Dangerous Beauty - The Actor's Process

July 31st - one day before the opening night celebration!

2008-08-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

So we had a weekend of performances, a day off and three days of tech and changes. We have a performance tonight and tomorrow is our official opening celebration.

The weekend was fascinating. It allowed us to tell our story to an audience and see how they responded. Laughs came where we never expected laughs. It was nice to hear how people responded. Certain lines got gasps from the audience. Others brought utter silence. And for me as an actor, with each performance I understood more and more what was needed from me to tell Marco's story. I really began to understand the necessity for clarity and specificity for every intention I have. I began to understand what it means to act Marco's struggle. To perform how time takes effect on him, and his relationships. I began to find what is his inner struggle and the line from the song City of Lies, "Venice or Veronica" took on a whole new meaning. This is his struggle and as the actor, I must show to the audience how they conflict within me and which pull is greater at any given moment. It is not enough to understand this. It is my obligation as the performer to put this into action, to tell this story with my voice, my heart, my mind, and my body and perform for the audience so they understand. And this requires extremely detailed choices.

It was great to learn all of this with live audiences. They helped inform so much and so in tech rehearsals this week, we changed 30 things. 30! That is a crazy amount but with this hard work and changes, I feel like the show has grown so much in just one week and I cannot wait to see how the audience responds tonight before our big press opening.

Rehearsal Day 27, July 25th

2008-07-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here I sit in my room, waiting to go to rehearsal and for our first day of previews. I must admit, technical rehearsal process was long. The cues we built in for the lights were incredibly detailed and specific, but the effect is nothing short of perfection. The costumes, the lights, the set have given rise to this world of Venice, Italy and we the actors get to play in it.

With the process of doing a new musical, I have learned how to be ready and prepared to change. Something is always changing. To be honest, our first real run-through was last night and that in itself had holds, so we have yet to ever run through this show without stopping. Our first time will be tonight with a house full of audience members. It is exhilarating: live theatre. What will happen on stage tonight will be discoveries that have yet to be explored. The audience will see choices being made, tested, and how they respond will influence how we progress the show. It is truly an interactive experience for our preview audiences. And I could not be more excited.

As we moved into the technical rehearsals, our team grew this week to about another 25 members, including our crew. The orchestra moved in and has filled the space with musical instruments, giving the show a whole new sound, the wigs and costumes have literally forced us to move a different way, see ourselves as our characters, and the set is a literal adult (or perhaps not so adult!) jungle gym, letting us play our way through the story. And we are still rehearsing, changing things this afternoon to try out tonight. Based on the audience this evening, there may be more changes in rehearsal tomorrow that will be incorporated into our second performance on Saturday evening. And this will continue until August 1st when our show stops changing for the time being and the choices we have made with our characters will be played through the remainder of the run.

It has been give weeks in the making and here we are now, finally ready to tell our story to audiences. Who knows what lies ahead...but we know what lay behind us and that was something so fulfilling and wonderful that anything that is to come can only be more to experience, learn from, grow from and enjoy. - Jason Heymann

(A month ago they were sketches. Now, we wear them.)

(The Bishop.)

(Tate being serious.)

(The set is alive.)

(Tech'ing.)

(Floors cleaned - just waiting now for the audience!)

Rehearsal Day 20, July 17th

2008-07-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

We are very much in the thick of the process right now. Tech week is ever present, looming over our heads as we work to create the show we know we have amidst all the choices we have been making the past few weeks. With each run of different sections of the show, I find myself understanding more and more who Marco is. Now the process becomes about tweaking. Fixing posture here. Watching my line speed there. Defining the strongest acting intention. Going over notes at night with my script by my side. Reassessing choices I made earlier and filling up the beats even more. It is extreme detail work. The polish to make the work shine. For the first time in my life, I really feel like I have created a character from the page and breathed life into him and now am challenged with making what was once an idea into a human being.

And what is great is that I have seen myself mature in this process. What once made me frustrated now is welcomed. I feel a sense of ownership over my work and I allow constructive criticism to give way to growth. I take everything in, process it, and make new choices. And it is hard work. And it is fun. And it is my passion. And it is my life. And for all these reasons, I couldn't feel more blessed.

Friday night is crew view - our first real semblance of an audience for a run of the show. Two days of work until then. Based on where we are now, this will be quite a roller coaster! And I mean that in the best way possible! - Jason Heymann

(The set is coming together.)

