My Master Builder– Week Four

It’s our penultimate week of rehearsals and it’s crazy how fast time is going! We’ve only called Elizabeth and Ewan today because they have several long and knotty scenes together. This is a great opportunity for us to work through all of them in sequence, with Ben Wright present to guide the intimacy sequences. Since we are well into the rehearsal process now, we are really drilling into specifics, making sure each word is being played. Ben makes tiny adjustments to specific movements and works in fine detail. It’s also Ewan’s birthday, so everyone is in high spirits!  

In the afternoon, Ben chats to the understudies about his process as an Intimacy Coordinator and prepares them for how he will rehearse with them later in the week.  

On Tuesday, Michael continues with the full company in the detailed manner he was rehearsing with Ewan and Elizabeth yesterday. We are aiming for a run on Friday, so we need to really iron out the more complex sequences. The play involves lots of different drinks being consumed in the run-up to the party, so we have a specific drinks choreography rehearsal, ensuring we know where all the bottles and glasses end up and how much liquid needs pouring or drinking.  

Adam Cork is with us for the day. This means we can begin timing transitions with the music he has created and Michael lets him know where he needs to compose or cut a few bars. This avoids us needing to make adjustments like these during technical rehearsals, which can waste time. On Thursday, we put our understudies into the party scene at the beginning of Act Two, giving us an exciting sense of the stage filling out. Now we have Adam’s music, scenes have a real sense of atmosphere, tone and texture, which is so helpful for the actors in their playing. 

By Friday, we are ready for our first full runthrough of the play in the rehearsal room. You can sense everyone’s nervousness and excitement. This is going to be so helpful for the cast to begin to learn what is required to play the show all the way through, and for Michael to see where he needs to focus time and attention in our final week in the rehearsal room.  

The runthrough goes brilliantly and there’s a real buzz in the air. Michael gives a few notes with areas to focus on over the weekend and he lets everyone know the plan for our final week. We will be working notes in the mornings and running the full show every day in the afternoons, before heading into the theatre on Friday!