Today we rehearsed Scenes 9, 11, and 3

Most of this rehearsal’s work went into really finding John’s darkness or, rather, letting it come out. In scenes 9 and 11, we see him unhinged - t the height of his frustration. He has trouble communicating - you can tell from his fragmented sentences and, at times, sudden interruptions - he wants desperately to connect, but he always misses - furthering his assessment that he can never connect - and that women never listen. It’s at once heartbreaking and frustrating. Really, these two scenes we see him break and unleash. It’s scary. Scary enough that Madeleine asks him to leave and Suzan gets out of the car and calls her sister to pick her up.

In Scene 11, we also worked to find the reason behind agitation - perhaps he has been drinking since the night before when he left Madeleine’s apartment; he’s replaying the conversation over and over; he’s suddenly confronting everything he’s said and thought and felt for years. He lets that out in that scream in the car.

We also had some questions on the timeline... I need to sit down and map it out. The whole play only takes place over a week. We wanted to figure out if John and Suzan start driving right after he leaves Madeleine’s apartment. At this point, I say it must be a new day, since the scene before lists it as Saturday. Why would he say the day if it weren’t a new one?

Another great development is…we found this awesome steering wheel!!! It is not too intrusive, it doesn’t move or wobble - it’s so perfect. It’s being used for Gypsy, which is playing in the mainstage next door. I want it I want it I want it!!!! Hoping for that or one similar. It’s so hard to incorporate a steering wheel without it seeming clunky or laughable!

LOOK AT IT:

Excited for the next rehearsal. Also still hoping to nail down a date for my source to come chat with the cast about his time working in an Amazon Fulfillment Center in rural Nevada. His insight is invaluable; especially for Alex and Suzan.

Cheers!