Happy Accidents

For the last two months, and for the coming month as well, every single Sunday I have had 4 to 9 hour meetings with Eliot, the sound and projection designer.  It's a lot of work for one designer to do both things, but as we move closer to integrating the two, the benefits are clear - If we're working on sound, we can always quickly ask the projectionist a question, and vice versa.

As anyone will know who's worked with me, I'm a perfectionist and control freak.  I know exactly what I want the audience to experience.  But I also know my brain does not contain the entire universe.  The ideas, and even the miscommunications, that arise from the designers enriches the play in ways I never would have taken it.  So I've learned to like happy accidents, and simply go with what's been found.  A couple times El's brought me stuff that in no way did I want - but when I saw it, I went - oh my god, it's perfect!  If we use that music, it would take the scene in a different direction than where I thought it would go - and it would better get us in the head of Charlie and what he's feeling.

These meetings are rehearsals in that sense - I'm playing the scene in my mind with different music, different projections, and seeing how it goes - and discovering beauty I trust we can bring to life when we add the actors.  I'm even discovering scenes that we could really (god forbid) do without, if necessary.