In case anyone thinks that this show is coming together via a single rehearsal of 2.5 - 3 hours each week, you need to know that between the two blogs there have been: a script rehearsal; a Sunday rehearsal, going through songs, dancing and acting; a committee meeting; and a dance rehearsal for everyone in Havana. We start again tonight in Havana, probably to see if people have remembered from last night because it seems likely that not everyone wrote down their dance steps, though Harry the Horse proudly announced on Facebook that he had done that as soon as he got home (possibly hoping for brownie points from Ali, but more likely hoping not to forget the dance steps).
There is now a waiter in Havana! Cheers! The stage has been marked out in chairs, so that people have an idea of how much space they have, and where the entrance/exit is. Ali wants to start from the beginning of the end, though she does then clarify whereabouts she means. It's the last six of pages of the score, where the music is marked as 'cubanos', 'samba' and 'rhumba' and so the dancers are on straightaway, recalling those steps from last night. Now, of course, they need to work in Sky and Sister Sarah, so the pairs who had rehearsed a fortnight ago have to take it one step further, to use an appropriate euphemism. Choreographing chaos in such a way that it looks convincing is quite a challenge. Once the planning is all done, we start the actual rehearsal - a line of dialogue as the cue and then let the mayhem begin! Great hilarity and we reach the end without Ali stopping us, so presumably it's gone mostly according to plan. Someone has been carried off through a 'wall' but other than that, it's officially 'okay'. It is astonishing, however, how much time it takes to organise who is pulling whose hair when (yes, it's that kind of fight).
Meanwhile, in the lobby outside the ladies, there are some hotbox girls. I don't know if they're rehearsing or just gossiping, but time will tell. In another classroom, Nathan and Adelaide are rehearsing 'Sue Me', trying to sing it despite their mutual ill health and to choreograph it despite falling about in hysterics.
(The hotbox girls have now come back. They tell me they were definitely rehearsing, even with a small audience. So credit where it's due!)
Havana is run again. It was different the second time, so perhaps it'll be third time lucky. The girls who are fighting are asked to do more arguing than physical fisticuffs, and now we're going to do it again. Fourth time lucky? They're still off a little too early, so with a staggered clearing, perhaps it will spin out the emptying of the stage a bit more. Last time through, Ali says. In a voice that suggests she means it. There was a slight hustle at the end this time as they left it a bit late, but there is a musical cue in the speed of the music.
Now Havana has been done virtually to death, we're back to Runyonland. This seems to take more preparation than you would have thought, especially since the chairs are cleared quite quickly, but a few of the cast need some information before they go on the stage as a couple of people are new to their roles. In addition, a couple of people aren't here, which will add to the difficulties of the rehearsal. One is having a birthday, although we have another birthday boy here anyway, so Ali isn't convinced. (I did ask our lovely repetiteur if he could play happy birthday at some point, but unfortunately there just wasn't time. Or the birthday boy paid him off. One or the other.)
Things appear to go quite smoothly although Ali is still briefing in the wings. The starlets are already practising walking in their infeasibly high heels. We're also a bobby-soxer down tonight. (It's probably just me, but every time I hear the phrase 'bobby soxer' I think of someone in stripy pop-socks. Just saying!) We reach the end and with very little comment it's back to the beginning and go again. Ali is breaking in a new policeman so she walks his route with him throughout this rehearsal. This time we carry on into the Tinhorn Fugue as there's quite a bit of movement to be organised during that too. Twice through appears to be enough for tonight, though Ali still needs people to be aware of who they're following so that no one is late for their entrance.
Now we're going to try Sit Down, though Ali says she will set it next week. Having said that, there does appear to be some setting going on as people place chairs and tables in a layout for the Mission Hall. Then there is the added complication of trying to find a space for the people who aren't here. (Martin suggests just sacking them, but it's not really practicable, however tempting.) The chaps are using their collective armspans in an attempt to define the available space and I really wish I had a photo of that for you, but I was just too slow.
