Yesterday we went out to Sauvie's Island for a rehearsal. The sun is rising much earlier than it was just ten days back. We missed the dawn, but enjoyed a vigorous workout under very sunny and cold weather. The primary thing I'm trying to communicate to the actors in our rehearsal at this point is that soldiers move without a lot of chatter or even visual eye contact with one another. It involves trust. Can't seem to get away from trust when it comes to human interdependence.
Actors tend to want to hold on to one another's eyes. In a combat situation this is especially perilous. Many times I observed Heath and Joey from the vantage of the enemy with ample opportunity to flank them or take aim on them while they focused on one another rather than their objective. Granted we're trying to acheive something in a few rehearsals that the military accomplishes in weeks of intensive training.
After our initial work of the day we broke for coffee and water. We observed a bald eagle soaring above us and sweeping close. Formations of geese flying. Thinking of Terence Malick, I mused on the possibilities of intercutting nature shots with the action of But A Dream. As I contemplated this aloud I noticed a lone tree across the way. Many small birds perched in dark silhouette in the tree's uppermost limbs. Another group of birds lighted on the branches and as they did so the first group took flight and moved on. This pattern persisted as several groups moved through just as soldiers move on the battlefield.
So wonderful to be able to show rather than tell.
It requires great trust on the part of a director to let go and see what will happen.
We've had several rehearsals and haven't touched the script.
I love it.
It feels as if I'm finding Fellini after all.
Affettuoso,
nc
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