1. Jacob arrived first.
2. Esa brought her guitar, but never got to play it. (I'm concerned about her wrist....didn't know she was having troubles w/ it.
3. Maria seemed to be feeling better. She practiced some of her key lines with a Mexican-Spanish accent. Lots of progress here, lots of laughing ensued as well. It's a trip how we have gotten "baggage" about sounding like our ancestors if we have even the slightest accented English. It takes a while for us, sometimes, to feel permitted to take on an accent that is unfamiliar and is also so politically-charged--particularly in these anti-Mexican immigrant times. We discussed this a little bit, and all agreed that the last thing we want to do is present a stereotype in the character of ELLA.
4. Greyscale is good.
5. We had a great discussion--each actor gave insight into WHO their character is. It was really useful for me, as writer-director, to hear what Richard (Ken Sabe), Jacob (Wise Cracker), Dominique (Esa), and Maria (Ella) had decided about the characters they are portraying. Putting more flesh on the bones that I'd presented to them. I listened carefully, and definitely like the nuances that each actor put forward about their character. No one is an angel or 100% devil in this play, there are shades of "imperfection" in each character, particularly because they are in a pivotal growth spurt (for the most part)---being in their late teens to early early 20s. Each character is still learning who he or she is and/or possibly might someday become.
6. Maria and Jacob did the bike limpia scene.
7. I offered the backstory about Ida Gone having text-messaged Ken Sabe, and that that perturbed Esa so that at the end of that bike limpia scene, Esa's reluctance to embrace Ken is understandable--his behavior reminds her of her father's philandering ways. Old baggage pops up coloring the present situation...
8. Jacob and Ken Sabe worked on a new scene--the "sectional furniture" scene. Very interesting viewpoints emerged. Good workout for these guys--I love how everyone (Dom, Ramsey, and now Jacob and Richard) seem so comfortable doing improv.
9. You guys are articulate, insightful, flexible, and empathetic.
10. This ain't no disco.
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