What's up Scotland?!?!?!

You know what really insults Scottish people? When you butcher their pronunciation of words. I was handing out flyers for MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM and when I incorrectly pronounced Lochend (which is where Venue 13 is located) it prompted a stern reprimand from two Scottish ladies. They proceeded to give me a lesson on the correct pronunciation and then told me to practice. I'm still practicing. Truth is we all are. We practice sometimes for hours straight in our flats, walking down the streets, in public places and more. When we get back to the States we will have the Scottish dialect perfected. Guaranteed!!

What's even cooler than the people is the all the cultures and people that have packed themselves in to Edinburgh for the festival. There are African Bands, Russian Ballet Dancers, Magicians, Comics, and people from all over the world in this city showcasing their talents. It's such an opportunity to be here representing Hamilton College and OURSELVES.

There's so much to do and plenty to see. But you can bet that the cast of MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM is out there rocking it every show!!!!!

COME SEE US!!!!

Oh The Places You WONT GO DUE TO DELAYS...

After diligently devoting so much time and effort into this comedic yet gut wrenching tale of Ma Rainey and her infamous back bottom, the dream team seemed to have a little trouble getting out of Syracuse. The cast had boarded the small plane expecting to take off on time and catch their connecting flight to Edinburgh with plenty of wiggle room. Yet that was not the case. The Flight CO 8690 W out of Syracuse was suffering from electrical problems just moments before take off. The cast tried to remain positive when the captain explained that all of the technical support staff at the airport was released early and that it would take at least an hour to correct the issue. Yet the heat and possibility of missing their flight out of the country had gotten the best of them. But after waiting about 40 minutes, the captain then announced that there was never a problem and that the plane would be taking off soon.

Once at Newark-Liberty International, the cast booked it to the terminal of the connecting flight, believing that they had only 10 minuets to make the plane. Luckily technical difficulties seemed to be the trend, because flight CO 36 W to Scotland was not going anywhere until the bathrooms and air conditioning was working properly. Yet after things were all straightened out, the 6 hour flight was well on its way.

All that to say... no fear, we're here... with jet lagged actors, limited cell phone service and a tech rehearsal in the dead of the night. Who's ready to see how this goes tomorrow night?!?

10 Months to Tomorrow

Our day of rest from a rigorous schedule of perfection driven exploration, self analysis and repetition seems only like a short breath, a single beat taken between lines. And in many ways, what has been a 10 month long journey is now ready to take off tomorrow. I am incredibly proud of what Hamilton's "Ma Rainey" has achieved: the three dinner theater performances in the Barn which moved the Hamilton community and did justice to the message of Martin Luther King Jr. whom we commemorated, the laughter and tears (well tears more on the side of laughter) we drew from the Union College audience, our ability and privilege to share "two different versions of the song" that August Wilson wrote with two different casts. But I think of the significance of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and what that means to us as aspiring actors, as an ensemble and as representatives of our school. Although we have reblocked the play in the last week to accommodate a smaller performance space, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" will never be performed by us on a bigger stage than that of the Fringe. For most of us, the limelight will never burn much brighter. I know how important this trip is for so many people including me, and I have been told a lot about what the next two weeks hold for us. And yet all the speculations of my imagination as to what Edinburgh will look like, sound like, smell like, and taste like are only vague images in my mind. I find myself lost in the hype of what we are about to accomplish. It is a surreal feeling to know that I am leaving the country tomorrow with part of me planning for the experience of a life time, and the other part still unconvinced that there is going to be a plane waiting for me at the airport, that the cast is not still sitting in KJ 104 running through lines while I daydream about what it will be like to be on stage as Irvin for the first time. To think that there was a point when I had to read the lines to hear the story August Wilson so brilliantly wrote. Now his words flow out as naturally as breaths of air. We have all been involved with some form of theater, but probably none of us has been with a play for so long. And in 10 months the play has not been perfected or mastered because there is always something new to be discovered about the characters or their actions right up to the delivery of the last line of the final performance. But "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" has become a part of us. It is a source of countless memories. It is responsible for our personal growth as both actors and people. Its characters have crawled out of our personalities and our hearts and our minds. We have bonded in ways that family and friends have not. And we have certainly spent enough time together to call ourselves a family! And for every bit of success and glory that we find individually in Scotland, we will have found so much more from one another. As an ensemble we have translated ourselves through the voices of Levee, Cutler, Toledo and Slow Drag, Ma, Sylvester and Dussie Mae, Irvin, Sturdyvant and the Police Officer. When I heard the news back in February that there was a possibility we would be going to Edinburgh, I began to prepare because there was no doubt in my mind it would happen. Our ensemble was ready to take on the world (literally) and we were blessed to be in an environment where so many people wanted to support us on our journey. So when I lay awake for the rest of the night and remain awake for the duration of our plane flight it will be because a dream has become a reality. "Because I know [we've] got [our] time coming."

