Today we had what's called a "stumble through" of the entire play - five days after our first rehearsal! This is designed to give the designers a chance to see how the playing space is being used, what the demands will be on costumes, what props are still needed, and where the landscape of the play needs to be partnered with sound and lights. It's a lot of pressure for actors (Tim Budd and Jim Van Valen) who are still holding their scripts while trying to remember where the heck they're supposed to be and which of the 15 characters they're transitioning into at any particular moment.
And if that wasn't harrowing enough - then we hauled them out to rural Solon to stand in a pasture with a small herd of cows while photographer Bob Goodfellow took their picture for a media release. "We'd just like a photo of a single cow - the one with the black and white face would be great - with an actor on each side," the director naively announced. Right. In spite of having grown up in a farm family, my cow savvy was in short supply. Every time the actors moved close to the cows, they backed up, a bovine chorus line. Jim and Tim held out apples and corn, luring them closer, then tried to quickly drop the food from view so Bob could shoot a photo. Meanwhile Charlie the donkey is getting way too familiar with Bob, who keeps admonishing him, "Charlie, I'm telling you, this just isn't going to work out."
Bob's a wizard. He (and his computer) will whip those bossies into photographic shape. Stay tuned - after this, the acting might seem easy!
Jody Hovland
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