Insert Witty Headline Here....

I realized at last night's rehearsal that the group is starting to
gel really well and thats swell (my little ode to Vince Fontaine).
The cool thing is that it is going along gender lines. Guys are
bonding and girls are bitchy (some of the guys too) and then the
couples meet in the middle. I really like the cast and this will be
one of those shows that I am sad to see end (we'll see if I still say
that on week 4 of performances).

On a character note, I am working on Doody's walk. It seems silly but
I think Doody would walk differently than the rest of the guys... not
as confident as them but rather unsure of himself and his body.
Maybe, once he grows a pair and asks Frenchy to dance, we could see a
subtle transformation. Maybe he gains more confidence in himself at
that point and we can see how he is going to survive out in the real
world.

Doody doesn't make decisions on his own very often. He always seeks
approval of others... making him even more pathetic (and lovable).
There is a point where Roger asks if we all want to go watch Mickey
Mouse Club, and I realized last night that Doody wouldn't
automatically say "yes". Because he is in the group of guys, he would
see if the other guys want to go first and then go along with the
majority. I think that's the motivation behind Doody helping to pants
Roger in act 2 even though they are the best of friends. What really
shows that "wanna-be-accepted" mentality is that he lets the other
guys go ahead and leave while he runs back and gives Roger his
Antenna back... his little way of saying "they made me do it." Doody
would be a prime candidate for joining a cult (and drinking the Kool-
Aid).

Holy Leotards Batman!

So after the first dance rehearsal, I thought we were getting off easy... until Sunday that is. Wow! The prom scene is this neverending marathon of "dancetastic" energy. From doing the jitterbug, to the cha-cha, to the hand jive, I think I may just have a stroke. My partner (Isabel) is great though and I think her and I are doing pretty well.... actually the whole cast is pretty darned good except Jeff Wright... he could really use some work (hee hee Just kidding Jeff). Seriously, we don't look all bubble gum and polished - we look REAL!

On that note, I watched the "audition show" that NBC (or ABC or CBS... blah blah blah) is having and at the end, all the finalists (Stepford actors) performed "We Go Together". Many things bothered me about the number and made me feel like I was going to purge my celery and peanut butter I had just woofed down (remember the diet). First, they were all wearing these ridiculously stupid outfits. The guys had the bright colored tees on with the label "D1" (or D2 or D3, etc... interpreted as Danny 1, Danny 2). As the bile was rising in my throat at the costuming, they started dancing. Needless to say I think I puked in my mouth a little. Robin Berger, our choreographer, should be proud. It was the cheesiest thing I have ever seen. Now granted... the "actors" did what they could with what they were given, but sometimes they have to feel a little dirty about bastardizing the original intent of the show.

We continue the prom scene tonight... ARRRGHHHH! The most inconvenient thing (personal bitch coming up) is that I refuse to go to a dance rehearsal with product in my hair (wow... I just said "product" on my blog... I am so gay! My stylist would be proud though... wow!...I just said "stylist".... you get the point) so I have to wash my hair at work. Let me tell ya', washing your hair in the sink is no easy chore and I end up having my own little wet t- shirt contest in the bathroom (I always win). But as Scott says, you have to suffer for your art (that's his response when ever you bitch about something).

More later!

Hair show...

If you've been reading my blog, you'll know that I am having to deal with longer hair than I am used to. Plus, we are under a cut restriction by Scott (he threatened to castrate us... not in so many words but I read the subtext).

So I've been doing some research on greased hair and thinking about what style Doody may have. I have dug up some interesting photos and to the left is where I think I am heading.

For the rest of you greasers... there is a great site to do some research.... http://www.slickville.com

Who am I anyway?

So Scott got us to thinking about who our characters were. What are their real names? What was their home life like, etc. So I did some thinking on the way home and below is the story of Doody (as I see it):

I was born David Christopher Dudek. I never knew my dad (my real dad anyway), hell my Mom probably didn’t know him either. She went to a party one night and got a little sloshed and wound up going all the way with a sailor who was on leave. She came from a good, polish family and when they found out she was prego they kicked her out. It was June of 1941 and she was all of 17 and she was on her own. I was born on March 22, 1942. Mom tried her best to raise me on her own. The old lady she rented the apartment from watched me when mom went to work. She was a clerk at the five and dime and that’s where she met the guy I would soon know to be my dad.

Vern (the man she eventually married) was never a warm man and he definitely didn’t like me. He worked at a local cannery and would always go out drinking after work. Mom usually tried to make sure I was in bed before he got home, because it was inevitable that they would fight. One day he left for work and never came back so it was me and mom again. I was 8 at the time... Time to be a “man” as mom put it.