Inside the Actor's Studio with "Cutler"

Being one of the few actors working in this productuion who is not extensively involved with Theatre at Hamilton College, one can only imagine the difficulty I would find in investing the committment that has been necessary to make the most of this endeavor. However, the importance of this play and performing it on the Fringe stage does not fail to resonate in such a individual's mind.

A brief academic course in acting was just something I desired to add to my workload at the start of my Freshman year, but I have now grown to find both an appreciation and a fondness for Theatre as a rising Junior. As I will be taking advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime by traveling to Scotland to perform "Ma Rainey" once again, the appreciation I have come to gain for becoming involved with acting here at Hamilton is at its peak.

Aside from my personal appreciation also comes the importance one finds within the play. The social and racial commentary August Wilson chose to illustrate throughout "Ma Rainey" is that of something I could possibly never find solely in the classroom. Detailing the events of Reverend Gates and the abuse he had to endure is much different than reading about such an occurrence in one's textbook. While the piece has many moments we may all lightly chuckle over, no one can detract from the somber display of sorrow and hardship when discussing the plight of African-Americans across the United States throughout the 1920s. Such commentary is essential to the impact we as students must make to the diverse culture of our campus's community.

And as we now head out for Edinburgh in a mere matter of hours, I can only think to myself, "Where's my Coke?"

Where We Are

Well, today we just had our final run-through before we fly across the Atlantic to the land of the Scots. Morale is high, the mood is good, and confidence is raging inside of us. Now that our departure is simply around the bend, this experience seems surreal. It's really happening, and we feel good. We've come a long way: the events barn, Union College black box stage, rehearsals in the Hub with some new faces, and now the Fringe Festival in Scotland. This is truly an experience of a lifetime. It's one thing to know in March that you are scheduled to perform in August of that same year overseas, but realizing it...it's exhilarating and humbling.
This proves true especially when I consider that, personally, (and even for the rest of the cast, I feel) this play has not lost it's ability to move us. After several months, I continue to find myself and my cast-mates: moved by Toledo's metaphorical "stew" speech, stunned to silence by Levee's traumatic childhood story, laughing at the Band's jokes, disgusted at Sturdyvant's manners, and shocked by August Wilson's poignant ending. Before we've even ventured across the pond, this is already proving to be an incredible experience. If that's the case, I can't begin to even imagine how wonderful the second half will be.

Discoveries

Yesterday was our first double-run-through day, and we worked out most of the technical issues of having a smaller set. The cast started to work more with testing what they will and won't be able to do in the new space. The first run felt really dialed back (perhaps because it was early morning), but the second was very energetic. A mix of the two energies, and an spirit of exploration, fueled today's rehearsals. As we get closer to the show date, the cast seems to be discovering a greater understanding of each individual moment onstage. Yet, the scariest and most invigorating part of all of this is that there are more epiphanies to come: some big and some small. No matter how hard we try to cure problems that we think may occur when we finally get to Scotland, we won't truly know all of what we need to do until we get there. Luckily, we won't stop learning and growing the until after our final performance.

Running

I wanted to entitle this blog post "Runs," but then I worried that it might give the wrong impression as to the topic of the post. As it is, none of our home-made group meals have made anyone sick so far, and we have just started intensively running the show.

We wake up in the morning. Show up to rehearsal. Eat snacks. Run the show.

Get notes. Eat lunch. Come back to rehearsal. Run the show.

Go home. Cook/eat group dinner. Prepare for tomorrow when we'll.... Run the show.

It may seem tedious to someone who isn't involved in the process, but doing a bunch of full run-throughs of the show really gives us an opportunity to work in a way that you just can't when you're stopping all the time to make adjustments and change blocking.

People are becoming more confident with their lines and blocking, and we're beginning to see the full picture emerge from this show. Characters are becoming more solid and (forgive me, every acting teacher I ever had) real. We're working on actually listening to one another and engaging ourselves in scenes. Soon we'll be running the show for an audience, and I know that if we keep improving at the rate that we have since returning only four days ago, that audience will be completely blown away.