SOM notes

Hey everyone!

Thanks for a fantastic couple of run-throughs today. I have emailed out specific notes to people, and am including general notes below. If you received an email with your notes, please respond to confirm that you have received, read, and understand them. And as always, please ask questions if you have any :)

• "Memorization" means not only knowing your lines, but knowing your blocking, cues, harmonies, entrances, choreography, scene changes, etc. There were a lot of things today that need more work. Everyone needs to do their "homework" to make sure they are 100% solid on all of the material. If people do not work diligently over the next few days, then we are in trouble. But, if people put in the time to make sure that their work continues to improve, the show is going to be AMAZING. We are exactly where we should be at this point; we have accomplished a ton, but still have plenty more work to do. As you're working on your own, ask yourself what Tommy, Laurie, Carly, Nicki, or Rachael might say. What would we suggest to make sure that your lines, blocking, music, choreography, etc., would be better? Make those improvements on your own, and we're golden!
• In the party scene, please make sure that the momentum keeps moving. Silence is DEATH in that scene, so anticipate your entrances and lines to keep the train moving forward. 
• Wedding guests and nuns, smile more during the Wedding and the Latin postlude. You are CELEBRATING during these songs, so REJOICE and let the Lord hear your voices! Kids, having Maria as your mother is everything you could have ever wished for - enjoy this wonderful moment of your lives!
• As you continue reviewing your lines, please focus on memorizing your lines verbatim. This means saying the exact words that are on the page (except when specific changes have been made by our artistic team) rather than paraphrasing. Remember that we are speaking the words of other theatre artists: a lyricist (Oscar Hammerstein) and two book writers (Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay). Their words are full of clues about the nature of our characters, and contain all of the elements of the basic story that we are telling. Do them the honor of speaking the words they wrote rather than the words you think they should have written.
• Stay in character for every moment that you are onstage. Think and behave as your character would, for the entire show. This includes when you are chatting with people in the background. This means not laughing, yawning, or scratching when it isn't appropriate. Kids, this means behaving like the perfect little soldiers that Captain Von Trapp raised. Nuns, this means treating everything and everyone with reverence.

If you have questions, you know how to reach me :) Thanks again for your great work thus far, and thanks in advance for continuing your great work through the rest of our rehearsal and performance process!