Day 1

The first day, though intimidating, went well.

I had the comfort of knowing that a couple of the actors in Two Gents are almost as new to the ASC as I am. (Though I was perhaps the newest newbie there yesterday). Yesterday they had a "Ren run." In their style of actors' renaissance theatre, the actors have the first day all to themselves. As in most professional theatres, actors come in with lines already memorized. Then, on the first day, they have the day to sort themselves out and start getting all of it up on its feet to some degree, piece by piece.

It was a long day--they started at 10:00 and ran through till 7:00, stopping only a couple of times, with a break for lunch.

I was mostly on hand for line calls (the actors split up into groups at times, running different pieces in different places, and the Stage Manager and ASM can only be in so many different places at once).

I did manage to look like I knew what I was talking about at one point! Partway through Two Gents, the Duke calls Valentine "overweening." Somebody, playing around, said "overweening rogue" (though that's not the phrase from Two Gents), and someone else asked where "overweening rogue" came from. While a couple of people immediately turned to their iPhones, I tentatively ventured, "Twelfth Night, isn't it?"
A couple people looked up and nodded--"Yeah, that's a good guess--maybe you're right. Who says it though?"
"Toby Belch I think," I ventured again, a little bolder this time.
"To Malvolio? Right?" somebody asked.
"Of Malvolio, I think," I said. "I think it's when they're hiding in the garden--when he finds the letter."
Within a few moments, I was vindicated by someone with an iPhone--Sir Toby Belch does indeed call Malvolio an "overweening rogue" while hiding behind the shrubs in the garden. I got a couple of approving grins and nods, so I'm hoping that's a good sign.

A couple of observations from a day spent with actors and Shakespeareans:

Usually, in the first few days off book, if an actor is struggling with a line, they just call "Line!" Here, however, it's "Prithee?" Which just made me happy.

Dress code seems pretty lax. I wore a sundress for my first day--I figured it was safe. I wouldn't seem overdressed or underdressed either way, as it was somewhere in the middle. Which turned out to be good. If I had worn slacks and heels like at my first day at Minnetrista last summer, I would have felt overdressed. It seems dress code is much more theatre rehearsal-like. Which would, you know, seem to make sense. I'm thinking jeans will be entirely acceptable.

I'm going to love the schedule. It's a true theatre schedule. Because of the ren run yesterday, they started fairly early. Starting today, however, call time is NOON. (I got here at 11:00 for a tour of the Playhouse, though--which I'm sure I will enjoy, even though, after yesterday, I now already have a working familiarity with the ins and outs of the playhouse.)

It was very much a "jump in, volunteer, if you're not needed just try to stay out of the way" sort of atmosphere. I did my best.

The actors are fun. Expressive. Hilarious. Hams--every last one of them. And, overall, much more personable than I was expecting, to tell the truth. Things will no doubt get easier as I get to know people a little better.

That's really all my thoughts on  the first day. It will be fun to see what the final product of Two Gents looks like.

(On a personal note, I really, really would like to get paid to act before I die.)

Last night, I was invited over to Sarah's for some snacks and a movie. She, her husband, and a couple of friends were getting together to watch the movie "Anonymous," obtained from Red Box (in order, I was assured, that the makers of the film would get as little money from us as possible). I can't tell you how fun it was to watch that movie with a room of Shakespeareans. It was rather difficult to follow (for someone who's only had one official Shakespeare class and, so far, read only one biography, which happened to be one of the most controversial in the published world). But it was worth it to watch just for their reactions. By the end, we were thinking back through and trying to compile the innumerable and painful historical innaccuracies.

All-around, an excellent first day.