GETTING ON WITH IT

So, we have survived our first crisis as a family. For reasons that are, at this point, immaterial, and also too complex to go into here, we found ourselves moving hotels rather suddenly on Friday. For as much of a minor inconvenience as it might have been, two terrifically positive things came out of it: 1) We had our first real, family bonding experience. 2) We are now in an actual neighborhood, surrounded by shops, restaurants and locals. Lovely and luxurious as Marina Bay was (how about that Skypark!!), it was a bit off on it's own. As a vacation destination, it has everything you could want in terms of daily entertainment, but since we are actually living here, long-term, we feel a bit more woven into the fabric of every day Singapore life now.

And speaking of everyday life, ... we have fallen into the rehearsal schedule in a big way. My days at the moment are complex, non-stop, and rich. The interesting thing about this show is all of the different elements that, eventually, have to come together. At the moment, all the elements are still being worked on separately. For instance, in the course of a day, I might spend a little time doing table-work on a scene, a little time working on music, a little time in fittings or hair & make-up consultations, and a little time working with the puppet technicians. Though our days are long, they are broken up enough that they seem to fly by, at least for the moment.

Here's my day tomorrow:
10:00 a.m. Company warm up, physical/vocal
10:30 a.m. Media interview
11:30 a.m. Mirror work (one-on-one time learning to use my mask with a puppet technician)
1:30 p.m. Lunch
2:30 p.m. Table work/staging - Scar confronts Simba
4:30 p.m. Principles on stage with masks/puppets for scene work
6:00 p.m. End of day

I've had a few Mirror Work sessions with German Mike, the puppet technician
who has been working on the Hamburg production for 9 years. It's a challenging and sometimes frustrating process learning to use the finger controls that articulate the mask that floats over my head. A mask that, ultimately, I will never be able to see. But Mike has infinite patience, plenty of quiet guidance and he leaves me on my own in front of the mirrors for long stretches to play and discover.

More introductions.

This is GugwanaGugwana plays Rafiki, the baboon, the spiritual leader and traditional healer of the community. Rafiki is the through-line of the show. She tells us the story. Not only has Gugwana done the show in The West End, and U.S. Tour, but she was also one of the singers on the soundtrack for the original, animated Disney movie. As well, she sang on Lebo M's album, "Rhythm of the Pride Lands", which inspired much of the music for the stage show.

This is Simon

Simon plays Banzai, the third of Scar's trio of wicked, hyena henchmen. Simon is Zulu and, during table work today, eagerly gave a demonstration of the way in which the Zulu people stamp the earth in a dance-like way to prove their power & strength. The stamping also serves to wake up the ancestors along with the dust that is raised. Though you can't really see them in the photo, Simon has a series of small, vertical scars on his cheeks. I asked him about them today and he explained that it is ritual scarification, a tribal marking that he received when he was 2 or 3 years old. An identification of his clan, a link to family history, and a mark of pride.

For dinner tonight, North Indian Mutton Vindaloo. Yummy!