Collegiate Times

In the past weeks, the cast and crew of Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth” have been working hard to make this allegory of humanity’s struggles coherent and entertaining.

After three weeks of production, I’d like to talk to you a bit about how we are doing.

The rehearsal process is a rough road, long and chaotic, but the success of any show weighs heavily upon it.

At this point, we have passed the initial days of getting comfortable with our scripts and each other. The end result of this is that the true body of the performance has begun to take shape.

From the outside looking in, people might think of a play in terms of casting, learning lines and then deciding how everyone moves around the stage, but there is another important piece called “blocking.”

Blocking involves the constant running of scenes, over and over, until cast members know their way around the stage and each other. It’s a redundant process and it can exhaust a person very quickly.

Greg Justice, our director, has made it clear to the cast that he considers blocking one of the most integral parts of the rehearsal process.

I would challenge you to put yourself in the shoes of an actor. Walk on stage, deliver your line and find a way out of the scene. Repeat this for four hours, every night of the week.

Why do we block? Greg told us something that I took to heart. If we can get the soul-crushing tedious bits out of the way, the actors have a rock solid framework from which we can build whatever we want on.

So it’s week three and we have been in the middle of this process day in and day out. Aside from the brief interruption because of the massive dumping of snow we just received, it’s been a blocking storm.

How do 17 people remain sane when they miss marks and work their way through the show?

Senior theatre major Jarreau Williams plays George Antrobus, the star of the show, and I had a conversation with him about the frustrations of blocking.

“It’s so easy to get worn down,” Williams said. “We just have to turn it off and turn it on again. I just need to find my vibe.”

The “vibe” is different for every actor in the cast, but I’m sure everybody has one. It’s that will to keep on going and the way we deal with the tough nights.

“For me, it’s like when I dance,” Williams said. “Something just vibrates through my entire body. I take a breath and I turn my switch on and I’m ready.”

My “vibe,” however, is a slightly different beast.

Frankly, I get high on attention. Performing for an audience and writing articles helps to feed that fire.

Week three of the rehearsal process finds the cast of “Skin” in the grind of blocking and finding our way into a more stable, performance-ready place. This not only takes repetition, but a search for what will motivate us to succeed in this production.

In the coming days, “Skin” will be ramping up to a new level as we get ready for the home stretch, a time full of new stresses and intrigues. I’ll update you on all that as well as my upcoming costume fitting.

A version of this article appeared in the Feb 4 issue of the Collegiate Times.