The I.D.R.

Tonight was the I.D.R., which is theaterspeak for Invited Dress Rehearsal. It's a way of getting a show in front of a soft house where you can guage what works and what doesn't without dmeanding that anyone pay money or put their expectations too high. In general, they are jolly events, because the audience is excited to see the show and the performers are right at that cracking point where the show is dying for an audience.

I should mention that earlier in the day, we had a serious rehearsal of that infernal Tea Scene, and finally, finally, finally, I got the kids to agree to try it my way, and lo and behold...it worked! The plot shifts that were getting buried under individual acting choices are finally revealed, and the scene is starting to crackle. Add to that that Brooke is never so good as when she's connecting with an audience, and that scene earned its way into the cannon of the play. Score one more for Mr. Florinfeld's sister!

What became all too clear in the IDR is that the opening scene of the play doesn't work. It's just a wach of language spoken by people we don't know about yet, revealing themselves in ways that would only be amusing if we knew them. PLAYWRIGHTING FAIL!!!

So I've just finished cutting the scene from 4 pages to one and a half, and I think it's going to be much better now. Just get us to the action, with less standing around and talking.

At the end of the performance, we had promised the audience a brief Q&A with the actors, and although I gave them fair warning and a chance to exit, they all stayed. The kids rose to the occasion as only they can. They talked easily and effortlessly. They were funny and intellectual, and they owned their work and their pride in it. I've seen (and been an actor in) a ton of these Q&As, but I've never seen a young cast handle themselves better, and honestly, I've seen professional casts do a lot worse.

And although this was a pretty friendly audience, there were a lot of people who were not related to any of the actors on stage, and they still laughed through the show and got very saddened at the cruel fate of Alfred. I think we've got a show that works.

And as always, I'm very worried about not taxing the kids too much. It serves no one if they are exhausted before we even get on the plane. So I didn't keep them in costume and I didn't get all the photos I would've liked. It's stupid, but this show is so pretty I just want to shoot it!