Rehearsal: Schedule it SDRAWKCAB

Putting on a play is a huge time commitment. For most of us, the greatest amount of time is spent in rehearsal. A good rehearsal schedule can make the most of the time that you have.

The rehearsal process takes time, and most of all it takes the director's time- because you and your stage manager will be there for EVERY rehearsal. Some directors call ALL the actors to EVERY rehearsal, but I think that is just actor abuse! After the first couple of read through rehearsals, I only call the actors to rehearsal who are actually needed for those scenes that we will be working on for that rehearsal.

How long does it take to rehearse a show up to performance? Obviously, a long play will take more time than a short play, a complicated play takes more time than a simple, straight forward play. The general rule of thumb is one hour of rehearsal for each minute on stage.  A full length (about 2 hours) "regular" or "straight" play- that is, modern language, not a musical- will take about 100 to 120 hours rehearsal time, spread out over 4 weeks to 4 months (depending on what hours you have available to rehearse). A more complex play, such as a musical with songs, choreography, and so on, or Shakespeare or another classical or "language" play, may take more time.

The above figures are JUST rehearsal time- not director planning time, actor studying lines time, costume sewing time. JUST REHEARSAL TIME!

How do you schedule this time? First, I work backwards from performance date.

From bottom to top: Let's say that most weeks we have 4 hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to rehearse. Let's say we are going to perform on April 27, 28, 29, and we can start rehearsals in late February. I would write down the weeks like this:

Monday Feb 26

Tuesday Feb 27

Wed Feb 28

Thurs Mar 1

Mon Mar 5

Tues Mar 6

… and so on for the full length of the rehearsal period.  Then, I fill in the dates BACKWARDS, starting at the bottom:

April 27: OPENING NIGHT! SHOW TIME!

Then I know that April 26 would be final dress, and working backwards, that week would be tech week.

April 22: Tech rehearsal

April 23: Tech run through

April 24: Dress run

April 25: Dress run

April 26: Final dress

April 27: OPENING NIGHT! SHOW TIME!

The week before tech week should be run throughs. First, you will  run throughs of acts or first and second halves of the show, with time reserved for working trouble spots that arise. Then you will do run throughs of the entire show.

This will leave you a few weeks between your first rehearsal and your first run throughs.

You can start filling in from the top now .

Now that the rough schedule is ready, let’s look at the types of rehearsals in chronological order.

From top to bottom: The first few rehearsals would call everyone for read through/ talk through. Usually there will be a design presentation in that first week.  The designers will share with the actors the preliminary designs, especially for set and costumes. This helps the actors envision the world they will soon bring to life! In early rehearsals, we may do some improvisation and character work.

Then working rehearsals begin. These rehearsals are organized by groups of actors. You may choose several different scenes from different sections of the play because they share the same group of actors. So, in the example I’m currently using, a particular Monday might call Francisco, Bernardo, Horatio, Marcellus, and the Ghost at 6:00. At 7:00 Francisco is dismissed, and Hamlet is called, while retaining the rest of the actors. At 9:00, the Ghost is dismissed.

 
Monday, March 5: 6:00-10:00 pm: 6:00 - 7: 00 Act 1 Scene 1: Horatio, Marcellus, Francisco, Bernardo, Ghost 7:00 pm DISMISS  Francisco; ADD Hamlet 7:00-9:00 Act 1 scene 4, Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus, Ghost; Act 1 scene 5 9:00 PM DISMISS Ghost 9:00- 10:00 Act 2 scene 2, from entrance of Horatio and Marcellus and Bernardo.

In these working rehearsals, we establish blocking:  the movements on stage, the entrances and exits. We stop often, review what we have done, tweak where necessary. In working rehearsals, we work. We stop and start, we make changes, we try something different. We do it again.

In a perfect world, we will work every scene in detail at least once in time for those run throughs!

Run throughs: In the working rehearsals, we stop and start. In run throughs, we run the section without stopping, and give notes after the run through. With a longer show, acts may be run before run throughs of the entire show.  In working rehearsals, we broke the play down into individual moments. In run throughs, we put the play back together, working on flow and connectivity.

A week of run throughs is ideal! It doesn’t always happen. However, I strive mightily to have at least two run throughs of the entire show before tech week.

Before the first tech rehearsal with actors, there is often a paper tech with designers, director, and stage manager. This is where the cues for lighting, sound, and scenic changes are determined.

The first tech rehearsal with the actors can be grueling. Actors begin a scene and the stage manager calls out “Hold!” at any moment for a lighting cue, scenic adjustment, sound level, or any of the myriad of technical aspects of the production that are now added. After the cue-to-cue, there is a tech run. There may still be stops and starts, but far fewer. The director may give notes to actors, but definitely gives notes to the tech team.

Costumes are added at the dress rehearsal. Actors work on keeping the flow going while now also incorporating costume changes. The director gives notes to actors and to the tech team after the rehearsal.

The final dress tech rehearsal strives for show conditions. The rehearsal begins at the same time as the performances will begin, and there is no stopping and starting. This may be the last time the director gives notes! Once it’s showtime, the show belongs to the actors and the crew- and the stage manager!