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!

Take note: That's what I'm giving*

I actually enjoy giving director's notes to the cast.

During much of the rehearsal period, as a director, you are breaking the play down into scenes, into moments. I am very vocal during this period, jumping to my feet YES! or ACK! Stop! Do it again- think about where you just were! What do you want?

Later on, however, we have to put it all back together, establish continuity, rhythm, pace, the long arcs of the characters and of the play itself. We can't stop. We run through, all the way through the scene, the act, finally the entire play.

While I, like most directors, take notes.

Sometimes, because the hour is late and actors (and I) have to go home, I type up the notes and email them to the actors after I've returned home. I don't like to do this because A) actors may not understand a specific note, B) actors may not read the notes and C) I like to give notes.

I like to give notes. I do. I make eye contact. I make jokes. I exaggerate, exhort, and expound. I prance and I posture, I prod and I praise.

From time to time, I may have to shush the actors who are starting side conversations. After all, for many years, the actors with whom I have worked have been teens.

Still, all in all, I have fun giving notes, and the actors have fun receiving the notes.

Here are some of the key ingredients for good note-giving:

• Make eye contact. Make sure the actors are listening.
• EVERY actor should receive a comment. Each actor should know that they are important, and that their work is (literally) noted.
• Use humor. I use a lot of humor at my own expense... I tease and challenge them to be bigger, bolder, more energized than this "old lady"
• Catch them doing something right; be specific about when it happened, and what it was. Comments like "you're great" or "good job" might feel good for a moment, but they don't tell the actor where they are succeeding or how to build on that success. A comment like: "I could really see you focus on the other character on your line 'Not now, darling''" tells the actor what is working and when.
• Be specific about what you want the actor to change. Comments such as "That's no good" or "I didn't like that" again do not give the actor any useful information. A comment like "When you enter in scene two, try rushing straight to the couch- remember what just happened to the character before you entered" gives the actor useful information about what needs work in the scene, and a suggestion for a new approach.
• I try to give both the "director's reason" and the "actor's reason" for a direction. For instance, in the above example, I might remind the actor that the actor's reason- the character's reason- for rushing in is that the character is escaping from an uncomfortable encounter in the other room; while I will admit that my "director's reason" for asking you to rush in and cross to the couch is that the scene needs more energy, and I need you out of the doorway!
• Be a believer. Believe in the play, believe in your actors, believe in theater magic. Keep cheering, keep watching, noting, and sharing what you see. Eventually, it all comes together- how? It's a mystery!

*This is a re-post that I re-read and re-felt today. FINAL DRESS TECH TONIGHT

for the love of the game

The opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics were held recently. Theater and the Olympics both trace their roots to the ancient Greeks.

When I was growing up the Olympic athletes were amateurs, not professionals. I've used the words "amateur" and "professional"- and the Olympics- as conversation starters in teaching theater.

The definition of "amateur" is contrasted with "professional". The connotation- and even, these days, the definition- of amateur includes the idea of unskilled, lacking in competence, or a dilletante.

The definition of professional, on the other hand, includes the ideas of expertise, great skill, and learning.


Originally, the words were not antonyms of one another. At one time, professional meant that you were paid for your work (or that you were one of the "learned professions"- such as law).

And the word amateur comes from the Latin for love.

An amateur does what they do for the love of it; a professional does what they do as their occupation, to earn a living. As in the Olympics, the amateur is not necessarily unskilled; the amateur can be one of the best in the world.

And so it is with theater. Some of the greatest innovations and triumphs of theater have come from amateurs, or those who began as amateurs. I do not suggest for a moment that actors, directors, stage managers, designers, technicians or any of the myriad artists of the theater should not be paid. I would merely like to suggest that if some of us still have a "day job" that our work should not be ignored or assumed to be of poor quality.

Whether or not one holds an Equity card does not determine the excellence of the work. It is up to each artist to give passion, effort, intensity and creativity to the task at hand.

For the love of the game.

building community through blogs

I have had two responses to my post soliciting questions and conversation on theater. One asked for- all of it! All the topics suggested and then some. That will take some time. As a first step, I will be putting live links from previous thoughts up on the topics listed.

The other request was to talk about casting in small communities. I have started that post and will be publishing in the future.

Keep the questions and conversation coming! I have been active in many different theater communities and I want to start building synergy among those of us who believe in the art of ensemble.

Unemployed

The unemployed actor is so common that it is almost a cliche. But other theater artists have times between gigs, too.

Having recently turned down my directing gig for this summer, I find myself unemployed.

While actors have a number of ways to keep their skills sharp between jobs, what can a director do? Actors take classes in voice, movement, acting, improvisation. Actors work on their audition pieces.

What can a director do? The medium in which we work is the energy exchange between human beings. It's hard to exercise that skill set without human beings!

We directors can read plays, read theory, go to plays, talk into the night with theater buddies.

But as far as practicing the real gifts of communication, connection, synergy? Not so much.

Everything's an Audition

Recently I was discussing the proposed rehearsal schedule for the musical I will be directing this summer.

"You don't have an audition day," said one of the music directors.

I noted that I intended for the music and dance directors to arrange their auditions to meet their needs. I said, "But I don't need one for acting. We will be working with the team for two weeks before casting, and that is all I will need."

I said that, especially for young actors, auditions aren't necessarily useful. I pointed out that some don't read well cold, and then do well on stage; that some read beautifully at auditions, but then do not connect with the other actors in rehearsal or performance. In playing together, in those first weeks, we get a better feel for the team as a whole, for how we work together.

That's my preferred method of working through casting, as I have noted.

Besides (though I didn't say this at our brief production meeting), everything is an audition.

When you walk in, you make an impression. When you introduce yourself, you make another impression.

Visiting with other actors as you fill out paperwork, you make an impression.

How your treat the stage manager makes a huge impression. How you greet the auditors, how you thank the auditors and leave, these actions make additional impressions.

There's more. How you work with the team for this show is an audition for the next show. How you react when you don't get the part you want- or how you react when you do- this is an audition.

It's true beyond the world of theater, too. Any time you interact with others, you are making impressions- auditioning, if you will.

I don't mean that you are, or should be, always "on." Quite the contrary- what a director is looking for, what a potential new boss is looking for, is the real you.

Relax, and be yourself.

Because that's who I'd like to get to know.

I hate this play

Even though I have directed and produced and performed enough plays to know that this happens almost every time, I still don't like this place where I have explained and explored and expounded and the actors still don't get it and it will never be funny and Shakespeare is STUPID and doesn't know how to write.

Past experience reminds me that it will get better, in fact it will most likely get great but right at this moment I hate this play and I don't want to go to rehearsal.

I would really rather stay home and read trashy novels and eat cookies.

But, instead, I am going to get up, get going, and do battle with teens and Shakespeare once more.

It doesn't help that yesterday I saw one of "my" kids who has opted not to do this last show with me, and this reminded me of several other absences of those I had thought/hoped would join me for this last adventure of this phase of my life.