February 17, 1999
Relentless rehearsals mark play's progress
Editor's Note: This is the second of a five part series following the Old Town Playhouse's production of "A Chorus Line" from casting to final curtain call.
By Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
The move seems simple enough: eight steps and a pivot.
Across center stage the performers stand, some arms crossed, others hands on their hips, waiting for instruction. It could take minutes to learn but the group seems unfocused. Frustrated, director Kris Hains decides to forge ahead - everyone takes five.
Rehearsing a musical on the scale of "A Chorus Line" takes a fair share of five minute breaks.
With a cast and crew of more than 70 people, just coordinating practices for the Old Town Playhouse production takes reams of crib sheets. Beyond the logistics, however, four nights a week this is about turning discord into harmony and missteps into high-kick jazz combinations.
Now in its fifth week, rehearsals for the musical are broken down into groups of line and chorus performers. Throughout the four hour sessions, cast members work on vocals measure-by-measure, dance combination steps and running lines of dialogue. Equally important is the blocking that determines if a singer stands stage left or a group of dancers tip their top hats.
"We try to keep it balanced or otherwise people forget if you stay away from one thing to long," said Hains, watching the line rehearse Sunday afternoon on the Old Town Playhouse mainstage.
Retaining dance steps and recalling dialogue are but a few of the challenges facing a large theater production.
For head choreographer Judy Sines, its finding space downstairs among the scaffolding and hangers of old wardrobe. Even more difficult is the music itself.
"The music is much different in this show, it is not your basic 4/4 count all the time," noted Sines, choreographer for Playhouse productions of "42nd Street," "Oliver," "Music Man" and "Grease."
Teaching one step at a time or 32 counts of measure, Sines pointed out that most dance numbers are not mastered in one session. Instead, she wants each performer to feel comfortable with the rhythms and tempos.
"The whole key is that the production looks together. Difficulty is not always the most important thing," said Sines, who noted that "Chorus Line" includes character-type jazz, ballet and top hat stylistic dance numbers.
Putting your best foot forward can prove troublesome; even for a veteran of the stage.
"I didn't know what I was getting myself into. This is worse than aerobics," said Traverse City resident Don Swan, as he attempted to learn a 6 step jazz combination.
Others, like Inger Jay, found the music more complexing.
"You'll hit a note and it will be discord and you wouldn't have expected it. You just have to make sure you nail the notes with so many different parts going on at one time," said the Traverse City resident, who plays the role of "Judy Turner."
As the show's director, Hains' greatest challenge is not missteps or discord but conflicts of interest. With changes in cast and production crew, she admits rehearsals can be fraught with frustrations.
"It kind of upsets the momentum everytime you have to stop and rework something in," Hains said. "It's frustrating to be going full-steam ahead and every once and while have to pull over and regroup."
"But in the end you wonder how it would have been any other way. You just hope everything is for the best even though some nights you don't sleep."
Those restless nights will likely increase in the upcoming weeks.
Props, costumes, even lighting will throw new wrinkles in the production's smoothest parts. Which is why ironing out 8 steps and a pivot may take an hour of rehearsal only to ensure it goes undetectable on stage.
"If its done right the audience should have no idea how hard you worked on a certain move," Hains noted.
Of course there is always the fear that what happens behind the scenes may show up in front of the curtain.
"The final number has this costume change for 17 people. It's fast, someone could lose an eye back there," Hains joked. "You just hope that everyone comes out with one right and one left shoe. But hey, that's what rehearsal is for."