This is almost certainly the longest name for a theatre that I have ever encountered, and goes a long way (literally) towards explaining why I can never remember what it is called. We have been trying to have some access to it, before the day of the performance. It will already be a tough test, fitting a complete fit-up of set, lighting and sound, plus a tech run-through, plus a dress rehearsal, plus two performances, all into one day. So any opportunity to allow the actors to see the space, to get some understanding of positioning, entrances and exits, plus to have some idea of projecting their voices to the back, would be a bonus. Unfortunately, because of a festival, celebrating the birthday of Ganesh, it would not be available to us tomorrow, Thursday, but we were able, at the very last minute, to negotiate one hour on stage. It was confirmed at 12, we were able to gain access at 3. Remarkably, we had very nearly a full attendance. (It had been something of a struggle for me, to negotiate leaving my workshop half an hour early, and dashing across town.
I had seen it briefly before, but for the cast this was their first time, and the size of the enormous stage was in itself daunting; I explained that we would be cutting it virtually in half, in terms of depth, by bringing the curtain across. The auditorium too was imposing, 600 seats, including a large balcony. But the check I was able to make on their voices, sitting at the back of the auditorium and having each actor run a short part of one of their scenes, was encouraging; nearly all did a good job in reaching me. There would also be floor mikes, though their enhancement I am as yet unconvinced by, and this will also be mitigated by the sound of the air con. Though this would be a blessing; for us it was devilishly hot. My disappointment was that, because of the positioning on the lights, the actors would not be able to use much of the forestage, pushing the action a good eight feet back; what is the point of having that space on stage if it cannot be used. But Rohit, and Govind, our lighting designer, were quite right; acting in shadows would be ridiculous.
We were still able to go to our usual (second) rehearsal space at the headmaster’s house. It inevitably took some time for everyone to reassemble, to finish construction of a staircase for the platform, to gather some branches for the Ariels to use (at last!) And then we began.
It was not the best of run-throughs. Inevitably there was a lack of energy; it had already been a taxing day. But encouragingly, at least everyone is off their books (though there were some hiccups.) Probably the most disappointing aspect was the sound. Of course it was not loud enough; the band are as yet unamplified. But very few cues were hit, and we cannot afford to wait for the music to catch up. And the recorded sound and effects apparently ran out of battery power! But we will spend some more time on this tomorrow.
Show time is coming; just two days away. If it were not for the fact of some distressing casting issues, and my sheer exhaustion by the end, I would be excited. As it is… less so.
