We’re into our third week of rehearsal and the show is really starting to come together. At this point in the process, all the scenes have been staged and rehearsed individually, and now it’s time to start running the entire show. Today we had a run-through with several members of McCarter’s staff attending. The room is freezing today, and most of us observers are bundled up in sweaters or coats. Many of the actors are at this point able to rehearse in their performance shoes, thanks to the costume department.

The run goes very smoothly. Actors are allowed to “call for line” when they can’t remember what they say next, and many of them do. Most of the time this means the actor, while staying in character and in the moment, calls out “line”, a stage manager speaks the next few words, and the actor is off again. Despite the interruption of this prompting, the pace of the action continues to be brisk. And each time we run the show, there are fewer and fewer calls for line. Running the entire show is helpful to all of the actors as it allows them to discover the rhythm and arc of the piece from start to finish. It’s extremely useful for the director as well, who get’s to see how each scene is playing in context with the other scenes. One day we had the lighting designer sitting in, and he was able to get some initial ideas for his lighting plan given the movement of action on stage. (more…)

We’re well into the second week of rehearsals and we have finished blocking the play. One of the central scenes is one where Elizabeth is punished by the stern matron Mrs. Bonner by being straightjacketed and having her head dunked in a tub full of water. “I’ve looked forward to this moment a long time,” says Mrs. Bonner before pushing her under. Inmates in insane asylums were often punished by this method that mirrors the water-boarding technique used today at Guantanamo. The exact mechanics of the dunking was discussed—Emily wants it to look dangerous, while keeping Elizabeth’s hair from getting wet. It is also discussed whether the straightjacket could have some padding added to make leaning against the tub more comfortable for the actress.

Another prominent feature of rehearsals these days are rehearsal skirts for the women. Rehearsal skirts are simple skirts, often made out of muslin, that actresses rehearse in to get used to the type of clothes they will be wearing in a period piece such as this. The rehearsal skirt is pulled on over whatever the actress is wearing, which often is jeans and running shoes. One of the actresses even wears a rehearsal hoop over her rehearsal skirt. (more…)

We’re five days into rehearsals and a certain rhythm has settled in. As she always does on shows she directs, Emily leads the cast in yoga stretching each day before rehearsals begin. It is a great way for everyone to get relaxed and stay focused.

We spent the first three days doing table work, delving into the play and asking lots of questions. One little known fact that we uncovered was about the origins of the nursery rhyme “Peter, Peter pumpkin eater”, which Emily has incorporated into the first scene of the play. We found out that the rhyme originated in America (pumpkins are native to these shores), and that it referred to men locking their wives away, exactly what happens to Mrs. Packard. (more…)

Today was the day we launched rehearsals for Emily Mann’s new play Mrs. Packard. Doug Langworthy here, the production’s dramaturg who has taken it on himself to get this blog rolling. At the Meet and Greet (where the director introduces the show to the company as a whole) Emily revealed herself to be a bit Jeckyll and Hyde on this show, given the fact that she’s both the playwright and director. In fact she joked that the playwright couldn’t make it to today’s rehearsal, but anyone who needs to speak with her should talk to her assistant (she has separate assistants for her separate personae). (more…)