(And more and more the world comes together.)

(Singing and dancing the song "Heaven and Hell." Anna spins while Robbie teaches the dance.)

(A further back shot of "Heaven and "Hell.")

Just a short note ...

2008-07-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

To anyone and everyone reading, I invite you to post comments, questions, et cetera, on the blog. The Theatre and Interpretation Center as well as myself want to see if this can be more interactive for readers since this is the first blog for a show they have ever done.

If you enjoy reading more and want me to do the writing, that works for me as well. I just wanted to make sure the offer was extended. Time to get back to rehearsal. I have to get my boots on... - Jason Heymann

Rehearsal Day 15, July 11th

2008-07-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Last night we were working on a scene and Sheryl said to me, "Jason thinks that Marco should leave Giulia and be with Veronica, but that is not what Marco thinks." This struck me - especially after what I wrote in the last blog entry. Being the sentimental, heart-driven person I am, of course I think Marco should choose love over anything, but Sheryl was right. If Marco made that choice, there would be no play. Marco must be battling with his own super objectives throughout the story until the last minute where he does his first selfless act, gives up his life for love. Then and only then can the story find resolution.

With this is mind, I sat this morning with my moleskine and mapped out Marco's super objectives, his plan for his life and how it changes after specific scenes. I thought that I would share what I came up with. As of right now, it is what is making the most sense. I think I need to become even more specific and raise the strength of the objectives but here is what I have:

Top of the show: become the rich, famous senator who has everything.

Kiss me scene: become the rich, famous senator who has the perfect
girl (Veronica).

Wedding scene: become the rich, famous, noble senator who serves his country.

Post art song scene: become the rich, famous, noble senator who serves his country and has the hottest girl on the side.

1st Giulia scene scene: become the rich, famous, noble senator who made this marriage work / get Veronica somehow.

Pasacaglia scenes: become the rich, famous, noble senator who made this marriage work / GET VERONICA.

Poetry duel scene: become the rich, famous, noble senator who married for his country AND GET VERONICA.

By this point, that second objective of getting Veronica has grown so much that when push comes to shove in the scene with Veronica and Maffio, he attacks Maffio and runs after Veronica.

I Would Love You Now scene: must get Veronica or he will not be able to go on living.

Post love making scene: become the rich, famous, noble senator who married for his country and loves the woman of his choosing.

King Henry scene: become the rich, famous, noble senator who gets what he wants.

City of Lies scene: save Veronica--clean the slate, don't know what to do it, but he needs to save her--this is all that is making sense now

Prison scene: save Veronica by stopping Maffio and then when that fails, save Veronica by stopping her; make her confess so they can be together and he doesn't lose her.

Trial scene: save Veronica by surrendering his own self.

End: let her be free of any cage and live his life in hope for their love.

I'd say it's been a good few hours of discovery. I feel like I am begging to stand up on my own two feet and take charge of this character and starting to make choices. And it feels good. - Jason Heymann

(the arches get columns.)

(Laura posing in the new arches.)

(My wig fitting. Keep in mind this is without any dressings!)

(Trying to figure out the bang length.)

Rehearsal Day 14, July 10th

2008-07-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

As I submit these blog entries, I find myself losing track of the days. How long have we been in rehearsal? What is the date? Did this happen yesterday or today? As far as I know, maybe it's happening tomorrow. The only thing that is comprehensible right now when it comes to time is that the work is endless and seamless. Mornings fall into afternoons that dive into evenings and before I know it, I am waking up to my script in front of me, searching for my character. The rehearsal day has become the rehearsal month- never ending or beginning. The work is continuous and that is a blessing for an artist.

After the stumble-through night we were welcomed back into the rehearsal space with a discussion of changes being made. Some things were cut, one being an entire song. It was challenging for some of us. We put our heart and soul into the work and create an arc for the character. Then to have something big changed really messes with your work. But in the end, the changes are necessary to tell the best story possible, and we as the actors must take it as a challenge. So now we head into two weeks of taking the stumble-through and juicing out the best show we can.

Personally, I now confront the hardest part of my process. I realize my character and who he is. Now I must discover which pieces of me are right for Marco and which are not. I have to search through my identities and pick and chose which are right. I am finding myself putting too much of the sensitive, emotional side into him and not enough of my positive, self-assured side. He needs to live by expectations, always anticipating things to work his way and then let the disappointments take effect. All things I must explore. And I have two weeks before we have an audience. The real work is just beginning.

