No, it’s not an entry about football.
I’ve been attending the Willapa Players’ rehearsals in Raymond for the upcoming “Night of One-Acts” to learn everything I can about “behind the scenes” theater activities (see link in sidebar). The fact that I wrote two of the three plays for the March production is a thrill in itself, but seeing it virtually come to life on the stage is an indescribable joy.
Last week I had my first experience with “blocking.” Watching the actors move across the stage, standing here or there as the director dictates, speaking their lines (the lines I wrote!) while interacting with the other characters, is like watching magic.
I sat in an audience seat, script lying open in my lap, observing the director direct. “Walk over here,” she said, motioning to one actor. “Stand so you can speak to people on both the sides of you.” “Pull that chair around so you can sit on it backwards.” I smile as I watch the earliest placement of people and props.
A good block is used in more than football. As kids, we played with blocks. And a block and tackle is essential to a pulley system. You can even take a walk around the block if there aren’t any roadblocks. And now I’ve seen a play blocked. Which makes me somewhat less of a blockhead than I was before.
You saw that one coming, didn’t you?