Notes from the Moonlight & Magnolias rehearsal room

14 April 2011

11 April – First day of Moonlight and Magnolias. We started rehearsals with a ‘Meet and Greet’ in the lily pond. It’s a chance to meet The Watermill team and each other! This time there are only four actors in the cast! This is wonderful as we can all fit in the rehearsal room. I’m used to rehearsing in there with a cast of 12, a drum kit, a double bass, 10 instrument cases, 12 music stands, 2/3 pianos, amplifiers and tap shoes, not to mention a 6’2” director/choreographer!

We talked about the timeline of the making of Gone with the Wind, which was in pre-production for three years from May 1936 to February 1939! The day ended with a read-through of the script.

13 April – A long day today; what started as a breakdown of the script into sections, ended up with two stagger-throughs of Act 1 scene 1 by 10pm. We also spent the afternoon with an American dialect coach. He seemed to think that the play should be louder, faster and more Jewish. From our point of view, Gone with the Wind wasn’t built in a day – and we’re only on day three!
Karen Mann – Miss Poppenghul