Here we go... - Jason Heymann

(Working in the maze on the 20th-something version of the opening!)

Rehearsal Day 12, July 8th

2008-07-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

Today we had our first stumble-through and it went surprisingly well. The past few days I have been working a Loy with Sheryl and Jenny on Marco and Veronica's story and arc, which in turn has helped tremendously on character.

The deeper I get into the character, the more I am fishing that Marco's obstacle is his own self, his pride, his vanity, and the duty imposed on him by society. His battle is with himself. It is a disconnect between mind and heart and he struggles to reconcile the two.

As I understand the character more, it is easier to make choices on stage. I have impulses constantly now that I am understanding who Marco is and I am able to try things out. I have so much more to discover, but this was the week it clicked. Now I must dive in.

The stumble-through was great. I felt that I found a good hold on the show and I am excited to head into the next three weeks before we open to audiences! - Jason Heymann

(The floor takes on new colors.)

(learning choreography for the wedding scene.)

Rehearsal Day 11, July 5th

2008-07-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been nothing short of challenging work. As we get up on our feet, more and more I am challenged with finding this character within me. How does Marco walk? How does Marco talk? Why does he do this? Why does he do that? What is motivating him? And the more I discover, the more I start to see my own tendencies as an actor.

The root of emotion is motion. To emote is to do. In rehearsing such a deep work, it is so easy to be sucked into the sentimentality of the scenes, but that is for the audience to experience. I must keep myself activated, searching, hoping, questioning.

I saw WALL-E last night and realized what made this trash-collecting robot so moving was because he never sat on his emotions. He never took in how he responded. He was always moving forward. He reacted to what was around him, made a choice and before he had time to think about his choice, he was already responding to something else.

As an actor, we don't get to watch our experience. We must live it for the audience to watch. This is where I am at currently; a great place to be at three weeks before opening. I struggle. Get frustrated. And I grow. Quite an experience to be having! - Jason Heymann

(the second floor to the set is now in place!)

(Choreographing the line: "a pet, a fart!")

Rehearsal Day 8, July 1st

2008-07-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Today was inspirational. We began to work on a transition scene. The goal for the scene was story telling. We had to tell the story of Beatrice preparing for her wedding, Marco and Veronica discovering each other, Paola approving of their interactions and Beatrice walking down the aisle.

To tell the story of Veronica and Marco finding one another, Sheryl asked Robert LaFosse to choreograph a pas de deux. I really was worried at first. I never identify myself as a dancer. But as our music director Doug Peck played the music, I found myself emotionally responding, feeling so excited, content, curious, free. As Robbie taught us the dance, I gave over to my feelings, let my body follow his direction and before I knew it, I was dancing this beautiful pas de deux with Jenny. There I was letting the music guide my body to tell the story of Veronica and Marco. I was dancing. And suddenly I understood why dance exists.

I have always heard: we speak to say how we feel and when words don't work, we sing and when notes don't work, we dance. And to dance, you have to let go mentally and follow your body and heart. It was an amazing moment. How lucky we are to work with Robert. - Jason Heymann

(Robert La Fosse working with the courtesans in rehearsal.)

Rehearsal Day 7, June 30th

2008-07-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

The last day of June. We are full underway in this process and there is no turning back. I find myself becoming sucked into the show with each rehearsal. Here July is and we have three weeks before we begin to tell this story to audiences. And I could not be more excited.

Today I made quite a discovery. We were doing more table work (we have been doing staging and blocking and dancing too but I just have not written as much about that yet!) and I began to think back on all the discussions that had gone into every choice Jeannine, Amanda and Michelle had made. I began to think about all the choices we as actors had made with our director Sheryl. I realized that, by the end of all of the discussions of this new musical, there will be thousands upon thousands of reasons for every single letter, word, note found in this show. Everything will have some thought behind it.

Why is this fascinating, you may ask. I started thinking about my work on other musicals written by the greats of music theatre. I thought about my work on Carousel and Boys from Syracuse. We would talk for hours, work for hours to discover the secrets of the script. We constantly struggled to figure out why this character did what, sang this note, responded this way. We searched to reveal what Rogers and Hammerstein were thinking when they made each choice. And all of a sudden I realized that this is what we are doing. We are making all these choices and discoveries and decisions in this new work that when completed will become locked away in the script and the future artists who work on this show will attempt to unravel all that we discovered.

