Notes from Preview

As we head into Opening Night, I want to thank you all for the focus and heart you brought to this whole process. As we are about to capstone our months of work as we share this with the world and I could not be more excited to do so with such an amazing Tribe! 

A couple quick notes from last night: our energy dipped in a couple places, which I think you were feeling too, so remember: no matter how good the warm-up feels, the true lift has to happen onstage. Tonight, you’ll have a full audience. Use them! Play off their energy, give them space to laugh and applaud, and trust your instincts in finding the rhythm with their feedback. Continue to make discoveries, and always focus on telling this story. I’m incredibly proud of the work you’ve put into this show, and I am immensely excited for you to share it with the world tonight. 

I will be around for any clarifications to notes or questions, but this is now your show! Own it, listen to your Stage Managers and have a great dawn of humankind!

TRIBE VIBE!

Josh

ALL - Quiet backstage. Props were dropped, and chatter could be heard from audience. If you have a mic and you are just about to enter or just exited, doubly cautious as the board may be a couple seconds ahead or behind your exit. 

ALL - All transitions should be in character, even if they are in blue stage lighting. Before/after songs, between scenes. Still be your characters!

SCHWOOPSIE/TIBLYN - due to my amazing lighting, you actually have shadows on the cave wall right upstage of you when you are reacting to your shadows. Feel free to play off of those too, as they are very crisp from the audience's view.

EMBERLY - Eat from your food basket at the top of Just a Taste scene, rather than from the poison berry bush

EMBERLY/GRUNT - “thats fine” always means "I love you". Dismissive lines such as "that's fine" don't communicate super well to the audience, so keeping the energy of infatuation gives us a purpose to that line. I think the intent behind those lines are something like "you can say anything and I wouldn't care if you called me chopped-liver because you are so amazing". 

TRIBE up the Tree - great energy at playing up the slowness of Trunkell during the time change. Let your impatience raise to 11. Show how loooooonnnggg you have to wait in a tree because Trunkell is walking around. I'm going to slow down the light fade to better show that time change, but you are in that tree for hours. As soon as you think you can get down, you do. The rest can begin to "follow" until Trunkell (slowly) charges back to you. For this whole moment, we don't have a ton of options to run it, so let your discretion be your tutor and make discoveries on how to show this scene now that we have an AMAZING Trunkell to wander the stage.

Anyone who goes up the ramp - you must be hidden from audience the whole time (Giuseppe I saw your head) and quiet feet (Ana I heard you) because its very resonate when you head up the ramp.

The Night Belongs to Snarl SOLOISTS - remember to act it up when you are at the Mic. You are still preforming, not just singing into a Mic, so allow movement of hands, moving the stand, etc. It's reading a touch music recital right now more than rock concert. 

The Night Belongs to Snarl DANCERS - Good negotiating the scarves. There is hot glue circles in each corner for feeling out where they should be. Sunny negotiated the scarves very well, so if you are having trouble, ask her for questions or tricks! 

The Night Belongs to Snarl DANCERS - There was a funky arm thing that I didn't write when in the song. Leiana called it out too and said to check with Sunny because she's doing it right!

KEERI - "She did it" after Zazz defeats Snarl. Go as soon as Snarl crosses into the Cave. We are holding that beat too long.

JEMILLA - For your solo in The Night Belongs To Us, if you lose the band or aren't confident, feel free to take that energy out to the audience so you can see the conductor. Remember to connect those phrases as well, each phrase has a shape not just individual words.

MOLAG - Loved the bit at intermission. Don't fully enter the stage because it feels like a scene. Play primarily in the house. 

TRIBE - In Climate Change our OOos are falling behind the pit. You're all facing the conductor in the two lines follow them.

TRIBE - In Climate Change, return the sass to that snap. We are loosing the shape.

GRUNT - For the kiss at the end of Paint Me, Grunt let your arms flail then settle, don't do a second flail bit. Somewhat reading as you want to get away but can't. So it's a surprise, you don't know where to put your hands, but then they settle down.

TRIBE - find a reason to not look at or see Snarl when he is prowling up to take Grunt. Some of you are looking right at him and aren't reacting, which is kind of breaking the illusion.

ALL - No ash on face. Just put a light dusting of ash on arms. 

TRIBE - When marching off to Snarl's lair to get Grant, keep the "We're the Best!" energy when you go silent for Zazz and Keeri's lines. You're still seen by the audience, and it looks like we are waiting in line for our stairs to clear rather than still marching to the distance while muted.

ZAZZALIL, JEMILLA - after the kiss, allow a good full beat of looking into one another's eyes before you remember "What are we going to do about Snarl". Thats a hard pivot in the scene, and we need to let the romance arc finish before we pivot to problem solving.

ZAZZALIL, JEMILLA - At the start of Together, remember to hold tension and energy as the musical intro starts. Energy is currently being dropped.

ZAZZALIL, JEMILLA - As I mentioned to each of you last night, because of how hot the Mic level is, we need you to be a bit more legato and connected (less staccato and punchy) in your phrases in Together. 

TRIBE - Everyone face downstage at the final moment of Finale. There's a couple of you going sideways. All energy is up and out to the audience.

TRIBE - Great speed on bows, we can actually slow it down a touch. Really take a moment when you bow to sit in that moment. You all did exactly what I asked for on when to enter for the next bow, I'm now changing that to enter not when they go down into the bow, but rather when they come up from the bow. 

SNARL, DUCK - Flip sides for bows. Snarl go SC, Duck go SR.