Barry Yandell

. Barry’s critique is below. Read all of it.

Do the old opening

PAY attention to the weather.

Critiques from last night & Barry’s

·         Step on lines  His biggest criticism “Stepping on lines must be intense.”

·         Another criticism – Look at each scene – what is the climax? What is the climax of the play? Discover clarity through the lines.

·         Work on all accents -  everyone – especially Rose, Roberson, Edie

·         Main issue – Each scene seems the same except for Joey’s and the women’s.

·         Richer and richer – together

·         Shine shoes Clarence. He said this too. Gestures from within

·         Doris – cut the melodrama in the Sidney scene and women’s scene. ( This is mine – you have to look Sidney and the women in the eyes)

·         Robertson – To whom r you speaking?  2^nd time we have heard this.  Hit consonants. Gestures initiated from within. Step away from frozen people.  He suggested that you speak upstage sometimes. Think about this during the Hooverville lines.  Work on Germany and soft shoe lines. Look at  your watch when you say clock ticking.

·         Loved Joey, Quinn, - loved the entrances.

·         Grandpa – use the cane. Try a dif. Voice – That is his specialty.

·         Lee – believable, honest – his favorite   I need you to be younger at the beginning. Great job in such a short length of time. Great stage presence.

·         Change the door bell. Cody, I owe you – I’m sorry I messed up.

·         Music was too loud at times. If you are speaking, over compensate if you are speaking over music.

·         EVERYONE – final consonants.

·         We need to move people from CS – just to the left or right.

·         During the Mississippi scene, Dancers toward left and upstage with silhouettes.

·         Did not like red wash on protestors – Lindsey, Cole and Lane – What do you think?

·         Too many scenes in the same places.

·         Tempo and rhythm in each scene needs to be worked out.

·         Needs more of a relationship between Quinn and Graham. Roberson, laugh at Graham’s forwardness and at Quinn’s awkwardness.

·         Cut music after Quinn’s scene.

·         Fanny – straighten cloth on bar.  Think of times to move around the front.

·         Each character needs to change – within a scene – a priority in the entire play.

·         Men – shadows on heads.

·         Sidney – work on a more nasal singing tone.

·         Everyone, look at actors in the eyes.

·         Isaac, you were not involved in the action. You cannot look awkward on stage.

·         Awkward freezes – we need to choreograph them  - this was during Moe and Lee’s scene. Moe step a little out of the light.

·         Loved welfare scene.

·         Loved Mississippi dancing scene – liked him in the light sitting?

·         Irene’s speech – it worked today because of the people noises.

·         Paige and Kapush, don’t upstage the focus.  We may move you.

·         Edie Lee scene didn’t work.

·         All women whined.  Fanny, lower register.  Too much whining. Get a wet rag and wipe necks, drink water, play real cards. He loved the energy there and the energy with Lee. Everything else drug.

·         Everyone who has monologues – “see” the person to whom you are talking.

·         Rose – loved your levels in monologue. Everyone learn from that.

·         Lee, first speech is carefree and happy. Plant your feet and use your body with the words.

·         Fanny, lost your accent during the opening scene.

·         Moe– sit more left stage – left of center – use a bench. We need you a lot louder.

·         Lee, remember you are on stage and you say _ What did they believe?

·         Everyone – the bank scene was horrible. We need to choreograph it.

·         On Banks’ scene, Ty and Savannah, cross from right to left.

·         He had a hard time figuring out what to focus on. We need to make sure lights are right on the spot. People need to look at whomever is speaking.

·         LOOK AT ACTORS.

·         Be always in the moment.  It is a new day. You have never been here before.

·         Dance as silhouettes

·         No straight lines in dancing. No straight lines at all anywhere anytime.

·         Block the little scenes upstage.

·         Rehearse with feelings.

·         In the welfare scene, and all other scenes, know why you are there and how you feel.