For example, as Jenny and I were working on a scene last night, we were playing it out, trying to feel each beat, understand the thought process for our individual character. And as we spoke the lines, certain things did not make sense. I was supposed to say "Look at me," but Jenny had just delivered such a deep line that she felt her character would already be looking at me, and I felt like Marco's response was not responding enough to what she said so I added a word to make it more of a response. We will work with Jeannine later this week to make revisions and the scene will take a new shape. Jeannine constantly is saying how wonderful it is to have actors to work on the scenes because we breathe life into them and she can see what makes sense and what doesn't. And it is so true. And now, once this scene changes, future actors who work on this script will have to look at the words and think, "why does he respond this way," and discover that Veronica is looking into Marco's eyes at that moment. They will have to find that by analyzing the text and searching for the secrets the words hold. The secrets that we made.

Again and again, how lucky am I to work on this art? - Jason Heymann

(The floor to the set is now in place!)

Rehearsal Day 6, June 29th

2008-06-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

Today I was reminded of the technique of acting. Yes, there is character work and emotional work required, but there also is extensive technique that, when done well, is not perceptible to most audiences.

In my acting class this year, which is strictly devoted to the technique, my friends and I learned that often you can get lost in the technical aspects of acting. It takes years and years to build your craft before you really can perform technical aspects habitually. I was reminded today about those technical aspects that, as a young artist, initially frustrated me, but that I also recognize as crucial in their importance. It is good for me to be aware of these elements and always be checking myself.

First off, I was reminded today that we are in a thrust space and have to perform on angles and be aware of the audience all around us. We have to tell the story to everyone -- not just the middle section of the house. The other element I was reminded of was my voice. I often fall into a "performance voice" and I get more in my head instead of my chest. In my role as a leading man, I have to match my speaking voice to my look, and it is a challenge to put my voice into my chest. I have to work at it constantly. I found the voice for Billy Bigelow in Carousel this past winter and I now have to find Marco's voice for Dangerous Beauty. That is just as important as anything else.

It was great to be reminded of both technicalities and that it is all part of the process. - Jason Heymann

(first three photos are moments from today's rehearsal; the final photo reflects zip-up corsets that are actual costume pieces for the show.)

Rehearsal Day 5, June 28th

2008-06-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

Today showed me how art is therapy. We were working on the scene before the song "If I Were You" and the song itself. This is the moment when Marco is turned down once again by Veronica and he is reaching rock bottom. His Uncle confronts him and asks why he is not fighting harder to get her. Marco responds with what he has been told by his father and his uncle advises differently. Marco is confused and says "First they tell you to rise above love. Now you say call love back again. How, Uncle? How on earth?" Then his Uncle sings to him perhaps the most beautiful song in the show. "Love's a rare emotion that never touches some. Still, it is as close to God as most of us will ever come," he sings.

As Peter (Dominco) sang this to me, I began to tear up. It spoke to me in ways I had never understood the song. Art can provide a different lens to look at our own life. Yesterday I personally needed to hear that song and I know that these personal emotions will only help me fill out the character I am creating.

The life of an artist asks you to go deep inside yourself to places that you often hide, are too scared to confront or sometimes don't know how to confront. But in accepting the responsibility of an artist, we must be brave, take a deep breathe and open ourselves up. And in that way, it becomes almost therapy. Again and again I am reminded how lucky I am to have the process. - Jason Heymann

Rehearsal Day 4, June 27th

2008-06-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have never worked so hard as an actor. I am exhausted tonight as I write this. It is not so much that I am tired physically as much as it is emotionally. I feel drained. And it was a really good day for me as an actor. I admit, there were times where I was so upset or so frustrated, but I was pushed constantly for eight hours and made some great discoveries along the way.

