Acting behind the scenes

Every time I audition for a new role in a play I second-guess myself. Am I ready to make this time commitment again? Am I ready for the added stress in my life? For some crazy reason, the answer is always the same: Yes.

I auditioned for the Whitefish Bay Players production Noises Off! back in August and won the role of Belinda Blair (Editor’s Note: The role is that of the sensible actress within the plot, trying to keep things together). I saw another local theater group do the show earlier this year and loved it, so I was very excited to have my chance now.

Basically, the show is a farce that uses the concept of a “play within a play.” The first act of the “play” — called “Nothing On” is presented in each of the actual three acts of Noises Off!, including one section where the audience gets to watch what’s happening backstage.

So, it’s the perfect play to write about the “Behind the Scenes” rehearsal experience. I’ll take you through the strenuous weeks of rehearsal leading up to opening night. It’s an inside look at the “Dramas Behind the Drama.”

First Three Weeks:
The first few weeks of rehearsal for a show are the most awkward. Usually most of the actors don’t know each other, and in this case none of us knew each other except for two actors. Also, the cast is all new to the Bay Players. Finally, none of us worked with the play’s director, Ray Bradford, before. Ray has directed for the Bay Players for more than 20 years — so that can be intimidating.

Another challenge for me is that we started rehearsing in early August, so I basically sacrificed the end of my summer for a play. Over the first few weeks of rehearsal, I gave up some of my favorite sun-filled activities: Jazz in the Park, River Rhythms, volleyball, Brewers games and various other outings with friends.

I’m not complaining — I made the choice to audition for the role. The first few weeks of rehearsal weren’t easy. This is the time when we go through each scene and “block” it. The director combines his or her vision with the playwright’s script and tells us where to go during a scene. It’s a tedious and sometimes frustrating process but very important to the overall success of the show. It’s especially hard with Noises Off! because the blocking is what really pulls the show together and makes it hilarious. I’ll admit that the thought of my friends sitting back with a nice cold one at a Brewers game while I was at those rehearsals made me very jealous at times.

I asked two of my fellow actors what they gave up to be in this show. Here are a couple of their very honest answers.

Ariana: “My alone time, like having time to come home and veg and watch my favorite TV shows at night. It’s selfish, but I am big on alone time, and I gave that up to be here.”

Ben: “I give up time because it’s work, play, sleep, work, play, sleep.”

There are many highlights during those first few weeks. We had our standard first week when everyone was shy, and no one talked to each other during rehearsal. However, soon enough someone flubbed a line in a funny way or made a dirty joke, and we all laughed. “Quiet time” was over, and now Ray can’t shut us up! Going out to the bar together after our third rehearsal also helped to break the ice.

I find one of the most interesting things about community theater is finding out what everyone does for a living. It always fascinates me to meet other people who work all day and still want to devote hours to rehearsal at night. No one is getting paid for it. In our cast of nine, we have a biochemist, a writer, two teachers, and a computer systems specialist — just to name a few.

One of my fellow actors, Mark, explained the community theater experience best: “I think that’s the best part, because you find people who are really doing it just because they love it, and a lot of the ego is taken out.”

Week 4:
By this point, we’ve blocked the entire show. It was still shaky in some parts, especially in Act 2. This is where we turn the set around and the audience gets to watch the backstage antics. This was also the first time we started rehearsing on the actual set. Before this, we have spent rehearsals in the high school cafeteria. This was a big improvement. One of the greatest challenges of community theater is that everyone is a volunteer, and the stage crew has only a limited amount of hours to build and paint the set.

I feel the entire cast has started to feel our characters a lot more. As an exercise one night, Ray asked us to “be” our character the whole night, even off stage. This was a little challenging, but a good exercise. It’s sometimes difficult to walk into rehearsal and be mentally ready to act after a stressful day at work.

Week 5:
Once you get to this point of rehearsal, you are fine-tuning scenes. All actors are working on getting “off-book,” which means lines are fully memorized. It’s a frustrating process. While it’s a good feeling to have the script out of your hands, it’s also difficult because it’s easier to forget your lines — making it harder for everyone involved. I also think I speak for everyone in the cast when I say that by this point you are physically tired from rehearsing almost every night. Let’s just say the laundry pile in my room probably rivals the size of a pile of Brewers players’ laundry after a game.

On a positive note, the cast is now very comfortable with each other. As my co-star Louis explains, “The camaraderie is nice. It’s a farce, so energy is high and everyone’s in a good mood.”

It also doesn’t hurt that by the fifth week, we have the post-rehearsal drinking down to a science.

Week 6:
By now, we are running the whole play from start to finish “off-book.” It’s still a little slow as we are all still struggling through our lines, but it’s coming along. Most of my friends aren’t even asking me to go out for dinner or drinks after work anymore, since they know I can’t. I haven’t even seen my roommate for weeks. It’s to the point in the acting process where I sit back and ask myself, “Is this really worth it?” In the end, it really is; we all need something that helps us escape from reality, and that’s theater for me.

Tech Week, or “Hell Week” as we theater people lovingly call it, is about to begin. The curtain rises for the first time this Friday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. I’m excited and anxious all at the same time. A few members of the cast, including myself, are feeling a little under the weather. This is typical by the seveth week of rehearsal. I know we’ll power through though. Be sure to check back here in a few weeks to read my reflections on how the show came off. Even better — come see it for yourself! You can find show info at the Bay Players website.