The latter half of Friday and all of Saturday was spent focusing on props. Up until that point, everything had been done in mime. This is (in my experience) a bit rare. Usually props are integrated as soon as possible so the actors get used to them. However, Brad wanted the focus to be solely on the text and the acting for the first couple of weeks. "We’ll deal with the props later."
And now we have. As the play is as much about food as it is about anything else, there are quite a lot of meals consumed. And plates set. And plates cleared. And cutlery. And napkins. And dish rags. There was a zany energy as everyone worked together trying to figure out the best way to get everything where it needed to be when it needed to be there. It’s such technical work. You just have to approach it calmly, step by step, and work it out. Then repeat. Then come up with another option and try again.
“Great – all the dishes were cleared before the end of the scene. Now we just need to find a way for you to do it without saying all of your lines into the cupboard.”
That said, Brad has maintained his original vision which is to use only what is necessary in every aspect of the show.
Which is why half through the props rehearsal we did away with all the knives.
I mean, as far as utensils go, knives are pretty overrated anyway.
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