1.4
We only worked one scene today. This scene, however, is really two scenes that bleed into each other. Usually productions of Romeo and Juliet have a 1.4 and a 1.5. In the folio text of the play, however, these two scenes are actually one long scene, connected by the stage direction, "They march about the stage and servingmen come forth with napkins." To my mind, one of the greatest stage directions in all of Shakespeare. It's so specific comparatively to most of his stage directions. I decided that I want to play this moment (as best we can) and that I want to leave these two scenes as continuous action. So, the boys (Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio) never leave the stage. They have their scene, Peter (Paul) comes in and hands them their servants masks and the party starts around them. For only one night of work, it's all looking rather seamless already.
This large group rehearsal went so much smoother than the last one and I'm fairly certain I know why. I took the time tonight to get everyone placed at the start of the party and then walked amongst them giving everyone a path for their specific moments. Once we went back and put it all together, there were only two minor hiccups. And, instead of taking two hours and everyone feeling drained, it took just over an hour and we had some time leftover to work on costuming for a bit. Overall, a very productive night.
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