I'm always a little apprehensive before the band call. I find it difficult to relax. It's all the obvious concerns. However, things did go well. I was greeted by Nikki who offered the help of couple of people in the cast. The rehearsal took place in the bar area, not ideal, but reasonably well lit. The ceiling is low and makes it difficult to hear an 11 piece band accurately. The programming of the synths worked. A few balance issues to work out. But it's worth noting that these keyboard parts are busy and require some serious programming work if they are to be played properly.
3 hours isn't long - I would dearly love to be able to rehearse some of the numbers many times to get them bedded in. Especially the ones that involve levels of rubato and the like. But my band is good, and despite not having the principal trumpet (he was ill) his dep did a commendable job. (See tomorrow's entry for the difference though!). The cast enjoyed the fun and commented how good the band was.
The dress started really well. The first act had a zip and pzazz about it that hadn't been there in earlier rehearsals. The band didn't laugh at the jokes, and I worried that it all might be a bit dated and not work any more. How wrong was I! (See tomorrow). The 2nd act didn't go as well though. Words were forgotten, capes came apart and scenery fell on the stage hands - ouch! But on the whole it was all there and, as Adrian put it, nothing was unsolvable. Went for a beer afterwards, first time for a long time. It was weak Guinness, probably a good thing as I was driving and hadn't eaten for some time! Went to a very noisy bar with a large number of people who were obviously pretty hammered. Claire, Rachel, Bobbie, Matt and a few others. Was good to unwind.
