Two rehearsals down...

Yesterday and today, Alison and I rehearsed at our rented theatre space, Hub 14. We've been working on voice and body for all the characters - and there were some surprising discoveries:

- Jerome (the Musicologist) is considerably shorter, older, and more stooped than I expected. Nigel (the Organist) towers over him and is probably (if I can portray it) taller than ME.

- I always knew Antonius (the Conductor) was catlike, but now he almost has a sort of tail, based on the way one of his hands moves.

- Antonius' accent is mostly German, but he sometimes accesses Italian, Polish and Swedish affects as needed. In his own words (if they survive): "I am...pan-Continental".

- Peter (the Singer) sort of has two voices and two ways of moving. There is the unrefined Peter, the son of miners who must not have fit in too well in his Northern hamlet - and overtop is a veneer of class, poise and vocal training that often slips with a crash to the floor.

- the President of the Ladies' Auxiliary Committee for the Classic Music (affectionately known in our circle* as "the Tart Lady") sings! She's not a singer, and her monologue is speech - but it sings! There are tunes in the way she talks - behind it - within it.

- the Dean sounds vaguely like Jimmy Stewart

- the Organ Builder may or may not be Irish (perhaps inspired by a costume jacket that may or may not be green)

- the Bishop, formerly reserved and monotone, suddenly acquired a tremulous bombast that will shake the Cathedral to its core. Like the Tart Lady (see above), his text needs to sing - in this case, infused with the "cross motives" found in much Baroque music...

Tomorrow, we begin blocking! Memorization is...okay. Lots of work ahead. I spent 3 hours in Trinity Bellwoods Park yesterday memorizing my pants off, despite distractions from baseball practice, sexy joggers, and a puzzling man who shook trees and flicked flowers in my vicinity for, like, an hour and a half.

By the way, you can read all about "The Fugue Code" here. Or by clicking on the following gorgeous logo:



















* our circle is more of a line

The best Monday ever

Or was it? I've had some spectacular Mondays before - but usually because they're fun, carefree, &tc. Today was great because it was so productive. And, having just driven my stuff halfway across Canada (ok, technically my parents drove the "stuff" and I drove a nearly empty car), and needing my late-starting May and all its necessary tasks to get off to a smooth start, I was so incredibly pleased to be able to solve a number of problems without ever leaving Queen West.

Even before Alison and I fully greeted each other after a long third-year of trans-Canadian phone meetings, we mounted the stony steps of Malabar costume shop on McCaul Street to pick up our Bach wig! I ordered this a long time ago, after, I swear, two months of searching for the right wig, right price, and somebody actually having it in stock. Then, in rapid succession, Alison and I located and purchased all the fabric for our backdrop curtain (four colours of tulle that together create the impression of old, dusty, tarnished brass), and half of my costume (a handsome goldenrod evening jacket with a greenish sheen, and a deep purple collared shirt - niether of these colours are anything I had even vaguely considered - but they are perfect. Each of my four main characters could pull this outfit off. It looks old, young, academic, fashionable etc. as needed. And here I thought my "neutral" outfit would be black.)

Then we took to Alison's uncle's place off of Parliament St. for a readthrough of some of the script. Tomorrow: rehearsals begin in earnest! And in the space we rented - which we visited today. Big windows (one stained-glass), two fire escape doors to let the air in, large sprung dance floor!

The other joy is that this past weekend at a wedding a new acquaintance offered to take Fugue Code publicity shots for free!

Now that's a Monday...