We met with the cast today and heard their first table read of Serendib. It was very exciting to hear it, and confirmed that I really like this play. After the read, Emily put them through a quick puppetry experience, which she’ll go more in depth with later. It’s a relief to see that they were all excited about the puppets and really jumped in to play with them. Sometimes you run across–frequently, you run across actors who are not confident enough in themselves to be able to translate that into an external form. Puppetry is a form of acting, but the tool, the body, your character has to inhabit is not the tool we’re used to using. A lot of people can’t separate their acting from what is happening with their body, so they can’t transfer their skills to the external body of a puppet. It’s nice, and a huuuuuge relief to see that it’s not a problem with this cast.
I’m sad that I won’t be here for the rehearsal process, but, as they say, my work here is done. From here on out, it’s all hair and makeup for the puppets. I’m off to Hawaii with my husband to visit his folks. That’s not a bad way to end a build.
