Reporting for Duty: Rehearsal Day 1

The first rehearsal... Nothing is quite like it.

Yesterday the team met up first with our amazing actors Sarah Kulaga-Yoskovitz, Kenny Wong, and Will Fech, to read through the script with the film. The interpretation and uniqueness everyone brought to each of their characters made it such a surprising and enjoyable experience.

Lining up dialogue with a pre-existing film is no simple task, and their flexibility and understanding of the pacing of the lines and the scene was such a fascinating thing to witness. They brought a lightness and a touch of humor to the libretto.

Later that evening after our trombonist arrived from New York (and after picking up, finding parking and unloading a small trucks worth of percussion equipment) the musicians, Danielle Findlay, Alexander Haupt, David Koch, Mie Hirschfield, Christine Hoerning and Chris Paul, sat down in a small studio to do their part.

Reading through music together for the first time with just a couple of musicians can be a bumpy ride. Reading through Stravinsky, with six musicians and no conductor, can seem like Mission Impossible; but with a team like this, it was Mission Possible. Everyone contributed rehearsal and interpretation ideas. Percussionist, Alexander Haupt, was an invaluable asset, alternating between playing and conducting through passages. Moving slowly and methodically through the music's intricacies we finished a two hour rehearsal with a good chunk of work accomplished.

The first rehearsal.... It can be stressful and nerve-wracking, but getting to sit down with your friends and make some music, working unified towards a common creative goal, and seeing the progress made in that short period of time... There's nothing quite like it.

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Stay tuned for more behind the scenes photos and rehearsal stories. And don't forget to grab your tickets on our event page or by clicking here for our upcoming performance of Stravisnky's Soldier's Tale, August 29th at 8pm at La Sala Rossa, 4848 boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal.