Gurus and Thyroids and Holy Moments

I walk into the rehearsal room to find Desdemona Chiang contorting her body into a strange and wonderful shape. She is showing actress Hannah Mootz how to move and pose herself uniquely, like the Guru she will be playing in One Small Catch by Josef Krebs.

"Kind of unravel, like a flower," Desdemona says to Mootz, who practices and plays with the idea.

Rehearsal talk can be funny. What directors say will to actors to stir their ideas ranges from extremely evocative to downright bizarre.

Desdemona drops some words of wisdom as rehearsal progresses:

“When she says that, my thyroid tingles…there’s something in her presence that’s penetrating.”

“It’s like holy water. It will burn, right?”

“[The line] ”I’m so proud of you” is from the bowels…from your ovaries.”