There are, of course, many ways to make people laugh. An unexpected pie to the face. A small dog riding a motorcycle. An errant softball to the crotch. But since the days of Aristophanes, nothing has been a surer source of madcap japery than an extremely tall man wielding a gymnastics ribbon. Truly.
That's our very own Pooh-Bah, Matt Boehler
, showing us his inner Comaneci. I think most operas could be improved by a judicious use of gymnastics ribbons. Or barring that small dogs on motorcycles. So an excellent day today. What can be bad about a day that starts with a test fire of a confetti cannon? It's really much more of a confetti bazooka or shotgun, actually. Still, when that CO2 cartridge pops and that confetti shoots into the air and comes fluttering to the ground, it's hard not to smile.
We spent the morning working on the Act 1 Finale, and the afternoon reviewing all of the act. I was glad to see that while some of the specific blocking got a bit squidgy after a few days working on other things, the spirit, feel, style and flow of the piece are gelling nicely. That's the men's coro below listening to Ko-Ko introduce himself.
Tomorrow brings us deeper into Act 2. We're jumping around a bit due to some scheduling oddities, so we're actually staging the Act 2 Finale before we finish staging the rest of the act. Always sort of odd. The whole act is a bit odd, actually. The first act is jam-packed with chorus numbers, and the second act has only 4. I'm sure there is a rationale behind that architecture, but I'm still looking for it, I admit. Makes it hard to feel the build you want for a second act. The act 2 finale in particular feels very quick.
We're also delving into the overture. I'm generally not a stage the overture sort of director, but ever since I was asked to direct this show, I've had a very clear vision of an overture ballet. It is coming about in a slightly different way, but I'm still pretty excited about it. I won't explain it here (need to leave some secrets) but hopefully it will introduce the style and point of view of the show in a very efficient and funny way.
In closing, allow me to once again say how much I love gymnastic ribbons. Man, they're awesome.
Good Night.
3 comments:
You commented on how "quick" the Act II finale is. I don't know how much G&S you've done, but that's pretty typical - the Act I finale (especially in "Iolanthe") includes plot action and goes on for pages, while the Act II finale is generally so quick that, if the audience starts reaching for their coats when it starts, they're still doing buttons by the last chord.
I'm sure there are experts on Savoynet who could share their knowledge or theories on why G&S wrote this way. I only know that, once you've learned the Act I finale, the Act II finale is a piece of cake.
It's an interesting phenom. I'm also fascianted by how little the chorus has to do in Act 2. Act 1 has SO much chorus work. Still, the flow of this show is stellar.
Good post.
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