David daCosta
Today was the first day of rehearsal i.e. the 'Meet and Greet' day. This included the first read by the cast. I sat along with my peers from Ottawa U who have been lucky enough to be selected to be members of the chorus in this project. I was really excited to meet the entire creative team...and I must say the thing which excites me most about this project is the opportunity to watch some of Ottawa's finest actors at work, behind the scenes. Just to see the work ethic and methods of these professional actors is going to be an incredible learning experience. I was immediately impressed with how 'in character' the actors all were at only the first read! You can see how serious they take the work...and how much joy one can get out of being seriously in the work. My goals for this project are ultimately the same as any project I've done...to do the best job that I can. But i also want to view this as a mentorship opportunity to a certain extent. I love being in this environment and I want to soak up, as some sort of metaphorical, theatre/acting learning sponge if you will, as much as I can from being around such a talented and professional team. It's so cool to be working as an actor with, for example, Todd Duckworth ...a person I had only seen perform from my seat in the audience (I am a big fan) and now I get to perform with him! Awesome.

On another note, I am really excited at how much fun this play is going to be. I think we have a special show here..something that audiences are really going to love, and hopefully want to come back to again and again. I had read the original play by Gogol, but had never really found it that funny...maybe because of my disconnection from the time period in which it was written; who knows. However, this adaptation is hilarious and easy to relate to for people of pretty well all ages. That's one thing I really like about musicals as well...even if the subject matter is mature, or complicated, if you have good music, then younger audience members can still enjoy the show...like when I was a kid and loved Les Mis...I didn't know much about the plot, or understand the French Revolution, but I loved it. Anyhow, the music for the show is awesome, albeit quite different from a Les Mis type of vibe. It's fun, kinda wonky at times, and quite original. I can't wait to learn the songs.
So that's about it for my impressions of day 1...myself and the other students will be back in rehearsal action this Saturday, so look for an update then!
cheers.