BWW Blog: Naomi Melvin - Somebody's Eyes: Rehearsals Begin!

I walked into the Randolph Theatre this morning to see the whole cast and production team of Footloose gearing up for the day. In the audience, some cast members were reuniting after a week off while others were going over lines. By the stage, director/choreographer Lisa Stevens, co-choreographer Jeff Dimitriou and music director Mark Camillleri were chatting with our stage manager, Alice Ferreya. New faces entered the room, all contributors to the project. The buzz was extremely exciting. The best event to compare it to is the first day of school. Ironically, the space resembled our first day at Randolph almost two years ago. This theatre was the place where our group congregated for the very first time. And now, here we are!

Lisa opened the work by speaking to the story and the process to come. Her phrasing was inspirational, describing so simply what the show's essence is. It boils down to community, survival and love. You could feel the room listening, considering and breathing it all in. The cast also got a glimpse of the show's design and it looks gorgeous, taking into consideration all the crucial elements of storytelling. It will so clearly transform the theatre into a world that underpins the notion of a community that is ever in motion and transformation.

After introductions and other orders of business, we dove straight into a readthrough where the characters started to come alive. They are filled with personality. And, on many occasions, are quite funny! In readthroughs, today being no exception, I am always most surprised when reading through the lyrics of the songs. It goes to show how important monologuing a song is. Suddenly, a lyric like "whoa" is put into perspective when not sung on a pitch.

The afternoon was devoted to music and scene work. And where else to start than from the very beginning? Mark led us through the title song, which is one extensive opening number but in the best way possible. So much happens in "Footloose/On Any Sunday". I mean, we span two locations, meet almost every character and start to understand individual points of view. The cast had pencils at the ready, marking up the pages and energizing each and every note. The pulse of the show, right off of the top, is pretty magnetic.

Here are photos taken from our first rehearsal!

Randolph Academy's Footloose will run from July 28th to August 6th at the Randolph Theatre, Toronto, ON, Canada.