The day started with choreography for the wedding scene and that is one of the pictures from today. This was fun and creative, simply learning the steps for the different sections of the wedding. What really started the "onslaught" of challenging work came after the dancing. I sat down with Jenny (Veronica), Hollis (Paola), Sheryl and Jeanine to work on perhaps the hardest emotional scene of the show. It is the moment when both the love interests and the mother are at the lowest point emotionally. They have nothing. They are empty. And filled with pain. And from this moment they move into the love duet I wrote about on Day 3 where Jenny cried. As we read through the scene 3 times, we finally moved into the song and my objective was to convince Veronica. My mind was filled with so many questions about the scene and I wondered if we were going to sing or not and all of a sudden I found myself singing and trying to find the intention and commit to the scene but I was not entirely present. And when it came time for Jenny to sing back to me, she said I didn't convince her and she wasn't going to sing. I was crushed. I felt so upset, sad, mad all at the same time. What does she mean? She can't do that? Why? How? What? I was lost. And I knew she was right. I didn't do what was needed. And I found my ego wanting to be mad at Jenny but realized she was exactly right. I had to try harder -- work harder. And we went to work on the scene again. I wanted to try the song again. I wanted to prove I could do it. But Sheryl went back to the scene. She is a genius in this way. If I had tried to go back and sing the song, I would have been lost in my personal emotions and not have achieved anything or progressed at all. We went back to the scene and Sheryl pulled me away from the table and asked me to yell in Jenny's face and scream one specific line in her face. We went back to the table and began the scene again. I got up when I was supposed to and yelled at her, screaming at her. And the scene started to click into place. It was by no means perfect, but things started to fall into place. The yelling forced me to get to the emotional place needed. And once I gave over to the scene, the words started making sense.

I walked back home for our dinner break really frustrated. I felt incapable and young. Why did Hollis and Jenny nail their beats? Why did they have the right answers? Why could I not go to emotional places Jenny reached? And then I realized that I am learning. I am growing. And I need to make mistakes, to make the weaker choices to learn how to make the stronger choices. I was pushed a lot during that hour and made more discoveries than I ever could have if I didn't get any criticism.

When I returned, I was ready to work hard. I wanted to feel proud of my work for the day and I decided I would commit to all of my work for the rest of the night. Sheryl told us a story on the first day about an actor taking a breath at the rehearsal door and letting everything go and entering the space ready to work with a clear head and devote himself to the work. So I took a breath at the Barber Theater door and entered the space ready to work and work and work. Sheryl, Jeff (Pietro) and myself went into the South rehearsal room and worked on our two scenes (father and son). We made really incredible discoveries about the relationship and the scenes worked beautifully. I then sang "City of Lies" to him lightly and really tried to tell him how I felt. All of a sudden the song took on a whole new purpose and Sheryl told me thank you for showing her a side of that song she had never seen. It was really awesome. I felt so frustrated with acting at one moment today and then so exhilarated by the power of committed acting.

There was so much more that I could write about, but I think this post is getting rather long. Today was just such a huge educational experience and I am so fortunate to get to learn with such brilliant artists. I am beyond tired and drained, but I feel like I grew so much today and I couldn't be more inspired with creating art. - Jason Heymann

(photos of script with my notes and scenes from today's rehearsal)

Rehearsal Day 3, June 25th

2008-06-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

Today I am going to write about the work session I had with Jenny Powers (Veronica) on the two songs our characters sing together. The first one we worked on was "I Would Love You Now." We started with the scene and Jenny had her back turned to me. As I sang the first verse, she slowly turned to look at me and was crying. I felt the impulse to smile -- I was taken aback. I wasn't happy to see her cry obviously, but I think I found myself shocked and that energy manifested in me wanting to deflect the shock. I kept singing to her and as the song went on, I found myself wanting to apologize with the words, make her feel better, fix "things." By the time we got to the end, we were holding each other and neither of us sang the last line.

First of all, it is very hard to play these scenes in a room filled with people staring at you. But I am finding more and more that you just have to go for it and not worry about what is going on around you. We have a job as the actors and that is what we should focus on. Jenny does this so well -- she is so ready to give over to her emotions and just make choices freely regardless of who is watching. I am challenging myself to really follow her in this way.

Second, this experience was surreal. Sheryl talked to Jenny for a while about the scene. Jenny commented that when she started this scene three years ago, she saw it through a completely different lens. Now, she "gets it." This makes total sense to me. I have to admit, it makes me worried. I found myself questioning. Do I have the personal experience to understand this? Am I capable of feeling these emotions? And then I realized that of course I do and of course I can. I know I have felt these intense feelings in my personal life. The struggle is allowing myself to access those feelings to understand how they work and then bring that into the scene.

