30 Days of NYMF: A Different Love

A DIFFERENT LOVE
by Emily Swallow ("She" in Like Love)

This time last year, I was in Boston rehearsing for the tryout of High Fidelity.  Haven't done a musical since.  I gotta say, it's pretty cool for my follow-up to be such a drastic contrast.   Where I had revolving set pieces intricately dressed to look like a well-worn record store, I now have a 2x3 bench that serves as a bed, the central scenic element.   Where I had a rockin' band blasting out guitar riffs, I now have a single piano played beautifully by Brad Simmons.  Where I had five weeks in Boston before our move to Broadway, I now have two weeks of rehearsal and seven performances, total.  

I loved the huge collaboration that was High Fidelity, but the intimacy of Like Love and the knowledge that we only have a few weeks to get this puppy up and running is thrilling. It's the type of show that is served well by such a minimalist approach.  I am happiest when I'm developing new work and, although Barry and Lewis have been working on this on and off for the past ten years, this is the first time they're going to get to see it fully staged.  That knowledge gives us even more motivation to focus, even if we're in ridiculous rehearsal spaces or trying to do a weeks' worth of rehearsal in a day.  Considering these limitations, thank god for Jon Patrick Walker (a fellow Hi Fi-er) and Danielle Ferland, my partners in crime in this piece. 

Given the truncated process, there has been no easing into things—we've had to make bold choices from the start.  Like Love is about love (duh) and lust and vulnerability and intimacy and the walls we put up to avoid being damaged by those dangerously thrilling things, and it's reassuring to know that those two are going to have my back no matter what I throw at them.   It's a crazy ride, and I'm enjoying it.