Thursday, October 8, 1998
We had planned on rehearsing yesterday, but spent the day doing errands or repairs instead. Today was much better. Joe and I both had meetings, but we were able to get some time in the evening to run the show all the way through. There are some rough spots, but most of it is where we are inventing business. Remember I told you that each team adds something to the show.
Today was also the first day to do the show with sound and lights. Joe set most of it up before I got there. Here he is taping down a cord to a light so that we don’t trip over it.
We do the voices live and some of the music as well. Here is Joe banging away on the jembe drum at the top of the show. During the rest of the show the music will be on a tape, since we’ll both have our hands full. We use a foot switch to start and stop the tape.
Different people have different feelings about the use of pre-rocorded sound tracks. Some companies will record the voices as well as the music. Having seen and performed both ways, I vastly prefer doing it live. If something goes wrong, and something always will, a tape will keep going, but a live actor can cover for the problem. Plus you can connect with the audience more.
