"ANNA” REHEARSAL OBSERVATION 2/27/09
Dreamers dream, and rhymers rhyme whisk the party back in time...
“I’m not quite sure how this time reversal thing goes,” says Alex, the actor who plays the Magician in Anna’s Perfect Party and The Amazing Magician’s Marvelous Mistake.
“Well who is?” I think from my seat, watching the character discussion unfold regarding this magician. Is he sure of his magic? Does he enter the world of this play knowing that everything he sets into motion will work out just fine or are there insecurities about how he can help these kids best? I wonder how it will all unfold in the coming rehearsals.
It's very early in the process, with two of 6 actors missing and the Playwright and the Artistic Director both observing for the first time. Some directors would quake in their boots. Not Nikki Rothenberg. She cheerfully puts her 4 out of 6 through their paces, quickly establishing that much work has already been done.
Already well on its way to full blocking, with real character work emerging through the generic kid-ness the play is just beginning to speak. When Anna is told strenuously “nobody’s perfect!” her plaintive “WHY NOT?” rings clearly. Children don’t seem to come into this world accepting this fact. Anna thinks it’s reasonable to expect perfection of herself and, come to think of it, so do I.
It’s not an easy lesson this play has at its heart: Mistakes are the mother of invention (excuse the misquote); love yourself, and embrace the uniqueness of fallibility. Quite a message for a play about a super fun, wacky birthday party with a magician who’s REALLY Magic, I think…can’t wait for next Tuesday.
Justine Lambert
Artistic Director
TheLooking Glass Theatre
www.lookingglasstheatrenyc.com
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