Lessons from the woods
It’s show week for Into the Woods and things are going well. We could do with selling a few hundred more tickets, but the feedback we’ve been getting from audiences has been wonderful. It was quite wonderful to finally get on stage after six months of rehearsal, and it was a particular treat because the set smelt really beautiful at first, as it includes fresh pine – lovely!
At various points in the show, some of the characters consider the lessons they have been learning on their journeys through the woods (though it soon becomes evident that some of them learn nothing at all). So what have I been learning?
- A moment of vagueness means a few bars of miming.
- The slippier the shoes, the further the slide.
- The hair of a wig tastes most foul in the mouth.
- Entering too early is embarrassing for all.
- You may know it’s all good and all learnt and all ready, but you’re pleased when the audience laughs.
And finally, I have learned that if you are going to cut yourself shaving, the day of the dress rehearsal is not a good time to do it. Having to apply and remove make-up at least twice (depending on how difficult a particular make-up moment turns out to be) means that the cut doesn’t have a chance to heal and actually gets worse. Oops.
Into the Woods is a very special show indeed, and touches my heartstrings in unexpected ways. I have tried to explain what the show is about over at a site devoted to East Kent theatre – Stage Corner.
The Singing Librarian Talks 
Perfect Sondheim-esque meter on your ‘lessons’! And they are all so true. Hope the show is going well – one of my all-time favourites. Break a leg for the rest of the performances!
BTW, did you know the Regent’s Park Open Air production of Into the Woods is being released next week on Digital Theatre? http://www.digitaltheatre.com
If I lived nearer I’d be booking my ticket to see this right now! It sounds a great show. It’s a very good idea, isn’t it, because it is guaranteed that everyone in the audience will be familiar with the fairy tales. So no time has to be wasted introducing characters and situations, you can just get on with it.
It sounds great fun and really sparks the imagination. What did happen next and what was really going on?
I thought it was an excellent review on the Stage Corner website.
Also it was a great link from highonahill about Digital Theatre which I had not heard about before.
Just realised ‘review’ is not the right word for your post on the Stage Corner website because you were writing about a show that had not taken place yet and you were whetting people’s appetites to go and see it. I am trying to think of the correct word – ‘promotion’?
I am very excited about the release of the Regents Park version! Will definitely be getting it.
I think the piece on Stage Corner is a preview, maybe? Or possibly a desperate attempt to sell even one more ticket…