Last Person: It's Okay to Have an Outline

Hi again everyone,

This week we had our first read-thru for The Last Person on Earth and have had a few rehearsals. It is also tech weekend for Sense & Sensibility so it’s a pretty busy time, but I am beginning to see the layout of things.

Like I mentioned before, not being able to plan things has definitely been different for me in this process. I have a difficult time when things are outside of my expectations in my life and show that through the things I do have control over – such as school assignments or directing plans. I like to come into the rehearsal space with a rough draft of the movement, vocal, and acting plans ready to go for the actors, that only needs some fine-tuning before opening. Because I have had less time to think through my ideas and solidify my blocking prior to rehearsal, I have been experimenting more in rehearsals. This made me nervous at first, but then I realized that it was actually helping the tone of the piece to be more along the lines of what I am going for.

This is a surprisingly upbeat show. I intend to show the levity, excitement, and energy that comes with being alive, while simultaneously telling the story of having to correct for the loss of life in the form of environmental degradation. I think humor is a strong tool to help us connect to one another’s stories and I think using it for this particular story will make its meaning hit that much harder.

I figured this concept required a lot of planning in order to express the comedy and real moments accurately, but I have learned otherwise. In rehearsals, I realized that I was bringing enough to the table, and with help from the actors being willing to try new things, the sections we worked on started to take shape. Actors were bringing in new ideas that helped convey the tone more so than I had planned, or they would come up with ideas that just needed a little extra direction to help hone in on the story. Overall, I am really looking forward to the rest of the rehearsal process, even though I am a little worried about having so many other things simultaneously.

Planning is a big thing for me when it comes to directing. I stressed about planning a rehearsal schedule, finding actors, blocking, and am still thinking about the things I need to fine-tune. But with each rehearsal I am reminded that I am working with people that know what to do, I just need to be sure to give them an outline. And I need to remind myself that it’s okay to start with an outline.

Stay tuned,

- Lindsey Esch