Hi Phil

6.44 here. awake before the alarm.

Just to say that things are rolling along quite well. I think this run we did the day b4 you left was useful in that it enabled us to think better about the bigger shape of the piece and what it needs.
We worked on a few sections and some new material got made, as well as existing (or previously abandoned) material coming info focus (or out of the cupboard) in new ways.

So
- a reprise of Tom's depression, with Tom stood amongst trees at the front, with advice from Claire seated on the sofa at the back - telling him to make it more moving/cloying/personal.
- this flowing into a section with the women on the sofa at the front, the guys arranged around them and not causing too much trouble - physically a kind of absurd Carpenters cover-photo/sickly Manson family Shang-ri-la intimacy...  and in the text the women talking about how to make the world a better place.. (wouldn't it be nice if each morning when you left the house a rainbow was waiting at your door etc)
- some bodgy dances with palm trees - re-running Fire! FIre! with conga-line chase.

- a very nice version of Jerry/Tom 'do something funny' which extends the text part in the beginning to become a whole routine trying to get him to say names of 'funny fruit' - Jerry bullying quite like some kind of Sergeant Major of Comedy.

- reprise small things from Terry (good tone, but maybe not correct to return to this content) leading to strange story from Amit concerning various corrective surgeries she claims to have had (legs straightening, toes grafted for fingers). This feels pretty good actually, and leads to something like the old 'don't touch me' routine from Amit, Jerry and Tom.

- something like a version of the old pushing and shoving line with Terry and then Amit talking about big questions of the world, finally stopped/ interrupted by Cathy.
-probably some other stuff too. it;s a bit of a blur.

yesterday we ran:

1-5
cathy continues
tom depressed

Terry 'questions' with pushing line
Amit joins in text
Cathy comes in across - "I hope that..." (very stroppy version about her dad etc)

Richard - H. Attack
Let's Kiss

Small Things with group 'backing' (Jerry doing you. John interrupts. Claire interrupts. Tom interrupts)
FIRE FIRE (conga line, trees come out in the back end of it)
Sukiyaki - more trees and dancing
ends with Tom at front in trees.

Tom depressed reprise
advice from Claire
Girls on Sofa - "wouldn't it be nice"
interruption from John ("Naieve")

Amit rolls on alone with "wouldn't it be nice"
other people clear away slowly

Noble Watts

Richard H. Attack x 2 - other guys imitate

Whistling Song

Terry Small things reprise

Amit - surgeries etc

Tom & Jerry try to take her away

Tom & Jerry - do something funny - funny fruit & dance

Jerry says Thanks and goodnight.Rich (doing you) "end/lights out/kill it"

*

That was one hour 35.We had small audience - Vlatka, Wendy and Sarah. Good responses, useful comments.And it was quite OK... but really very many things blurred, not in right place, just not good etc. But a step on from last week for sure. So today pushy postmortem. We try to reorder, reorganise and run again at  1.45
look fwd to you being back in the fray next week

hope things are well

tx