"It's so selfish of him," I said to Sheryl. "Ah -- that is Jason passing judgment on this character," Sheryl retorted. She was right. She made me squirm for a while trying to figure out what was going on with my character. "Jealousy," I decided. "Deeper than that," she replied. I struggled and then, "pain." It all clicked. Marco is operating from a place of pain. It literally is killing him to see the woman he deeply loves sleeping with other men. He cannot live another day with this situation. It is killing him. It hurts him. And he needs her. And I found myself beginning to tear up. I found myself where Jenny was. It was a matter of prodding, digging deep, and allowing myself to go to those places. Perhaps this is why people do art, watch art, live for art -- it is therapy and makes us all feel better as we deal with human truths.

It was a really difficult hour and I was pushed a lot, but I am beginning to find Marco and get to where I need to be. Day off tomorrow so that should be good to sit with my script and figure out Marco's arc. I am struggling with the last 20 pages and what happens to this character. I am meeting with Jeanine and Sheryl tomorrow to talk about it all. How lucky to create a character's arc with the director and writer of a musical and my feelings and thoughts will help guide this character into a fully fleshed out role. Lucky. - Jason Heymann

Rehearsal Day 2, June 24th

2008-06-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

"We are making art, friend." This is the comment Peter Oyloe (Maffio) said to me as the ensemble worked together with the creative team on the "salon sequence." That line could not have summed up today any better.

I can't lie -- today was hard. I suppose that is the great thing about Sheryl Kaller as our director -- she gets right to work. Day two and we were bouncing off ideas; debating what sounds, movements, lines worked; and struggling to create the exact style for which our show is aiming. I really began to see the process of working on a new musical today, because typically in another show that has been done, there is no cause to define style. The show has been done before. But with Dangerous Beauty, we are creating the entire world out of nothing. We have an empty palette and it is the physical people in the rehearsal space that will collaborate and create a whole piece of art.

Every one of our energies, if you will, have an effect on how things take shape. Choreography typically is taught to you -- the choreographer explains what moves are needed and you do them. Today we were asked to play, to experiment, to just "go with it" and see where it takes us. A few of us found ourselves asking, "well what do we do here" or "what is the count for this move" and the response we got back was "I don't know" or "don't worry about that right now." It was a little backwards for us Northwestern students, but soon we got the hang of it and realized we are creating with the team. The "solutions" will come in time, but to get there, we have to try many things. We are beginning to understand the possibilities are endless, which of course, is heaven for artists.

Sword fighting, rehearsal skirts, creating the wedding dance and a costume fitting are the pictures posted. Also, the costume fitting with incredible. Just the simple detail of the muslin pieces was impressive. The layers and layers of clothing started to really illuminate the time period and I said to Virgil Johnson (costume designer) as I tried on the huge orange war cape that I could understand why war was such an ordeal back then and so glorified -- I felt important with the breast plate and huge train behind me. It was, in a way, exhilarating. As my acting teacher would say, "store it up!" That feeling will be helpful for creating my character. - Jason Heymann

Rehearsal Day 1, June 23rd

2008-06-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

Today's rehearsal was truly awesome. It began with an informal meet-and-greet and the excitement was so present in the air. We finally sat down after introducing ourselves to each other and listened to Stuart Oken (American Music Theatre Project artistic director) and Sheryl Kaller (director) both say a few words about the project. Love for this material was present in both of their speeches. It was apparent from the get-go that this show had a heart like no show I have ever experienced. Sheryl then gave us the gift of Amanda McBroom (lyrics) singing her song, "The Rose." It left many of us in tears. It was no less than magical. Then we had design presentations from the set and costume designers. We were flabbergasted with the intricate designs, pages of research and smart choices they presented us with. The designs look stunning. I took a few pictures of the costume renderings (pictured at the end of this post). We all cannot wait to actually wear them. Then a read-/sing-through followed; the show with its re-writes is terrific. It was great to finally say the words and sing the songs out loud and tell the story of Dangerous Beauty with all parties involved. There was a sense of "we are doing something great." It was the perfect first rehearsal.

The night closed with an intimate discussion between Peter Oyloe (Maffio), Jenny Powers (Veronica) myself (Marco), Sheryl, Jeannie Dominy (book and verse) and Doug Peck (music director). Together as creative artists, we talked about our characters arcs, scenes that worked, backstories that needed defining and we brought up issues we all felt needed addressing. Together as a team, we will fix them. It is a collaborative process like no other and I left rehearsal today feeling so fortunate for this is a real piece of art and how lucky we all are to create in this environment.

I look forward to what tomorrow holds. - Jason Heymann

(photos: Dangerous Beauty costume renderings and behind-the-scenes at first rehearsal)