Still catching up. These are from 9.9.07.

Sylvia Berman, a TheatreWorks volunteer, was with us for an hour this morning reading the Yiddish in the script. She spent 20 years in Israel and had a very personal connection to the idea of Golda. (And she’s originally from the Bronx, like Camille.) She wanted to go to Israel in 48 but, due to pressure from her parents, waited until later to make aliyah. Her family was one of the first six in the West Bank settlement in the 70s. Incredible woman.

I am feeling myself more compelled by Israel, one week in – the myth, the reality, the history – just the idea of it. I’ve spent so long being critical. Now I feel like there’s a lot to be appreciated about the place.

We move on into Section 3. New rubrics are emerging. The Southern front is SL, and the Northern front SR. Family – Morris Corner – is DSR, along with cigarettes, but speeches and politics are DSL.

We aren’t talking beats or motivations much – again, Aaron manages to use improvisation as a quick blocking tool, not just the slow way I’ve seen it with Bill. He has a very physical sense of pace. “Too fast. You’re there too soon.” It’s so clear that it’s not pre-planned, that it comes from Camille’s work, that her instincts guide his.

Aaron and Camille get into a discussion about emphasis in phrases like this: “adjective noun”. Aaron often wants it to be either “adjective NOUN” or else equal stress on both when Camille is using an adjective stress.

A truism drifts into my brain, after watching this rehearsal:
“If you decide to be with another person to escape something, that something will manifest itself in the other person.”

Aaron and Camille discover Golda should be in a dress, not a jacket. Jill, our costume designer, comes in and they discuss this, along with fabric choices. Part of this comes from Sylvia, our guest this morning, saying that Golda was always first and foremost a mother, a human, before a politician.

Our first week of rehearsal has ended. Roughly 3 days of table work, 3 days staging, and we’ve staged through p. 23 (of 40) and reviewed through p.18. Very productive.

Aaron asks Camille to start thinking about the other characters, making their voices and motivations, their stakes and points of view, clearer. Homework.

And we all drive to Mountain View to see EMMA. On the way, Aaron and I talk about using beats and motivation and “why are you doing that, what do you want” techniques in rehearsal. He likes to stage through first and go back and fill in with scenework like that more where needed. It’s so fascinating to me, and I know I keep saying this, but it really is a revelation – it’s so fascinating that it’s possible to combine improvised blocking with an initial disregard for some of the motivation details, with a sense of speed and the confidence to return later. I really admire it. I wish I could phrase it better.

We eat at Cafe Baklava (Camille is a fan of LaChiusa’s “Way Back To Paradise.” She uses it as an audition song.) and then go visit Mr. Robert Martin.