Cloud 9

This morning started with a costume quick change rehearsal. Megan’s got some really fast changes in the first act – her costumes are truly incredible and she looks fantastic.

We’ve been in the theatre for three days now. The first day was just working through the show for spacing, with everyone getting used to their new home. Yesterday and today have been spent doing a Q2Q (that’s “cue to cue” in layman’s terms).

The days are long but everyone is in good spirits and the show is looking just wonderful. Tomorrow we’ll do our first run in the theatre, something we’re all really looking forward to.

Live from rehearsal, here’s a glimpse of what’s in store for audiences starting January 19. It gives you an idea why ads for the show have come with the following disclaimer: “Sexual content, strong language, gunshots, smoking (non-tobacco), brilliant dialogue, intense comedy, compelling drama, unforgettable characters – in short, a contemporary masterpiece!”

To view all of Cloud 9 videos, visit our YouTube channel.

CLOUD 9 isn’t the first Caryl Churchill project that director Alisa Palmer and actor Ann-Marie MacDonald have collaborated on. In 2008, Alisa won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Direction of Soulpepper’s much-lauded production of Churchill’s Top Girls – a production that featured not just Ann-Marie but Megan Follows as well.

There’s more about Ann-Marie and Alisa’s past collaborations, Alisa’s passion for Churchill’s work, and how she and Mirvish Productions are working together to create “a commercial theatre culture that can support both tour-bus blockbusters and high art” in this article in the Globe and Mail.

Ben's new haircut (Evan seems to like it)

Early Saturday morning started with Ben getting a new look: he’s had a radical new haircut for the show. Meanwhile the rest of the cast ran lines, or as Evan put it, “It’s too early to remember things.” Next up we reviewed songs (by composer Paul Sportelli) and the musical staging.

Tomorrow is our last day in the rehearsal hall, and Tuesday is our first day on stage! We jump right into tech. Moving on stage is always exciting and scary – it will be great to be in the space and adding all the design and technical elements of the show. Judith and the rest of her design crew have been in the theatre all week getting everything ready.

We’ll be doing two more runs of the show from start to finish this afternoon and tomorrow morning, before a well-deserved day off.