The Wiz Rehearsal Blog

Alright... two days to recover from a WONDERFUL weekend! I feel like I have been rushing through the past few days. I remember living them but it just feels so weird to have this dream come true experience and it not feel the way I expected.

I could not have asked for a better opening night! Even preview night was a real treat. There were some technical issues but overall, (opening night especially) the energy from the cast was through the roof. For opening we

decided that we needed to warm up and get each other pumped so Kristin (Stage Manager) reserved a room for us with a piano and we just let loose! I think that was the most comfortable I have ever felt with the cast as a whole.

We are never on stage all together except for curtain call so to be together in one room, singing, dancing and bouncing off the walls we really connected to one another.

We ended our warm ups by singing "can't you feel a, brand new day" and we sang our way back to the dressing room where the celebration really got started! Dominic, T. Mychael and Uri came down to wish us luck and more importantly to encourage us to enjoy ourselves and they even did a little Electric Slide with us:-P

It was finally time!
Kristin called places and we were ready to begin. I stood off stage waiting for Aunt Em (Ms. Tiana Hardy) to call for Dorothy. As the welcome ended and the overture faded out, the lights came up and we had officially begun! AMAZING!

Ease on...
~Ivory

Posted by doubl001 at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I understand the need to be hyper aware of what is taking place around me on or off stage but something weird has been happening to my focus lately. At rehearsals each night Kristen (our awesome stage

manager) reminds the cast how important it is for us all to stay focused when we are in this process. Dominic talks to us all the time about staying in the pocket. I've been hearing him say this to us from the beginning of

rehearsals and now I really understand what that's all about.
When I enter into the dressing room and begin to put on my make-up and costume I should slowly be transforming

myself into my character. Once places are called and we are ready to begin the show my character should never break. No matter what is going on, I should handle it all, not just professionally but the way that my character would

handle it. My relationships on stage will become more sincere, because our cast can have fun with each other and also anticipate or at least be prepared for every situation that might occur in the show. I am blessed to have

amazing mentors to work with this year. My voice teacher (Hi Noelle!) gave me awesome advice on how to handle the pressure, fun, and responsibility of this experience. Dominic will put every piece of my blocking in my real life

and help me to understand the reason behind every creative decision we make. I bug Sanford about each song to make sure that I am communicating the meaning that we want to represent. T. Mychael encouraged me to not only

rest in the fullness of my voice but think about each lyric as if it were written on the walls of the theater. Uri can make a suggestion about the way I move around in one scene that makes so much sense I could imagine why I

didn't realize it right away. I am determined to not only focus for the remainder of this show but give that 110% everytime I set foot on that stage.

There's a feeling here inside...
Ivory

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