I am directing The Second Last Man by Jordan Hall for Monkeyman Productions Banana Festival. Â The good news is that the play is great. Â Also good news is that now I get to play Left 4 Dead 2 and call it “research”.
Not so great is the fact that I’m coming in as a ringer. Â Basically, things came up and the director originally slated to direct the play was unable to do so, and the Monkeymen called me. Â And (to quote 24) WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!
But the best news is that the cast is great. Â Tim Nussey, Melissa Zaccardelli, and Jack Morton are pulling the play together and despite the short time, and really finding some great stuff in the scenes.
In a short amount of time, we’ve managed to make some good choices about the characters, flesh out their histories, and get the play blocked. Â Now we can start to find the nuance in the scenes, and get the dialogue really moving.
Once thing I’ve noticed about not having a lot of time is that you basically have two options: Â you can try and hurry, worrying that if you don’t rush through everything that you’ll run out of time. Â Or you can work slowly, making sure that you work carefully. Â It seems that best option is to work slowly, taking your time, and ensuring that you work through each moment, not glossing over anything. Â This is the best use of the actor’s time. Â Working slowly like this means that everything gets its moment, and actually helps the actors to learn their scenes. Â Its been an important lesson to learn.