Chatted during the day with Dhir, the musician who had helped us out with music for the James Bond sing for Odyssey, about providing music for R4J. He seemed up for it, and I gave hi a list of the various times music would be required during the play, and what sort or style would be necessary. He did seem a little perturbed that I wanted him to be on stage and playing live… though actually, since he will be playing it all via a laptop, that does destroy quite a lot of the point. Clearly his idea of live music and mine are rather different, but it would give him a clear view of the action, and make accurate cueing a little easier.
Later, when I went across to SPA to open up the Seminar Room for my rehearsal, I did have to allow a group from MUN (or Modern United Nations) to present a pitch to a group of students first. The idea was for students to sign up for a program which might lead to attending a MUN conference in the states (the same thing that Apekshya is attending at the moment.) I had been slightly concerned that it might run into my time, but in fact it was all over in about ten minutes. The three speakers, all about twenty or so, were pretty lacklustre and ineffective, speaking in English (which I am sure half of their audience barely understood), but they did offer quite a few sweeteners: lots of training, free snacks, some hikes, a formal dance, for those signing up, and I thought they would be inundated. I was not surprised when not one student raised their hand to ask a question; more so when there was not a single taker for an application form, given the incentives. I discovered later that they had all been dragooned into attending, and that there was a relatively hefty R2000 fee for registering. Only for the wealthy, it would seem.
And then my rehearsal, this time with the Montagues. Only missing the most important Montague of all, Romeo… as I had very much expected. When Aparna arrived, she was all for throwing Deepak out straight away, saying that he ought to be more committed, that he has had enough chances to get in touch with us. All of which I agreed with in principle, but still something I wanted to hold back on, at least until the weekend. I pointed out that it is taking quite a few of the student body some time to return to college after the break, that he might be out of the country, that he might have a new phone… we simply do not know. We might be cutting off our nose to spite our face, in view of the fact that there is no obvious replacement. Not really a not so obvious one either.
As it happened, the rehearsal went very well (apart from this particular elephant in the room.) Three girls (all playing parts originally intended for men – Lady Montague, Benvolio, and the stupid servant who can’t read – with Khushi standing in temporarily for Romeo. Some excellent feel for comedy, and every one of them proving both attentive and responsive. Now, all I have got to do is solve the Romeo problem…