Feb 26

February 26, 2012

Quinn and Edie	The dance at the beginning should resemble “Anything you can do, I can do better”
Everyone REMEMBER THE CUTS & WHAT WE DO IN EACH SCENE. After Sidney/Fanny scene, Mob handing out propaganda.	Use one 4X 8 for the house. People need to freeze upstage Bar scene – This should be horrible – turned to almost fast forward.  I want to see people coming in horrified and talking in small groups.  STEP ON LINES Freeze when Roberson speaks. At the end, when you freeze on Lee’s last line, Roberson walk through the crowd one more time . Extend  your hand to the audience. Mob – fade out voices. Welfare, watch standing in a straight line. Work on better – natural laughs Bank strike – make noise before Lee comes through. Be frozen in the back during Lee ‘s speech after Moe has borrowed money from him. Richer and Richer – hand motions.
Fanny, Lucille, Ryan/	I want you on stage in the background and in the foreground when you are not on stage as characters.
Fanny	Wear the other dress instead of the flowered one.  The pale one. When you stop Sidney, grab his hand. We could see you behind pylon Work on freezing.
Grandpa	There is a shadow on your face. Every time you are in the house, take your hat off except when you are ashamed of your haircut.
Roberson	Good reactions Clearer during Germany line. Work on laugh
Quinn	Drag out long – It’s a long story. Faces during dancer
Light and sound	No talking.
Lights	Lights up for dance at the start – lights 10 and 12 Lights on Rose and Irene and Roberson – they believed. Light on Lee during Cornell and Brown line.
Edie	Slower during Clarence and Roberson lines
Fowler	Let’s cut you in the dance.  There is not a woman to stick between you and Sidney. Be more involved in welfare scene.
Allison and Paige	freeze
Moe	During bar scene, be interested in Carson wanting to tell the sotry.
Rose	Need card for the bracelet.
Irene	Slower in the back during the Sidney scene. Keep accent going in welfare scne.
Sidney & Fanny	Good job
Moe and Lee	Good job
Diana/Lucille	Good job in welfare scene.
Myrna	Look up more in the welfare scene.  React more.
Women	React more when Moe walks in.
Moe	Work on more anger toward Rose.
Dancers	Smile and dance more.  LAUGH
Sidney	Deeper voice in welfare scene.

February 23 Rick Garcia

Notes on the Clinic February 23

Quinn	at the beginning -  More animated – different faces – ahhh at the end. Make it bigger. Watch noodle arms I started out as a clerk… Don’t get up until you do the line about the wall. We need to change your Rian white shirt. As Quinn, you have to be forceful – understand what you are saying.   Ask your dad to talk about this.
Everyone	The bar scene needs to be faster – more urgent. Strikers move slowly Dance in the Mississippi scene. At the end – left stage was too heavy. STEP ON LINES  We can cut down on time if you will do this. Who are you and what do you lend to the story? We will change on stage especially those of you who just change jackets. Vocal warm-ups each time. ·         Write a subtitle for each scene. What human need does each scene represent.  There should be a word symbol for each scene – hope, greed, pain,  ove, etc. ·         As well as being a character, you are also a symbol-a verb-  in that scene. ·         We need more human interaction – we need to feel for the people – the humanity of those times. We need to see the humanness in those stories. ·         We need to see the economic history via dance. EVERYONE – hit the consonants. You  have overcome the biggest battle – the dialect – now work on the diction. We need something over the bar for Franny and Sidney’s scene. Everyone – listen to the radio – either agree or disagree with your faces and bodies. Each character needs a master gesture – one that is consistent with that character.  I want to see these on Sunday. We need to see you thinking on stage. What are you really saying underneath the lines? The END – Just like you did it there – two steps – everyone freezes, then Robertson steps out.
Robertson	Cannot understand the line that has 30,000 in it. DICTION Ease into the dialect.
Myrna (ABBEY) Fanny	We need a different sweater.
Fanny
Mr. Fowler	We need to fix your sweater.  No Polo logos. We need more expression. You need to be a lot louder and more assertive. The line is Miss Graham from the Times is here.   Speak to her before she comes out – carry on a conversation.
Doris	Don’t break the fourth wall by looking into the audience while you are being talked about. We will put  you in a chair.
Lee	No hope – hit the p. We need to see the heat on the Mississippi.
Rose	Money, money, money – say each one differently – the last very sad.
Irene	Cookin – no g
Music	Let the Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries last longer. Shorter time with the buzzer.
Moe, Rose and Lee	Rick said we needed to see more age in the three of you.  We need to see and hear the burden of life.
Lee and Robertson	We need to see more of the relationship.  It is the American story through Lee’s journey.  Robertson needs to express and react to Lee.  We need to see how his story affects you.  Robertson is the audience’s gauge.  Step closer to the audience and react with them.  We need to see the two worlds.
Clarence & Robertson	Be bigger, Clarence – more cocky.  Robertson – work on diction.
Joey and Lee	We need to see the physical relationship between you two.
Banks	Acknowledge the money
Edie and Lee	Edie – more a woman of the world.   I know we keep going back and forth. Do not get angry – or at least not as angry.  Lee needs to let her remark hurt him.
Women’s group	We need more panic with the knock.  Rose move the stool to your place at the table.
Rose and Moe	More panic with the buzzer.  Figure out how you feel about each other.  I liked the fighting then collapse on Rose’s part.
1.	Opening Introduced to the Baum family
2.	Robertson and the bar scene
3.	Rose and Lee pawning jewelry
4.	Robertson, Irene, Grandpa, Rose – bank scene
5.	Banks, Quinn and Robertson
6.	Fanny and Sidney
7.	Rose, Moe, Lee  - It’s going to be a good day
8.	Rose – funny face – Lee and Mississippi
9.	Sidney and Doris
10.	Welfare
11.	Lee and Edie
12.	Women’s scene
13.	Rose and Moe
14.	The end