First Time

Today we performed my piece in its entirety for the class. Everything's pretty rough at this point: the blocking, the characters, and so on. We have been working for a few weeks now, but I feel as though my cast won't be crunching down until the last moments. The response was relatively positive from the audience. There was still a bit of confusion with the script, as I had anticipated from the beginning. We did, however, discuss blocking options that could resolve some of the problems. I also think that a number of the problems will be resolved when I have added all the lighting for the show. Much of my script is dependent on the manipulations of lights and sounds so as to create an environment for this story. I was hoping that after this first performance the audience would be able to provide feedback as to the actor's own performances. This has been something I have been struggling with as a director, communicating with my actors as to what I feel they should be portraying. I do not want to be telling them exactly what it is they need to do. Instead, I would like for them to embrace their characters and bring something of themselves into it. It should be a dynamic experience, but I feel as though some of my actors are resting on their laurels. They are resting on their idea of who their character should be instead of exploring it.