Deceit & deception. 

Murmurs and whisperings.

Clandestinemeetings & romping under tables.

No, I am not speaking of the burning flame that is Robynne and Ray (see last blog entry if you can’t keep up). I am talking of the secrets kept between director and cast, cast and crew, and cast and . . . cast. We’ve all got them, hiding in our pockets, closets and pants. But this week Director Rob Chuter let the cast in on one deviously devastating deception that had occurred only a few hours prior. A clandestine rehearsal had supposedly occurred in which Rob met with a select few members of the cast to rehearse the final scenes of the play. Rumour has it that the rehearsal went so well that this band of rabelaisian renegades developed a new ending to the performance. Not such a major occurrence in itself, aside from the fact that Rob had decided this new ending would not be revealed to the rest of the cast until it occurred on opening night!

Ooooh the chaos that followed this announcement . . . the gasps, the intrigue, Margaret Younger stamping her feet on the table demanding answers and screaming “BLASPHEME! BLASPHEME!” (Actually, she does that at every rehearsal, I’m not too sure what thats all about really!) Everyone was shocked and aroused. What could this new ending possibly entail? Would Rob be making a Hitchcock-ian cameo, suspended from the ceiling as the ghost of weddings past? Could that crazy idea of trained monkey waiters be happening after all? Was Rob going to enforce the possible nudity clause in our contracts to end the play with some bare-bum hilarity? Only time will tell. And if you are lucky enough to be there on opening night, you will be witnessing it at the same time as us. So as Rob has said to us, so shall I relay to you: be prepared for anything!  

As we are fast approaching opening night, the sledgehammer that is Robert Chuter has been coming down hard and fast. Detailing specific sections of the action has been the focus of the most recent rehearsal, which sees us going over and over small sections of the text then moving on to go over and over the next section. Everyone has been doing really well to keep their focus and energy up as we go through the exhausting detailing process. It seems now that the challenge in directing this bawdy, raucous play is that of controlling the chaos that is constantly erupting from all four corners of the stage. And lets not forget that this is as much a play about beer as it is about a wedding, and with the cast drinking all night every night during the season, things are bound to get chaotic to say the least. Lets just hope that the audience are as chaotic as the cast to create some sort of devilish equilibrium.

The latest rehearsal also saw another swap around with the cast. After a lot of thought Rob decided to re-cast the role of best man, Dangles. So much for my celebrations on having a full cast. Dangles is now embodied by Dylan - don’t mention my french tickler or I’ll bash your face in - Lloyd, who is doing a great job after stepping in so late in the game. It’s great to see him get right into the character, even if he did drink all of the prop-wine his first rehearsal. He was in character, wasn’t he? Don’t fret for ex-Dangle Mark Opitz though as he has now rotated over to the coveted position of Director’s Assistant which he is excelling at (trying to do me out of a job methinks!).

Our devastatingly delicious designer Dayna Morrissey was also around this week for a quickie up stairs with each of the cast members. Wait, that sounds worse than it is. What I mean is that one by one she called us upstairs and told us to strip. Wait, that sounds just as bad. She wasn’t there to seduce this week, but rather to fit us out with our costumes. And may I say she’s done a fantastic job raiding op-shops and old grannies houses to track down just the right digs and accessories. One such piece de resistance being the groom’s going away suit that needs to be seen to be believed. 

Sex on a hanger! 

With Dayna at the helm, the show is set to look fantastic. And with set construction beginning this weekend, it won’t be long until La Mama is transformed back to 1969! And lets face it, everyone loves ’69! Can’t wait!

 Until next time my little bloggeroo’s, stay tuned for the next installment of:

“DIMBOOLA: The Matrimonial Makings Of A Monster.”

=Lachlan - two roos short of a full paddock - MacLeod=

Directors Assistant/Assistants Director.

Fly On The Wall Theatre.