"All Your Questions Answered" - Part IV

(All Your Questions Answered, written by Greg Kotis and directed by Sean Daniels, will open September 19 at the Geva Theatre as part of the Rochester Fringe Festival)

My first run through!  The cast has done several so far, but always at the end of their rehearsals, and the timing hasn't been right for me to attend.  Sean even commented on the difference the reversal of timing might make, since they'd only had about 45 minutes of rehearsal before they jumped in.  He explained that the actors would have to find their energy without rehearsing the entire show, much as they would have to for the actual performances.  The cast quickly formed a circle and did some very interesting warmup exercises (including an adaptation of the German drinking game Ja, Nein, Scheisse?!).

Sean used the initial time to work on a couple of transitions - the passages between skits that allow the actors to move the sets and get themselves into (or out of) place - and to "take space out";  he tightened up several of the transitions and eliminated many pauses in a couple of skits. The changes were very subtle but also critical to making the pieces work.  Whodathunkit?

I finally got to see a few of the skits I'd only read in the script, one of which will probably be one of my favorites of the show.  Another reminded me of yet another Roundabout Theatre production I saw years ago - Ashes to Ashes (a matinee, a Pinter play...).  It was bizarre but mercifully short, and it was so pretentious that the 45-minute show was followed by a 45-minute "discussion" on the meaning of the play, which was still opaque when we finally fled the theatre.  Watching one of the skits in AYQA made me wonder if Kotis hadn't also seen that production - he seemed to be poking fun at just that sort of navel-gazing, self aggrandizement.

There are a few skits that break the barrier between the actors and audience and which might make an audience member a bit uncomfortable, depending on where he or she is sitting (I'm not giving away where that interaction primarily occurs, but I'll definitely be scouting for a few of the "safer" seats when I attend...), or his/her tolerance for being drawn in to the action (again, some people love to be on the periphery of the spotlight!).

Seeing the show start to finish also made me think about the satire of the show's title, since many of the skits left me thinking, "Huh?", "What just happened?", or "Seriously?"  The "answer" is sometimes just a wink, or a nod, or a shrug, or in many cases, another question.

This was the cast's 22nd rehearsal, and the 5th one I attended  At the 4th, which I didn't write about separately, Sean had rearranged some scenes so there would be some "light amidst the darkness."  Again, it wasn't until I saw a complete run through that I understood the nuances of the pacing, and how important the order of the skits might be to letting the audience react to them. I can't wait till the actual performance, though, to see how the actors will react to the audience reacting to them!  Will the audience's laughter interrupt their tempo?  Will they keep their faces straight during a skit, or will the audience's laughter cause them to break character and smile (as sometimes happens on SNL, or happened in hilarious Carol Burnett Show skits)?  And how does Sean know when a scene is perfected?  Will he keep tinkering after the show opens?  (Again, I'm reminded of a quote from Tina Fey's Bossypants - it's one of the things she learned from Lorne Michaels:  "The show doesn't go on because it's ready;  it goes on because it's 11:30.")

I suspect that...all of my questions will be answered...when I attend opening night on the 19th. Then again... maybe not!  ;-)