It was about this time I met Roger (my next door neighbor)  Mom worked a lot and when she came home she would always have “gentleman callers” over so I was sent out to play a lot. Mom drank quite a bit and always has a hard time getting up in the mornings. She tried though. Once a year, on the first day of school, she got up and fixed my lunch for me. Roger’s Dad worked a lot also, so we were both left to our own devices a lot after school. We got into a heap of trouble together... Just boy stuff, nothing serious.  Roger called me Doody from day one (making fun of my last name after I cut a big fart), and the nickname has stuck to this day.

Apparently the whole neighborhood knew about my Mom’s “extracurricular activities” but no one talked about it... even Roger and me. For the longest time Roger and I were each other’s only friends. We even made up our own little handshake and had a clubhouse (it was really just an old box). And so it went all the way to high school. Roger became the funny one and I was always pretty shy (around everyone but Roger) and he eventually joined the Burger Palace Boys gang. He told them my story and they all agreed to take me under their wings. As it always was with me and Roger, he made friends and I came along by proxy. So I had friends.

Because of my Mom being who she was, I never had much respect for women, until I met Francessca (Frenchy). I was smitten by her but never had the guts to say anything. She was different from the rest of the Pink Ladies. We eventually dated for a bit but lost touch after high school. I went on to the police academy and now I’m part of Chicago’s finest... Went from one gang to another.

Oh yeah. Mom is still alive and kicking. We don’t talk much though. I send her a check every now and then though and I’m sure she wisely invests it on Wild Turkey and Camels. Roger is still my friend to this day and I still see some of the other guys around the neighborhood.

Sooo...

...not going to be off book tonight! Unfortunately I didn't manage my
time well this weekend, but in my defense I had to take the Christmas
tree down (yep! I still had it up and it was lit!) and of course that
led to rearranging the living room which led to the discovery of a
dog hair convention under my couch and love-seat which led to the
thought of me having to clean, which led to the purchase of a new
vacuum (because I hated my old one... and yes the new one sucks like
a Hoover [because it is a Hoover]).... and finally on Sunday night I
sat down (after scrubbing the fire place stones because I was
convinced they were porous enough to hold dust and could be causing
allergies) in time to watch "Desperate Housewives" (guilty pleasure).
I didn't even practice the guitar... which I should have and now,
even though my living room and dining room are spotless, I still feel
like a slacker because I didn't meet my goal of being off book and
the rest of the house still looks like shit, especially after you see
the clean rooms.

And I know what you are thinking: "Why didn't you work on them last
night?" Well smart asses, I did, but "Heroes" came on and I frickin'
love that show and next thing you know its 9:00, so I started
studying then and in between letting the dogs out (I call them the
"boyz"...the "z" makes them cool) and trying to fight the urge to run
down to Dairy Queen and woof down a huge blizzard (trying to loose
the "not doing a show" weight), I didn't accomplish much.

I may try a little study today during lunch, etc. at work, but we all
know how that goes.

So to my fellow cast members and Scott, I apologize for my OCD/ADD
and I promise I will not let you down.

Blocking and blogging...

Blocking for act one is done... wait until you see the MGM Lion....
funny funny funny! Actually the whole park scene is very good.

My goal is to be off book by next rehearsal for Act 1. If I can take
over Molina in Spider Woman and get it down in a week, I should be
able to do this.

On a new note...I find it funny that I am blogging about the
experience of being in Grease, but really all the information is very
superficial. I usually think of a blog as an online diary where
people pour their heart and souls out to anyone who cares to read it.
The catch 22 is that "anyone" can read it, so I find myself editing
the things I say (none of them bad). There are things I am dying to
tell someone but either can't or shouldn't. Maybe I should open
another blog.... hmmmm.

Sorry for the blabber.... A.D.D. sets in every now and then. More later.

Blocking Part 1...

Well if anything gave me a clue as to whether or not this Grease will be totally different, it was blocking last night. Its going to be fast paced and not overacted. I had already started developing my character and when I got to rehearsal last night Scott explained his vision of Grease and how we were going to approach it. I think it's going to be amazing. Already the pink ladies are coming across more real (and bitchy) than ever. So I have to re-adjust my character and how I am going to play this. 

One thing is for sure: I have to get off book FAST. It is really hard to act fun and spontaneous when you have a script and/or music book in your hands. 

Our First Read Through - Sing Through

We had our first read through of the script at last nights rehearsal
and I gotta tell ya... THIS SHOW IS F**KING FUNNY! Not in the
slapstick-pie across the face-three stooges funny, but in a genuine
teenager interaction-every day life kinda way. If we do this right
(which I'm sure we will) it will be really cool. A lot of the script
sounds like banter more than script. A lot of quick wit and snide
remarks. I think the hard thing will be holding for laughs because
you never know when the audience is going to have an outburst with
this show. It will probably depend on what character or group they
identify with the most.

