Last night was the Designer’s Runthru of To Kill A Mockingbird. This is where the set, lighting, sound and costume designers can have a look at the show and insure that their elements all fit in. For instance we added music, crickets, dogs barking and telephone rings last night, all sound effects that not only enhance the show but help the actors as well. Designer runs have become even more important for our shows at Memminger Auditorium where the audience sits on three sides. We have to be sure that every element can be seen from every seat.Last night was also the first runthru completely off book (with all lines memorized.) Many people think learning the lines is what acting is all about but in reality, while learning lines is a challenge and a lot of work, it’s only the first step. Most of the character work happens after the lines are learned and we’re looking forward to this week’s rehearsals where we can work in more detail on each character. Harper Lee has given us an entire town of delightful characters— lawyers, busybodies, judges, recluses, young old, rich poor and its fun to explore this story with them each night.
