That’s the first line I utter in Jake Arky’s play, The Lookout.
I like it already! My character’s got jokes– okay, you quickly realize it’s not the type of joke you would typically hear around town.
Then again, I don’t know about some of you, and the filthy activities you find yourselves in! Hah- I kid, I kid. In The Lookout I play a “middle-management” type street hustler whose urban vernacular twists my tongue more than it sags my pants.
I accept the challenge!
We spent most of our first rehearsal for the piece getting to know each other, and I was impressed with how everyone managed to summarize their path to finding their passion, and how they came to be involved with The Bench Project. I’ve had the pleasure of working with each one of them in different capacities: Gina and I were working on San Jose Rep‘s production of Spring Awakening. Sara and I were in Jeffrey Lo’s staged reading of The Cruel Continuous Cycle of Male/Female Relationships in Six Scenes, and finally, I worked with Jake when I was still with TheatreWorks.
Director, Gina Marie Hayes enthralled with Playwright, Jake Arky’s retelling of…some story.
We were missing one (of three) of our cast mates so weren’t able to get too far into the script. But what few pages we were able to get to informed me of the type of work I’ll have to be putting in. The benefit of having a sharp Director is that the words they’ll be using are efficient and simple. And as far as directing goes, I always feel simple direction is always the best. It was an extra boon to have Jake there- question about the script? Well, look no further, the source is in the room!
You might be wondering, “Are they rehearsing in a garage?”. Your powers of observation has not failed you, dear reader. It is! If you’re familiar with theater, you’ll know that space is a premium. For those who aren’t used to seeing what goes behind putting on a show, let me say, there’s a LOT! Shout to the folks of Bindlepunks for letting us rehearse!
Personally, the feeling of being in a rehearsal always puts me in a warm mental space- physical space comes as secondary (unless it was tech week and we haven’t set foot on our stage, which is unlikely). There’s Art to be made, damn the roofs of the World!
We wrapped the evening with some calendar syncing…
Or social media updating…I don’t know.
Related articles
From Rehearsal To Performance: What’s different? 2 quick videos (gevajournal.wordpress.com)
Bench me (kreenpananas.wordpress.com)
How to Avoid Awkward Conversations when Meeting Someone New (lifehacker.com)