Post by MoreLife on May 20, 2022 9:13:48 GMT
My local theatre group is putting on a production of Rent and I am thrilled to say that I have been cast in the role of Maureen! I loved seeing Eden Espinosa in the role.We have been doing some rehearsals this morning at one of our cast member's home and we did a rehearsal for La Vie Boehme and my co-star Alan managed to capture this great cheeky action shot of me! 😂❤️
Has anyone been in a production of RENT? Any advice would be massively appreciated!
I played Mark in an am-dram production on Rent (alas, a good few years ago!) and my main piece of advice is in fact for you all as a company: Rent is a celebration of a community of friends who have each other as their chosen family, as it were, so while of course you'll all be telling each character's specific story, and each of you (including every ensemble member) will be on a unique journey during the show, it'll work so much better if it is supported by an underlying feeling of connection and unconditional mutual support. So, if you can, try and plan moments when you all get together and gel as a group of people: those real life connections and bonds between you guys will shine through in your performances. For example, you will realise it is way more interesting to watch two characters fight and bicker (like you'll do with Joanne) if you can tell that underneath all that those two characters do care for each other.
The tip I have specifically for you is this: as Maureen, you will be on stage in 'Rent' (when the audience won't really notice you) and then only be back for 'Over the moon', so while the rest of the cast learns and rehearses material from Act 1 you probably won't be "needed". I encourage you to pop in at some rehearsals you're not needed at, just to see what's going on with the rest of the cast, and to begin to work on your own on the 'Over the moon' monologue as early as possible.
It's long, and it requires a bit of an over the top delivery (hey look, I'm an artist doing artsy, unconventional and provoking things!), but you also need to be on top of it in that there's a political point that, as Maureen, you're trying to get across with that schpiel.
