“Listen to the Birds”

Today was taken up completely by auditions for this Friday’s Cabaret. Quite a few pitches which was a nice surprise after my rant in yesterday’s blog.

Highlights:

• A simple sketch in which Thomas came out in a suit and bow tie with a big green wheelie bin and started drumming on it with his hands. A cool rhythm. And then the sound of a harmonica started playing from inside the bin, and then Duncan rose from inside it and they jammed together briefly, and then Thomas closed the bin and they left. It was fun! Philippe said yes - we could see several different variations of this throughout the night.

• Ben and I tried out our hosting again with me incomprehensible and Ben normal. We tweaked it so that Ben and I finished each other’s sentences, and also played it like nothing was unusual at all. 

“Good evening everybody!” ... “Aaa ooeeoouu uuu aaa aaaoooeeee!”

“My name is François” ... “aaa iii aaaeee uuu iiioooouuu”

“Tonight there will be music” ... “oooiiiaaa” ... “dance” ... “eee oooaaa uuu iii eeeeaaa”

We played well together on stage and found it. It’s great when I feel really silly. When I’m just about to crack up myself is when the audience laughs the most. 

• Christine presented a song ‘Maybe This Time’. It was bad initially. She was very nervous and so didn’t sing well, and her nerves weren’t helped by various unfortunate things happening (cellphones ringing, people getting changed back stage) whilst she was presenting. Philippe said we feel pain for her. We don’t feel like ‘wow, I could never do that’. Christine was clearly very upset and sensitive, and said she would try again tomorrow, at which Philippe kind of mockingly questioned her. “What’s going to change?” at which the response was “I will be more relaxed.” “What are you going to do? Take a sauna?” Christine was stumped and lost, but wanted to be there and learn. Philippe then got her to lie down at the back of the stage, the lights were dimmed, and he played the sound of birds chirping. She lay there for a while and then slowly got up and eventually sang the song a few times. “Don’t push. Listen to the birds.” In this state she was much more with us. We saw her. Not the idea of what she dreams to be, but her, and it was beautiful. 

“We see much better her humanity”.

“The pleasure to be with the fear is very important.”

“Every time you push too much to be good. To be good in a conventional way. That is not healthy.”

“You have to be yourself. Bad. But always with the fear who gives sensitivity.”

“It’s really bad when you want to do conventional and ‘good’.”

“We have to think she put her guts on the table.”

• Lee also had a similar discovery as Christine. He had presented a Clown number that completely flopped. And it lasted an excruciatingly long time. And then he presented a monologue he had kind of learnt written by Feydeau, but that flopped as well. Philippe said Lee’s not playing with his spirit. He’s not offering himself. 

“An actor - he can’t be good at everything. In this way he’s good. In this way he’s terrible.”

“Your spirit - you have to start with that...and after you can go a bit bigger.”

He then got Lee to stand under the spotlight and just spoke to him. A simple conversation, but with a fun interrogative slant. “You are gay?” “Who in this class do you find sexy?” etc. Lee showed himself in this way. The real Lee who isn’t perfect, is a bit strange, and gawky, but is absolutely likable. 

• There were several other pitches too. Some successful, some complete flops. But I was proud of the class today for fighting a bit. We do have a drive.

~

Whilst Christine was singing I had the idea to sing a beautiful barbershop ballad I know called ‘Where The Southern Roses Grow’ but didn’t get up and present. Partly because we didn’t have much time (although if I’d got up strongly it would have been fine), partly because I had just had the idea and didn’t want to try something on a whim, and also out of fear. I felt like what Ben and I had done would be a good contribution to the Cabaret for me. But actually I should have presented. And I think I will tomorrow. What’s to lose? Nothing really. I’ll only learn something. It’s not a funny song at all. I would be working on being present, still, and beautiful. But what’s wrong with that?