Today, I sat in on the dialogue rehearsal for the principals. Due to the fact that it is 2013 and that the production is extremely different from the original, some cuts had to be made to the script and score. But it is life however. I will be sad that there will be no version of "The woman of the wisest wit" or 'Merrily ring the luncheon bell". Lines are cut or rewritten, songs are shortened, etc. But most importantly, the actors must enhance the dialect to match the fact they are cavemen. No victorian english accents in 50,000 BP. So add on some lovely caveman grunts. But honestly, this is necessary when you do something that isn't a normal Gilbert and Sullivan production.
Isabel Milenski is great when it comes to teaching. I took her Opera Scenes course in the previous semester. We not only took on singing, but we took on one of the toughest things I ever dealt with at school: acting. I learned so much in that class and from sitting in on today's rehearsal. Character work, playing with pitch and energy, word accent choice, etc. I personally believe that the show is in good hands with my classmates. They took great care in figuring out what makes their characters tick. The art of acting certainly has evolved since the days of Gilbert and Sullivan, especially in the opera world.
This is it for now. I will be back again on Tuesday after the first orchestra rehearsal.
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