I’ve been toying with this idea for a post and hope you enjoy it! I went through my tweets from this week and picked the ones I think that illustrate best the various adventures of the week, and now I can provide a little more than context then I usually fit into 140 characters. Hurray!
16 Jul Rachel Wood @racheldubs
Can’t tell if hungry or nervous. It’s probably both butttt it’s still confusing. #HSOW day one!
I touched on day one in my first post (here http://halifaxsummeroperaworkshop.com/?p=1433), but I think this illustrates a common state for me throughout week one! Our first rehearsals had rough patches, as any are bound to, but we’ve now settled into the music and are getting up to exciting things with stagings- I get a dagger! And to be omnipotent! And a literal deus ex machina!
16 Jul Rachel Wood @racheldubs
Halifax things: poutine for dinner, saw lots of cute dogs and handsome runners ( @S__Evans would like it here) so nice to smell the ocean
I HAVE SEEN SO MANY CUTE DOGS IN THIS CITY. And runners. Halifax is a very friendly town, cars stop for pedestrians all over the place, and baristas seem happier. Maybe it’s all that ocean air? Or the much more pleasant temperature? The GTA, my home, is currently experiencing a grosssss heat wave and I’m in Halifax wishing I had a sweater to wear at night! It’s a nice change.
There is no better feeling in the world then checking your phone at the end of a 12 hour shift to learn that you’re officially a RN
I have to throw this in, getting home late after the first day of program, I heard some awesome news- my best friend had gotten her nursing license, and a full time job at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto! YAY SARAH!
17 Jul Rachel Wood @racheldubs
The practice room hallway is like musical guess who…or peek a boo? #hsow
The practice room hallway is endless fun for me to try and identify my friends through the doors- it’s endlessly entertaining. And it’s a great way to pick up new repertoire: P The practice room hallway is a very familiar place to me now, at the end of week one, and I’m sure we’ll get even closer throughout the program- my roles are solid but the learning process never stops and all of us singers are continually fine tuning and learning other music at the same time!
17 Jul Rachel Wood @racheldubs
Gave my best ‘Raunchy Susanna’ in masterclass this evening #hsow
I got drawn to be in the very first masterclass of the program (no pressure, right?), given by Lenard Whiting. It’s silly, but I never thought I’d actually end up being drawn for the first one. Oh well! It was a great experience- I sang “Deh vieni” (so obscure, right? #sopranoproblems) and got through about…two phrases before Mr. Whiting had stopped me with new ideas! My job as the singer is to try out the new ideas and keep an open mind- masterclasses mean you think on your feet the whole time! This was probably the largest audience I’ve ever had in a masterclass setting (70 + people) and ALL OF THEM singers or musical people. It was a little intimidating. But overall a good experience, and I’m kind of glad I ended up in the first session to get me out of my comfort zone. We have masterclasses almost everyday and they have all been compelling and illuminating in different ways- I love hearing my colleagues, especially those in other shows who I don’t get to hear often, and I love to hear new repertoire! And the faculty always have significant knowledge to share. Yay for masterclass.
20 Jul Rachel Wood @racheldubs
This morning in acting, I was a beautiful bonsai tree #hsow
We had acting session with Stephen Bourque this week, concentrating a lot on physical theatre, which is a new practice for me. This tweet just amuses me. Our culminating activity for the physical theatre sessions was to be a tree- free form, any way you feel being a tree is. I chose a bonsai. Because they are little.
20 Jul Rachel Wood @racheldubs
Utterly charmed by the kids who set up a lemonade stand at Cobourg and henry. They are presh. Gotta love that entrepreneurial spirit
Even lemonade stands are cuter in Halifax. Lemonade wasn’t bad either. Also, Cobourg Coffee is wonderful AND THEY HAVE FREE WIFI, thank you Cobourg Coffee. You can usually always find a couple HSOW people in and around this establishment.
22 Jul Rachel Wood @racheldubs
Dunked in the Atlantic ocean! #baptized
The first week of HSOW culminated with a social gathering (Thank you Nick, Victoria, and Shilpa!) and then a trip to Crystal Crescent beach on Sunday! It was freezing. But I had to get dunked for Wood family honour (I have Maritime roots! Florenceville, New Brunswick! I’m not just another transplant from Ontario!)
Week two started today, and we’re almost done blocking and moving into run throughs. Exciting! I have a my first costuming call tomorrow (REALLY HOPING I get a Viking helmet to wear as Helga- her name is Helga! The helmet seems mandatory!) And later this week we get to rehearse in our performance space! Casting announcements and show dates also went up, so check those out! Thanks for reading my blog, and if there’s anything specific you’d like to know more about, please leave a comment! I leave you with this picture of Milena and I at the harbourfront festivities for the Tall Ships festival- best rehearsal break ever!
