That’s Entertainment!

Well not just yet, but it’s going to be!

We’re at just abouts week 8 of Smitten rehearsals. It’s gone unmercifully quick. We’ve had more time than Scratcher and Shifting but it still seems not enough! There’s never enough rehearsal time is there?

The play has really been knocked into good shape and I’m very happy with the work that we’ve done so far. In terms of the three ‘In The Future When All’s Well’ plays, it’s a lot more elaborate than the previous two productions so I’m kinda glad that we’ve been able to dedicate more time to it. Lots more props, more elaborate set, more action, more entrances, more exits, more umbrellas, more dance, more everything.

The cast have been brilliant and I think they’re going to knock it out of the park. I can’t include myself in that, I’m the one who usually feels the worse when they flub lines or miss a beat… it’s very hard to come back and give people similar direction after that. Damn those blurry lines but hey, thank god Angela and Gemma have no such qualms. Eyes are on the prize and hopefully by the time we open at Solstice in Cork next Thursday evening we’ll have the show as we want to present it. The aim is to give the people of Cork the best possible show that we can put on and we want to make sure we give them an amazing show.

One thing we can say though, is that right now, it’s entertaining. And that’s the main thing, right?

The things we still need to do are:

– More singing. There’s dancing alright, but it needs a lot more singing. We need to get the balance a bit more dead on. Singing and dancing and acting at the same time is well out of our comfort zone. (Adopts plummy accent) We’re aktors you know?

– A lot less of a play. We’re aiming for 90 minutes. We just did a dress rehearsal that was 125 minutes. That’s not good. Better get tightening or better get some pruning. We’d hate to have to chop some stuff but if we have to chop some stuff we will.

– Entrances and exits. They’re very different for both Cork and Kilkenny (probably because neither run is performed in a conventional theatre space). There are so many disorientated actors right now.

– Finish our props and costumes. We’re getting there… the things we have to mime are becoming less. Miming drinks is always a pain in the arse.

– A few more sound cues. We’ve most of our soundtrack and score in place but there’s always that confusion at this stage where actors ask questions like ‘Will there be a doorbell or am I doing the sound of the doorbell.’ The answer is that yes, the actors in Smitten will go ‘Ding ding’. And sometimes ‘Vroooom’ and sometimes ‘Beep beep’

– Finally, promote the show. So yeah, come see it when it opens in Cork next week. Why is it in Cork? It plays at Solstice as part of Cork Midsummer Festival.  Where is it on? The 3rd floor of the Old FÁS Building on Sullivan Quay. When is it on? Thursday 16th June at 6pm. Where can I get tickets? The Cork Midsummer Festival box office at Triskel Arts Centre and bookings are on 021 – 4905004. Oh yeah, make sure and tell your friends that it’s entertainment guaranteed!

That’s my pimping for the day done!

John Morton – Writer/Director, Smitten