By: Ace Dispo, Web Editor
Last week, Moreau’s theatre department wrapped up its run of “The Plot, Like Gravy, Thickens” and several key cast members shared their experiences from the entire production process.
All great productions start with rehearsal, but just how long do they rehearse for?
Senior Cruz Ferreira, who played the playwright Walter, the wealthy Edward Worthington III, and the detective Lieutenant James McMillan, explained, “The entire rehearsal process went from 3-6. But during tech rehearsals, it went from 3-7. And then dress rehearsals, the week before performances, are from 5-10.”
Those long hours didn’t just stop at rehearsal, but they also had to keep up with their homework. Junior Charlotte Cruz, who plays the ditzy sister Beatrice Worthington III, recalled feelings of being “burnt out,” as she would “go to sleep at like 10, 11, or even like, 12… So it was just trying to find those periods of time where I could do my homework and take care of myself. But I admit that was also difficult.”
Behind the highly rehearsed scenes come a flurry of behind the scenes shenanigans. For example, while rehearsing, Ferreira recalled how the cast once “had to stand in a circle and read our lines. But every time, we had to be playing patty cake with someone… It was intense… really hard to focus on lines and do that.” Challenges like this prepare the cast for the unexpectedness of a live performance.
During a performance, senior Alexander Pimentel, who plays the playboy Tony Blackwell, explained how he had to flirt with an audience member. But by accident, he once flirted with the mother of the actress, Ivanka, who plays his sister, as he recalled how, “she pulled me to the side after the moment and said, ‘That was my mother.’ And I said, ‘Oh.’ And we both laughed for a minute, and then we got ready for the next scene.”
One question the cast recalls being asked often was how they memorized lines, since many people outside of theatre can’t even remember what they eat for breakfast.
Many attribute it simply to repetition. Ferreira recaps it as, “just repetition… It’s also just acting through the lines.”
For most of the cast, repetition is also part of their process. Senior Joshua Yegge, who plays the monotonous Roy Phillips, thinks of it this way: “once you really get into the rhythm of it, it sort of becomes second nature almost… Just through, like, practice after practice during the rehearsals. It just comes with repetition.”
A lot of attention to detail went into portraying the fanciness and lives of each character. Charlotte summarized how, “our costumer, Miss Demmel, would source costumes either by ordering them online, and also shopping a lot at Ross… She would take our measurements and then provide costumes based on, like, what’s best for our character. We’d do some costume fittings, and then we just go on stage with those costume designs in mind.”
After an outfit is designed, actors could become their characters, some wearing more than others. Ferreira, who had the most roles and costumes, shared how his, “detective look had a trench coat and like a hat, and then my Edward one I wore like a tux… I looked really good in the tuxedo, so I’ll give props to Miss Demmel because she made me look good in my costumes.”
After rehearsing and wearing costumes, the cast had one final challenge: eating in costume. Charlotte explained how the food was, “just a Ritz cracker with a small square cube of cheese and then olives on it… At first I was like, mm, yummy food, but some days I would be absolutely, like, sick of it… The combination of the crackers, trail mixes, and pretzels would make my mouth very dry, so I would have to like, get water when I had time to, off stage… I don’t really want to eat cheese again.”
While Charlotte battled dry snacks, Yegge was able to enjoy a glass of prop wine. He recalled one performance where he was, “really thirsty, and I didn’t bring water with me, so I just kind of chugged it, so I finished it halfway through the scene, and I didn’t have anything else to drink.”
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