juggling

Sorry it’s been a bit since I last wrote! One of the most difficult things about being an actor is that you always need about five other jobs on top of acting. I teach acting full time at the Boston Conservatory and part time at Suffolk University, and now that school has started up again, I’ve been quite busy: Classes all day, and then the show at night, riding my bike in the ice from school to school to theatre. I think about Heisenberg’s trek thru a ruined Germany on his bike at the end of the play to see his wife and children and realize that I have nothing to complain about.

I’m also working on writing a new play, The Hotel Nepenthe, which will go up at the little black box at BoCo (that’s what we call Boston Conservatory for short) the weekend after we close Copenhagen.

Difficult Plays

The beginning of our first five show week-end! We haven’t done the play twice in one day yet (it’s going to be quite the challenge, I think!) Trying to conserve energy as best I can. Will suggests we perform the second show first, so that we aren’t tired for the second show. I wonder if that’s possible, or if Einstein could have worked that out?

I also wonder how many calories one burns just by talking? I guess not much, or else Rush Limbaugh would be thin… Maybe there’s a “Copenhagen” diet we could push: do the play twice a day as your workout. Eat some grapefruit. Voila!

Heisenberg’s Son

The theatre just received a very kind and thoughtful letter from Dr. Jochen Heisenberg, Heisenberg’s son (who I saw speak at Harvard a month ago) via Kati Mitchell, who is in charge of the press/public relations for the theatre.

An email from Heisenberg’s son

This afternoon Kati Mitchell, our Director of Press and Public Relations, received a wonderful email from Jochen Heisenberg, Werner Heisenberg’s son, a professor of physics at the University of New Hampshire. Mr. Heisenberg attended Wednesday night’s performance of Copenhagen.

-Nicholas Peterson

Dear Kati,

If i may call you that?

Thank you indeed for the wonderful experience of seeing this different “Copenhagen” performance. As you know, we have been guests at a number of performances since the NY opening in 2000, and I have had the burdensome opportunity to become a participant in those symposia that dealt with the controversy arising out of this play.

What was so refreshing this time was the fact that the play was allowed to be a drama on many levels and that the one- dimensional, contentious aspects did not dominate the many-layered personal story.

Opening Night

We have opened the play!

Rehearsals are officially over and it is now just the three of us and Amy alone with the audience. It has been an exciting experience, getting the play up.

Many kind words, a party in the lobby. Scott seems pleased, which means a lot. We are all ravenous and thirsty and giddy. (at least, I am!)

last preview

We are back after our first day off since tech. Scott gives us notes and we do a line-thru. Trying to keep all the new blocking straight in my head. With the three quarter configuration, you need to keep moving/make sure you aren’t obstructing someone/on their plane.

previews

We had our first two previews! Wonderful to have an audience, feel them there with you, to hear their responses. We had so many laughs, which surprised us: after a month of work, you forget about the humor, how these people gently chide each other. There are some very funny things in this play (Frayn wrote “Noises Off”, after all) admidst all the science and secrecy. Also surprised and happy to see how full the houses were for both shows: both the front and sides were filled to the edges! (our rehearsal Sunday night was spent really nailing the blocking for this configuration: because of the three quarter staging, standing six inches to the left or right can change the view of twenty or so people! So precision is really key.)

after tech

Just had our first run thru today, after tech. Man, this play is hard! You can’t lose even a second of focus, or you find yourself in a black hole. You really need to listen/focus on the relationships.

So no fun yet. The play needs to beat us up a little more.

Mouth feels better today, which is good. I need all my lip muscles to say words like “Blagadamsvej”.

tech

Had an eight out of ten yesterday and a 10 out of 12 today and tomorrow for tech (for those for you who have no idea what I’m talking about: during tech, all the design elements are added: sound, lights, costumes, set, props. A “ten out of 12” means you work, generally, from noon to midnight with a two hour break in the middle. They are LONG days!)

Walk into the Loeb with my Blueberry RockStar yesterday, ready to go. The set is absolutely, mind-blowingly BEAUTIFUL!

So exciting, too, to be on the Loeb. Some of the best theatre I have seen in my lifetime occurred on that stage, so I’m a bit overwhelmed/excited/ecstatic/nervous all at once!

secrets

Happy New Year!

Equity has given us the day off, though I think all of us would rather be working on the play right now. Very difficult to be away from the script/words, even for a day.

I was looking back at my previous entries for this blog, and have noticed that I never delved too deeply into the “work” of acting (ie, how to approach complicated characters like Heisenberg/The Bohrs, how we form the relationships, blah blah blah) and have instead stuck to anecdotes and amusing topics (I hope!) that might effect the process in general.