Last night we worked on Act 2: UVB-76, scenes 5 and 6. Too busy learning my lines and cues to take pix. But the video camera was rolling, so I should have some footage.

Oh, and scene 5! Middle of the night, full of yawns. Seems I can pull a real yawn out of myself very easily these days. Full empathy for the brothers who have to sit through it and not yawn in return; that's gotta be tough. I set myself off into a yawning fit every time I do it.

Mattie is really getting into the zombie mode the brothers fall into. He's so great at that! Georgie was bubbly and effervescent as Chrissa; she seems to get that perfect in every scene. The tension is really building.

Can't wait to start adding the sounds from Dark World International. Must get on that this weekend!

Michelle and Maria, running through Act 3: Pioneer 10, scene 6.

It's a tough scene to do time after time; Gabbi (Maria) is really freaking out at this point and Val (Michelle) isn't sure how to respond - after all, Gabbi is supposed to be the therapist in this scene, not the other way around. Maria kept the manic energy going and Michelle gave such an uncomfortable response it made us all laugh! Great work; the scene is really coming together!

Hoping Fergus gets well quickly; he couldn't make it last night because he's sick. Feel better soon; we need our Ted to grumble his way around the set! ;)

That's Mattie as Ross in Act 2: UVB-76, intently looking through a box. Discovered Mattie's hidden talent as a Foleyist, someone who makes sound effects noises with their mouth. lol! He was having so much fun being the radio!

Ran through scenes 3 and 4. I like having the two scenes back to back in rehearsal; we really get a sense of the play's flow. Georgie said she was tired, but you'd never have known if from her performance: right on, and sterling every time. The brothers are getting a great sense of horseplay between them - slapping each other's hands and really getting obnoxious (and perfect!). Their performance is largely physical, so it's wonderful to see this in progress.

Know I got at least one vid for the blooper reel featuring - me, of all people. Thomas let me silently 'act' out the beginning of a scene. It went on, and on... And then he began a running commentary (highly sarcastic) on what I was doing; I just lost it, laughing my head off!

That's Maria and Lara, Act 1: Blue Whale, having a laugh.

Ran through Scene 1 last night, sans script - or as sans as we could be. What a difference from running the scene to reading it from paper! Really got the full impact of scene 1: Elizabeth's depression fills the room while she's talking to her therapist. Then in comes Maria as Gabbi and within 30 seconds we go from depression to some fun. I sat there, stunned. Maria and Lara pull scene 1 around so quickly and so well it's difficult to remember they only met a few weeks ago. I swear I'm watching two people who've been friends for at least a decade! Amazing work!

I used to wonder why recording artists did so much work in the middle of the night. Now I know: the surroundings are as quiet as you can get them.

Set up the mic and levels during the afternoon. 2 a.m. the alarm went off; time to get to work. This mic is great! I've recorded my voice for years and am very familiar with what I do. This thing gave me a whole new sound on my voice, crisp, clear, and fan-bloody-tastic. Thank you, Dark World International!

First step: edit. Second: effect. Third: splice. Fourth: compress. It's gonna take time and patience, but it'll be worth it.

The fabulous Lara, mugging for the camera. What a night of fun! Of all the roles, Lara has to hold the stage all by herself the most often. And she can do it: even when she flubs she flawlessly pulls it into the performance - that is, as long as she doesn't see me trying to hold back a laugh. That happened several times; those great giggle fits when you just can't stop!

Rehearsed Act 1, Scenes 1 and 2. Had some re-writes in Scene 1 to go through. Happy to say they're working really well.

It was late in the rehearsal when Thomas pointed out a - shall we say an inside problem - to Lara. Naturally, she did what any great on the spot actor would do: she showed it off to the camera, flaunting it and making light of it with an action and a sound bit that I can't wait to download. And I think there may be one or two people in the building who might wonder what the heck we were doing... ​LOL!

Act 2, Scenes 2 and 3. That's Mattie and our director, Thomas in the above photo.

​Refreshed our memories with a read through and then got up on our feet. Everyone is getting into the cabin in the woods feel in this act. Decided we want to split the stage, with half being the living room and half being the kitchen. We'll use lighting to direct the audience to the action. I like the idea; side characters can act on stage in the darkened half of scene as the main action occurs.

Have not managed to split into multiple woman yet, so the only shots I'm in are on the video camera. I set it up and just hoped we stayed in screen. Editing vid is a big job, but I'm looking forward to releasing some of our bloopers!

And we already have a few running gags. Ted! Ted! Ted! Ted! is a biggie, as is No, you wait just a minute! I know Act 2 is gonna be the rough housing between the brothers. The back slap Mattie (as Ross) delivers is very real. Poor Gary!

Ah! Now THAT'S a photo. Slightly off balance and such a GREAT look on Michelle's face as Desiree does her thing.

Ran through scenes 3 & 4 last night. I've a photo from when we began the night, sitting at tables and just reading. Everyone looks tired. lol! Never make actors sit in their chairs too long; it puts them to sleep. Naturally, Thomas (our director) knows that. Get 'em up and on their feet asap.

Began running the video camera last night in the background. My hope is to get all the fun stuff no one sees but us: the goof ups, the laughter, the giggles. Doing a production is very 3D; there's a lot going on behind what you see on stage. You'd probably be surprised at how much we laugh during our rehearsals. After all, this is a tense and frightening story we're doing. But somehow the more tense and serious the story is, the more we goof off in rehearsals.

Desiree is doing such a great job as our government agent. I think she's really getting a kick out of physically intimidating the rest of the cast. Fergus is gruff and angry. Maria is tense and frightened, and NO ONE can give a surly look like Michelle! Act 3 is really shaping up!

That's Georgie goofing off in pic 1. Love her enthusiasm! She's gonna don a fake tan and maybe even (eek!) fake eyelashes for her role. Hashing out the blocking for scenes 1 and 2, thinking about our venue. Everything needs adjustment depending on what your venue has: backstage area, stairs, exits. This is when we take a script off the page and into reality. I find it an exciting and energizing process.

Still haven't mastered taking selfies. Goddess of Technology help me, I look awful in every single one I tried.

Hoping we have the last of the video camera kinks worked out. Still need to see if my computer recognizes the files. Did find a great copyright free site to download some stock footage from. Michelle will be helping me shoot some rough vids. I need to know if I can capture my ideas on film. 

Too bad, though, that I didn't capture any vid last night. Best part: the absolute joy on Mattie's face as we ran and re-ran thru him horse playing with his little brother. Thomas was standing in for the little brother and you could see how much fun Mattie was having. Payback time!

The production is coming together. Not only have I been hooked into the 21st century beyond my comprehension (allowing me take and share pix now; whoopee!), but we've now begun picking apart all three acts of the play. I love seeing how we meld a script to our capabilities and strengths. It's a real learning process.

Maria was absent last night, so I stood in for her in the scene 4. Michelle and I hammed it up, silently, at the beginning of the scene (until Thomas shot us one of his looks; teehee!) and once again we were laughing a lot: at ourselves, our stumbles, and just the fun free-flow that happens during rehearsals. Fergus was challenged to do his role both in British and Irish accents and Desiree brought it as the demanding, controlling government agent. Top notch stuff!

The first teaser flyer is out to the cast and being distributed around Rotterdam, Leiden, and Den Haag. Keep an eye out for it!