Category Archives: tartuffe

family, tartuffe, theater

You’re going to be Tartuffified

Our last rehearsal was short and sweet – about half an hour of notes and a couple quick fixes in the ever-rehearsed Dorine-Orgon-Mariane scene.

Director: Just hold for the laugh, darling.

Actor: When I run out of lines, I’m just going to stop talking.
Actor: That’s what we all try to do here.

I saw AS YOU afterwards and really enjoyed it. It’s such a beautiful play. And I have to say that I thought the setting in the American Depression and the vague shadow of twenties-era mobs was lovely. Charles the Wrestler was so slimy.

If anything, I think the forest of Arden should have perhaps had some kind of public works project going on in it – or more of an equal air of dirt and dust and industry and inter-war. That damn forest kills me every time, just like in Kirsten’s production at Noise Within – it’s so hard to stage. Larissa’s set designer had an interesting take, I remember. My favorite “forest drop” of the year is definitely Rachel Hauck’s in the closed Cherry Orchard.

Then Tartuffe opened last night. I had Jeremy (R&J SM) and his wife Kay, who sings in R&J, sitting to my left, and Zack and Pam to my right. Mallory (director of marketing) and her family were in front of me. I could see Bill and Peter if I peered up and to the right. The Bowmer is such a schmooze-house – you can look up in the mirrors and glance all around the angled seats and see everybody.

A successful opening, though not as ebullient as the second preview – that audience had helium tubes in their armrests or something. Richard Howard had some fantastic new takes out front that I’d never seen before – he was cracking me, Jeremy, and Kay up.

Afterwards, we had a champagne toast backstage, with Libby passing the baton, and then all went to Martino’s. Zack, as usual, put his finger right on the problem with the script – why does Orgon take Tartuffe in so easily and so completely?

Drinks with Peter, Frank, Tony and his wife Robin, Zack and Pam. Frank and Zack got into a discussion about cities and Borges and labyrinths. It was really cool, if by “cool” you mean “deeply surreal.” My brother is talking to Frank Galati about architecture and the human heart and Murakami. My two worlds are one.

Spent today packing and sleeping off a hangover.

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family, OSF, tartuffe

Family Has Landed

Zack and Pam are in town, after an adventure getting lost on the way to the Oregon Caves. They ended up on a series of roads maintained by the Bureau of Land Management (read dirt, not paved) but made it to Ashland safely.

They’re seeing Romeo & Juliet, the opening night of Tartuffe, and On The Razzle over the next three days. We did Martino’s and Zoey’s last night, so they’ve had the essential food. It’s really, really good to have them here.

Photo review this morning, and then second preview this afternoon. Kimberley sent me an email saying, “You’re almost finished rehearsing at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival!” I can’t believe it’s been four months.

Director: Does anyone else have any notes for me?
SM: Is now when we can discuss changing the name of the show to Tartuffie?

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directing, tartuffe, theater

It’s Never Too Late…

to get out of rehearsal two hours early.

The last director I was working with never would have ended a rehearsal so early, especially not the one before second preview. Which may have been good, and may have been bad.

Our preview last night relaxed the entire group, if only because Moliere saved us. His unornamented speeches, unadorned by any production conceits, were what got the biggest reactions. Dorine talking about horny angry old women, Tartuffe’s pious lust and Jansenist seduction…”Hardly anything’s taboo…” were most successful.

So I guess I can’t blame us for ending early. With a play like this…
“With us, Madame, you can’t go wrong.”
you’re almost guaranteed success.

Notes session was much less acrimonious. Sense of relief.
Because a) the preview was good,
and b) we typed out the notes so people could glance at them as we went through them – so no one was surprised verbally and felt defensive.

This director gives everyone everybody’s notes. Interesting.

Actor: I fucked up my monologue.
Director: To your credit, we’ve never worked it in the hall – I think it’s time.

We are so underrehearsed from a text point of view.

Director: I don’t know if it makes a lot of sense from the inside, but from the outside it looks just fine.

Le scandale du monde est ce qui fait l’offense.
It’s scandal that creates the sin.
If there’s no scandal, there’s no sin.
If there’s no sandal, there’s no skin…

We end early, having again polished Tartuffe-Elmire to perfection, given short shrift to Valere-Mariane, and for my money there are still huge pace problems in the first act.

But the director is a more relaxed artist than I am, and I think he may have something to teach me. The actors were so happy to get out early. I wonder if I don’t trust plays enough. He certainly has a great degree of trust in this one.

The stage manager told me that pace problems would iron out over the first two weeks of the run. It’s so strange working here, when you feel like throwing away the first 2 weeks. Anywhere else, that’s half your run, if you’re lucky.

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directing, OSF, tartuffe, theater

From the Rehearsal-Before-First-Preview-Dept.

Director: The fourth wall is a very tender membrane, and if you punch through it too abruptly, it’s not going to feel good from the other side.

Lazzi #784: Pulling on someone’s cape string makes them burp. Doesn’t make it into the production, but it has a remarkable tenacity in my head. This and the banana.

Dramaturg: This is the big entrance.
Actor: Just from an actor’s point of view, it doesn’t help to know that this is the big entrance. All I can do is walk on stage. That’s all I signed up to do.

Discussion about if Tartuffe sees Dorine at his entrance, and if so, how he reacts. Moliere has “apercevant Dorine.” We’re trying to get a window into his pre-seeing-Dorine psyche.

Lots of talk about what Moliere would have done.

A: We’re getting Stanley dressed.
B: You’re giving Stanley a rest?
A: We’re getting Stanley dressed.
C: Stanley’s under arrest?

It’s never too late (although this is rather eleventh-hour) to discover word choices, weights, motivations…

Who will believe thee, Isabelle?

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