Once everyone is sitting down, Ali rearranges them all before checking to see where the different choral sections are sitting. This necessitates a little more rearrangement, but eventually we are ready to start singing. Finally Martin has something to do, conducting the choir as they sing! They have to stop once when Ian gives the rest of the choir the wrong verbal cue but once he's been reminded of what he should have been singing, the choir picks up again pretty quickly.
When they've sung it through once, Ali gives some instructions as regards the acting that needs to happen while they're all singing. There won't be much jumping around, partly because there's not that much room, but also because it's a chance to show off BCOS' ability to sing choral music. There will however be some coordinated swaying and sitting down that has to appear reluctant, hanging on to an invisible handrail with your RIGHT hand, people! However, the standing up prior to the sitting down is currently too early, so it's back to the beginning of the song again. There is some confusion over exactly which 'sit down' the choir should stand up to, but since the phrase is repeated several times, it is understandable. Putting hands up on 'to resist' is easier since that's only sung once by the choir. The directorial team think it's clear, but the run through results in about five people standing up to point and hastily sitting down again about two bars before they're supposed to stand. The word 'sheepish' springs to mind. But I'm probably being harsh, I know I wouldn't get it right any time soon, which is largely why I'm sitting at the back writing the blog...
We reach the staggered sitting. The hands in the air are not definite enough, though the staggering definitely happens, and the resistance is lasting too long. Refinements are suggested and we start the song again. A Mexican wave is added which Ali wants them to coordinate with standing, some reaching, stretching and other apparently straightforward arm movements, but putting them into practice may be another matter. And yet, actually, most of the short routine tried out initially seems to work okay. Back to the beginning.... Not everyone quite manages the standing at the same time, but you know who you are! We get as far as 'thank the lord' and Ali seems quite pleased with progress. It is, after all, what rehearsal is for. From the top again. Ian offers to sing his opening lines in a more operatic voice but the look Martin gives him persuades him otherwise. After some mock-scooping to his opening note, we're off again. By the time we get to thanking the lord, Ali says the only thing that is still going wrong is the sitting down, but the rest is almost there. There's only three pages to go now and some brief instructions are given. Once the choir have remembered to sing, and they only need to be reminded once, Martin thinks that provided the tempo doesn't get too fast, it'll be okay.
There's some more swaying and variations on pointing to be done in these final pages, and some complicated standing and sitting. The timing of this needs to be gone over quite carefully and you can guarantee that it won't work properly on the first run through, but explaining it very specifically initially will help the clarity of later criticisms. The singing sounds pretty good but the standing appeared from behind to be fairly random. A talk-through of the stages is quickly done and then it's back to the 'happy hands' moment. Apparently the result of that is 'good' in Ali's opinion. This sounds like praise. Back to the happy hands moment, do it again and then we'll do the whole thing. Tying to get the swaying in the right direction and the sitting at the right time appears to be trickier even than we had imagined and Adelaide and Sky stand behind Martin, claiming to be helping with the direction since Martin is playing the piano now. There is a brief pause as Nathan is accused, incorrectly, of singing the wrong lyric, but the singing picks up again quickly. The swaying on the squeaky school chairs is beginning to sound like a somewhat unseaworthy vessel by now but we get to the end and there are shrieks of delight and applause even though Ali is not quite convinced by the performance. It is to be done one more time and then people have to go and write it down.
Ali had planned to go through Luck Be a Lady as well, but we've run out of time. Men, you'll need to be at the Thursday rehearsal! Then, off home. I think we're all too tired for the usual/occasional post-rehearsal pub visit.
I should at this point also give a mention to Nicky who has been sitting at the back of the hall too for most of the evening, trying to give out tickets that have already been purchased and collect money for those ordered but not yet paid for. Neil S-S currently holds the record for most tickets sold, with a massive £567.90 in spite of some of them being concessions. That's 65 tickets! Normally Andrew holds the record but he has been pipped to the post this time. So the challenge to the rest of us now is - beat that!
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