Janet's World

Henry Ford once said "Never complain, never explain". Henry Ford never danced in Mamma Mia! Is there such a thing as complaining too much? I can't believe it's true, but yes, it is. And I'm now going to break Henry Ford's golden rule by complaining. Too much. And it all comes down to one word - VoulezVous! (Well, okay, two words, but still...)

Today was dance day on the set. Again, there was quite a bit of excitement in the air as we get closer to the "big day" (Tuesday, our Opening!). We combined the "newbies", those of us who are still trying to figure out what the hell we're doing, with the veterans, those "other" people who know exactly what they're doing. Most of "us" are over 40 and slow, most of "them" are under 30 and fast. Fast dancers, fast learners - fast at everything! (And I hate them!) Although with the addition of some new choreography, even they have to be on their toes. But most of them are professionals. I keep trying to convince them that this is my first show, but none of them are buying it.

Truth be told, I had a little talk with myself before we started the rehearsal and told myself that I wasn't gonna be freaked out by the dancing, no matter what happened. And I must admit, it helped. I know for a fact that I didn't hit all my marks and I certainly got a few of the steps wrong (more than once), but as they say, practice makes perfect (or in my case at least a modicum of improvement) so all was not lost. In fact I almost, ALMOST enjoyed the last moment in the dance. But I've got a long way to go, so I'm not getting my hopes up. Yet.

We started the rehearsal with a little timeline/pep talk from Andy our Stage Manager reminding us of how the schedule was going to run for the next few days until we open on Tuesday. Then we dove into a long five hour day of dancing and transitions; transitions meaning from one scene into another with all the attendant scenery changes and movement. It really is a fascinating process and it's amazing that more people aren't hurt on a daily, even hourly, basis!

For example, when Alyse and I sing Name Of The Game near the end of act one, we stand alone at the front of the stage on the "Jetty". The walls of the "house" are in and facing front. When, in the middle of my line "All right, I'll do it", Andy calls "go", an elaborate system is put into motion where the 20 foot long "Jetty" begins a quick descent 4 feet down to even out with the rest of the stage while, at the same time, the 15 foot high walls begin an enormous rotation upstage, which (when the Jetty has landed and I am safely off) I grab onto and "ride" like a carnival carousel. In the mean time, some of my fellow actors, along with members of the crew, are running onstage, between and behind the walls, setting up for the next scene, which happens to be Voulez Vous. Chairs and tables are positioned, liquor bottles and shot glasses are set, actors and actresses are entering from all corners of the stage (all of them singing, don't forget) and no one, astonishingly, gets hurt. Now anyone who has crossed a street in New York City knows the sensation of having fifty people coming at you at once, ducking and dodging each other to cross to the other side - imagine doing that with chairs and tables in your hands, singing at the top of your lungs, trying to remember lyrics and which bottle you're supposed to grab and where to set the glasses down. You get the picture. But somehow, very much like a finely tuned and choreographed dance, it all happens without a hitch. It doesn't happen at once, of course, as each moved is layered in on top of the other over the course of rehearsal, but when it's all put together - that's the magic that you see in the audience. Pretty cool huh?

Progressing through the show, we somehow, in those five hours, managed to get through the whole thing and rehearse each dance and transition and movement. Some still need fine tuning and more work, but the outline is there. Our final kudos went to our amazingly talented Dance captain (and traffic coordinator!) Janet Rothermal. To her credit, the precision and smoothness with which this all took place was, again, astonishing. I'm privileged to be working alongside such talent.

Our final, and in some ways most interesting, hour was spent in a required Physical therapy class. The show, as I've mentioned, takes place on a rake, and the repetition of the work combined with the physical demands can take an enormous toll on the body. The physical therapist was there to give us some tips on how to prevent a lot of the ailments that can accompany working on a rake. Stretches and alignments and a battery of movements - all meant to help prevent future injuries. The most interesting admonishment came to the end of the hour, and not from the PT (as we call him). It came from our current (and a "former", which is what made his comment all the more poignant) Sam, John Dossett. John told us that all this work was very important because, even though we might feel fine now, it's the "cumulative effect of working on the rake that will take it's toll on the body". He should know, he injured himself the last time he did the show. Words to heed, I think.

Tomorrow, we hit the boards full force - costumes, full staging, sets, more equipment. Usually, you might get a little more time if you were "teching" (going through technical rehearsals) a big show like this, but being a new cast in a show that's been running for this long, we're not afforded that luxury. So tomorrow is it - do or die, so to speak. The most interesting aspect will be to get on the stage with the costumes - clothes change everything about the perception of character and show.

Can't wait!