Arabian Nights Previews Begin

Well, I had intended to blog quite a bit more about the process and getting to know this mammoth play, but I didn't have the time.

We had only two weeks of rehearsals, plus a week of tech...with all the rehearsing, learning lines, and working out (I need to be in shape for this show) who has time to blog!

But, the show is in pretty good shape if you ask me. Its been a really interesting process because half of the cast have been doing the show on the road for about 4 months I think. Then we have Lookingglass Ensemble members who worked on the
show 15 years ago, and then people like me who are brand new to the show. You would think it would take time for us to all gel together but its been a pretty seamless transition. Kudos to Lookingglass for doing such a great job with the casting....good actors and good people makes a happy ensemble.

Probably the most difficult part of the process has been getting through everything at such a quick speed. We have had hardly any time to really sit down and work on specific scenes, do scene analysis and have any critical thought which is
something I ordinarily enjoy quite a bit when working on a show.
So the onus has really been on the actors in particular scenes to find the time to work on the scenes. Nicole Shalhoub and I have a rather important scene about a merchant and his lover, and after getting the lines down, running it a few times, getting the intricate movements down we found we really needed some specific fine tuning. Thankfully we both were smart enough to talk to Mary Zimmerman about what we felt we needed, and were able to slot in half an hour of time with her. It was very helpful.

So yeah its been a whirlwind experience, but the show looks great.
One of my favorite scenes is "The Amazing Bag" which is improvised by a different cast member every night.
You have to see it.

Tickets are on sale!
2nd preview tonight.

Read more on my blog at: http://usmanally.blogspot.com/