Saturday, September 15, 2007

Doing whatever a spider can

At rehearsal yesterday for Big Love, the guys took an hour or so out of running the scenes to work with our "stunt coordinators" on our rappelling lesson for our entrance. We worked with Becky (our costume designer), Daryll (her husband), and Dave (a firefighter) to learn how to keep ourselves safe. We got some gear, and then Dave had us all hang from the rope only inches off the floor so we could see what it would feel like. Then we climbed the scaffolding and lowered ourselves down, slowly at first from a height of about 15 feet. We went through it a few times, each time getting more and more confident in our ability. Our descents became not only prettier but also faster, and every time my feet hit the floor, I was both excited from the rush and disappointed that it was over.

As the final step, we moved out over an open section of air, since our descent in the show will not have the aid of a wall to jump down. That one was a little harder for me at first, since I wasn't quite prepared to go swinging into the middle of the air like I did. But Dave had prepared us well, so I recovered pretty quickly and made a nice landing. All three of us did very well, including our hesitant actor who is a little afraid of heights. It was hands down one of the most fun days of rehearsal ever; all the girls were very jealous of the fun that we got to have 15 feet above the ground. But this post alone cannot do justice to the moment, so some pictures will follow. The technical director was taking photos as we were working, and I've been promised some of those shots for this blog. So when I get the pictures, you'll get to see them.

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