My personal favorite is Jan. She is very funny in the same way that
the heavier nun was in Sister Act. And the girl playing her (Katie
Nestor) will surely crack a lot of people up.

Last night was also the first time the whole cast got to hear all the
music in one sitting. Not bad for our first try. I think the guys
have some harmony problems but I'm sure it will all get worked out...
it has to because the girls are definitely showing us up.

We begin blocking tonight... more tomorrow.

Do the hop

Our first dance rehearsal was today. I have to admit, I dread the dance but somehow I seem to be pretty adequate at it... And so is the rest of the cast (even the guys). I love Robin as a choreographer. I just seem to “get it” when she is teaching.  It’ll take some practice (on my part) but I think I’ll get it down and not stand out like I did in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (Newline 2004). I did drop Isabelle today though... We are doing a straddle lift and luckily I had her pretty much horizontal before she hit the ground. She wasn’t hurt (thankfully). I can’t wait until the “school dance” scene. I hoping for some really cool jitterbuggy type stuff. More later

P.S. Be sure to visit other cast and crew blogs:

http://isabelpastrana.blogspot.com/

http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.com/

http://timestepdiva.blogspot.com

Last music rehearsal

WE ROCK! Literally.  This will be quick and short, but I am loving the music of Grease. Who knew? My personal favorite is the song that Roger and Doody perform – Rock and Roll Party Queen (I may be a little biased, but Jeff and I are going to kick ass). The music in general is so authentic to the period and once you take out the “Bee Gees-wanna be disco-but comes out country-and lame” songs that they added into the movie, you really get a taste of the the 50’s. That’s all for now. First dance rehearsal is Sunday (heart attack here I come).

P.S.  I hate my hair

First Grease Rehearsal

I have to admit that I wasn't so thrilled about doing Grease. I have
never been a big fan. It seemed cheesy and superficial at best. Let's
start with the movie, I mean come on! A flying car? And not a lot of
the characters came across as "real people". Then there is every stage
version I have seen (3 times)... Mostly community theaters and mostly
kids and mostly STUPID!

That's what I like about doing Scott Miller shows. He never ceases to
surprise with his vision of where we are going to head and as long as
you accept it, it'll always be a fun ride. Scott is going to put the
authenticity back into Grease and make it the raunchy, unpolished,
snapshot of 50's Americana that it was meant to be. I also love the
insight he provides. He writes these chapters, that at first seem
very overwhelming, but if you read them, you can really ascertain a
lot of good info. And this time he has provided books, magazines and
DVDs for us to take home and get a true idea of who we are in this show.

For instance, I didn't realize what a big deal it was for Doody to be
playing a guitar. I thought it was just a ploy to get one in the
show, but Scott explained back then rock and roll was the "devil's
music" and for any kid's parents to let him have a guitar was a huge
deal. Not only to him, but to his friends as well. He now holds the
key to what they think is cool and, like Scott said, he could be the
next big star in their minds. So when the cast is singing back-up,
it isn't mocking, etc. They really are excited to have this music in
their lives and have it be so accessible.

So long story short.... I am kind of getting excited about Grease and
I can't wait to see where it goes.

Cut or Uncut

Going to get my hair cut today and I realized that in order to grease back my hair, I can’t get the normal short trim that I always have. It seems silly but you forget about the small details of becoming a character until it affects your daily life. The hard part will be balancing a “business acceptable” cut with something that will work when I slather it with pomade to get the Greaser look.  I’ll post pictures as we go along (if I can do that).

Grease Rehearsals Start Monday

Well, I have been learning the guitar to play the part of Doody in New Line Theatre's production of Grease and I have to say, I am pretty nervous. I have the chords down but its playing them all together that stumps me. I've come to the realization that I will never be a Peter Frampton or my 3rd grade, guitar playing, music teacher-Ms. Dineff. If only my fingers were skinnier. DAMN YOU genetics.

I am really excited for the first rehearsal however. It's always fun to meet the new people and see the ones you have done shows with. Even funner (I know its not a word) is making fun of the new people with the people you have done shows with (If you're one of the newbies...just kidding. If you're one of the vets...get ready to talk some smack).

Seriously, over the next 10 weeks or so, I'm sure I'll make some new friends. The great thing about theater folk... you get so close during the run of a show and when it's over, everyone gets busy and you loose touch, UNTIL the next show starts and it's like you never left.

Wish me luck!