PREPARING FOR REHEARSALS CHAPTER 10

Rehearsals should be fun o Well-organized not painful o Efficient not draining o Productive not a waste of time o Joyful not emotional

Have a clear plan You need to free the director and actors to concentrate on bringing the play to life Free and unstructured rehearsals can lead to interesting results BUT Structure enables the creative process by freeing the brain and heart

Directors checklist Preparing for rehearsal Organize the schedule (integrating actor conflicts) Make rehearsal plans Prepare a DPN (Directors Production Notebook) Organize the rehearsal props Define the role and responsibilities of the PSM Develop a sign-in system, if needed Clearly communicate expectations to actors Set rehearsal rules Compile a contact list Display groundplans and elevations Create a safe environment Request that the actors prepare for each rehearsal and set goals

Rehearsal Schedules

Equity Calls Actors are on call for all rehearsals They are required to attend whenever called Typical work week is TU-SAT from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. During Techs and Dresses, Equity rules allow for later calls o EIGHT OUT OF TEN. A schedule wherein actors can be scheduled for up to eight hours in a ten hour day. o TEN OUT OF TWELVE. A standard call for tech and dress rehearsal periods. BREAKS o Equity requires five-minute breaks every hour or ten minutes if you work an hour and a half…PSM monitors these times carefully

REHEARSAL RULES 1.Ten minutes early is on time. 2.Call PSM if you are going to be late. 3.Warm up on your own 4.Be prepared 5.No complaining 6.No cellphones 7.Breaks on the hour or hour and a half 8.No directing other actors 9.Problems? Speak up! 10.Finish eating before, after or during breaks 11.Come to rehearsal high on art, nothing else 12.Come to rehearsal with goals and plans 13.Bring something to read when not onstage 14.If you need help, ask for it 15.Have fun, dont take it too seriously

College & community theatre Students and working people have thousands of things going on in their lives Even when the director insists on no conflicts, they are an inevitability As such, it is better to cast a good actor with a few conflicts than a mediocre one with nonebut not always Once you cast, use the audition form to help guide you in planning your rehearsal schedule Keep the list of conflicts at hand as you schedule, make sure the PSM has a copy

Creating a schedule Break the script into french scenes/rehearsal units For musicals, add songs and dance numbers to the breakdowns Make a list of all scenes everyone is involved in Note how much time is needed for each unit Consider carefully the scheduling of first runs and designer/crew watches Note dates for techs, dresses and performances

Schedule the landmarks PLAY First day Table readings Blocking rehearsals Off-book Runthroughs Crew watch Final runthrough Spacing rehearsals Technicals Final Dress Opening Night MUSICAL First day Music rehearsals Dance/staging rehearsals Off-book Runthroughs and brush- ups Crew watch Final runthrough Spacing rehearsals Technicals Final Dress Opening Night

First Meeting Designer presentations and readthrough

Already scheduled rehearsals Add your crew watches, techs, dresses, performances into your grid…

First runthrough This should be between the halfway point and ¾ point of the rehearsal process before the Techs

Table reading How much time you need depends upon what your goals are

Blocking rehearsals Schedule scene by scene Try to schedule actors back to back Breakdown each rehearsal Double-check conflicts Be respectful of everyones time

For a musical… Music rehearsals – non-musicians will need more time Read and sing-through should be added to the schedule Staging and dance rehearsals will often need to be scheduled out of sequence Music and dance reviews will always be needed Full runs are trickier since so much more in involved

Review the schedule Check and double-check before publishing…

Prepare the rehearsal room Rehearsal props/furniture Water and restrooms Directors table/chairs Prop table Rack for rehearsal clothes Chairs for actors and staff Ground plan Set renderings Costume renderings

Final Thoughts The first rehearsals set the tone for the entire process

Stumble-throughs You need to review as often as you can