I like to talk about my work, and write about it. Rehearsal Notes, beginning with today’s inaugural post, will consist of brief dispatches from current and future production processes. While on the whole I am rather a fan of the man-behind-the-curtain approach, I also enjoy a backstage tour as much as anyone else. With respect and affection for the work, the process, and my fellow actors and collaborators, I hope to present more of these in the future. Enjoy!

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Tech week is pretty standard fare for most theatre productions: combine your production elements in a pressure-cooker of a week or so, and bring to a rolling boil until a nice consistency is achieved, one hopes, in time for opening night. A Quickies production (LiveGirls’ annual production of short works by women) is a cat of another color, and as such requires unique handling, and a very special element: transitions.

And not just any standard scene transitions, mind you. “Transitions” in a Quickies production (the bits bridging the short pieces) to the uninitiated like myself, were described by Quickies veterans in terms approaching the mythic: outrageous, at least as entertaining as the plays themselves, and certainly not for the faint of heart. Sunday’s rehearsal was devoted solely to the implementation and ornamentation of these diverting interludes that help both actors and audience travel between the worlds of seven separate and diverse plays. There were no tears, but plenty of sweat, sawdust, and a brief but desperate scuffling for snacks in the eleventh (actually, fourth) hour. At its conclusion, the night’s achievements included:

The creation of some distinctive characters/beings (these lines were blurred) that exist solely within these transition scenes;

General agreement among the Planet X cast that Trader Joe’s Sesame Honey Cashews are the rehearsal snack of choice;

The best dance solo I’ve had in years, consisting of four counts of bourree, three cabriole steps, two pique turns, and one penchée;

And yes, a full production consisting of seven short plays (by women! Did I mention that?), five lively transition scenes, and one space whale. Much like the mythical transitions of a Quickies, the space whale must be seen to be believed.