thomas Newman.