Director's Guide - Rehearsals

Rehearsal Time

With your show cast, you are now ready to plan your rehearsals. Regardless of your pedagogical approach or schedule parameters, the following strategies can guide your path.

Everything from your creative team's availability to the age and experience level of your cast will inform your rehearsal schedule and approach. Carefully planning at this stage of the process is essential for your success. Two sample rehearsal schedules — traditional and sequential -- are provided in this guide to get you started. They approach early rehearsals differently but ultimately sync up with the same goal: putting on a well rehearsed production.

Musicals are traditionally rehearsed by learning all the show's music first, choreography second, and scenes last. If you choose to follow the traditional schedule, be sure to keep your young performers actively engaged and allow plenty of time to rehearse dialogue and blocking as thoroughly as music and dance.

While the traditional approach is common in professional theater, some younger performers respond well to a sequential, chunk-by-chunk approach when learning a musical. By tracking the narrative of the story in show order, students act, dance and sing at each rehearsal to get the show in their minds, bodies and voices concurrently. If you opt for the sequential schedule, budget your time so you can rehearse the end of the show as well as the beginning.

In order to be ready by opening night, you must break down your many rehearsal objectives into manageable units and schedule which to work on at each rehearsal. The amount of rehearsal time you need will depend on many factors, but for a one-act show (60+ minutes), you should budget between 75 and 100 hours, including technical and dress rehearsals. Have a list of approved cast and creative team conflicts (vacations, pageants, soccer games, etc.) nearby to guide your planning. Since the unexpected does occur and rehearsals do get canceled, you'll want to include a few days marked "TBD." You can use these rehearsals to catch up, go over tricky spots, or work your scene transitions.

First Rehearsal: The first rehearsal is one of the most exciting days of the production process. Your cast, crew and creative team will be full of energy and even a little nervous, which is completely normal. Keep the mood light and fun as you introduce your company to one another. This is a great time to whip out a theatre game that breaks the ice and builds ensemble.

With everyone now focused and sitting in a circle, outline your expectations for the rehearsal process. Review the script introduction and glossary to get everyone on the same page with basic theater concepts and terms. If you plan to have a Company Contract, create or discuss it at this first rehearsal.

Now it's time for your first "read-through," where your cast will read the show aloud for the entire company. Assign additional readers for stage directions. This is a great way to introduce the story and get everyone excited about your production.

With introductions made, expectations laid out and first read-through accomplished, the hard work of rehearsals must now begin.

Rehearsing Scenes: Staging scenes well keeps your story moving forward and supports your cast in flexing their acting muscles. On the sequential schedule, you will block the scenes in show order, incorporating adjacent songs and choreography.

Begin each scene rehearsal by having your students read their lines to themselves. Answer any questions about vocabulary or pronunciation. Next, have the actors read the scene aloud. Inquire about character intentions. For example. "What do you think your character is feeling, or wanting, or thinking right now?" Make sure the performers understand the scene, the action that is taking place, and why the scene is in the play. (NOTE: Go through this same process with lyrics, both in music and staging rehearsals in musicals. Your cast needs to act during songs as well as scenes!)

Now provide the actors with their entrance and exit locations, which will be based on your blocking notes. Have the actors mark these entrances and exits in their scripts using a pencil. Next, have them perform the scene without interruption using their entrances and exits but improvising the rest of their blocking. Once they have presented the scene, ask the performers to identify what they can do to improve the scene or their performances. You may be surprised to find their notes specific and on target. Add your own suggestions and run the scene again. This time, feel free to interrupt and remind them of the ways they can improve their performance.

If time allows, run the scene again straight through and offer simple, big-picture notes afterwards. Once the scene has been staged and set, the actors should write the blocking in their scripts to memorize it. Save some time near the end of rehearsal to run several scenes (and musical numbers) in show order — a great way to reinforce learning.

Each rehearsal should culminate with a brief company meeting during which you as director can give further performance notes and reminders. (If other creative team members have notes, they should funnel them through you to avoid too many voices that could confuse young performers.) Actors should bring their scripts and pencils, be quiet and attentive, and hold questions and comments until the end. As you share your constructive feedback, remember to praise the hard work of the cast and crew, give equal attention to all performers, trumpet little triumphs, and always end on a positive note. Like any good team, your company needs you as coach to be their chief cheerleader!

Additional Rehearsals: Staging scenes well keeps your story moving forward and supports your cast in flexing their acting muscles. On the traditional schedule, you will block your dialogue scenes after your cast has learned the music and choreography. On the sequential schedule, you will block the scenes in show order. (incorporate songs and choreography for musicals)

Begin each scene rehearsal by having your students read their lines to themselves. Answer any questions about vocabulary or pronunciation. Next, have the actors read the scene aloud. Inquire about character intentions. For example. "What do you think your character is feeling, or wanting, or thinking right now?" Make sure the performers understand the scene, the action that is taking place, and why the scene is in the play. (Go through this same process with lyrics, both in music and staging rehearsals for musicals. Your cast needs to act during songs as well as scenes!)

Run Throughs: Once you've taught all your show's scenes (music & choreography) you're ready for a "run-through." At a run-through, the entire show is rehearsed in order, with few or no stops. Don't expect perfection at your first run-through (often called a "stumble-through"). Instead, think of it as an opportunity for the actors to rediscover the arc of the show that you introduce at the first rehearsal and to see how all the pieces now fit together. During this exercise, make a list of moments you want to work on in focused rehearsals. As you attend to these "squeaky wheels" in your show, increase your expectations on subsequent run-throughs. Working in phases, add props, set pieces and even microphones (if you are using them) to help prepare for upcoming technical (tech) rehearsals.

Here are a few tips to guide you through the home stretch:

• Make sure the show is completely staged (blocked and choreographed).

• Have your cast rehearse with props as much as possible. If the actual props are not yet available, substitute with similar items - called rehearsal props.

• Rehearse with any costume pieces that may affect how the actors move, such as shoes, hats, long skirts or masks.

• Block all set transitions (when you go from one scene to another) as carefully as you block the scenes in the show. Assign cast and crew specific tasks, and rehearse everyone's traffic patterns for safety.

• As you put all the pieces together during run-throughs, write any lighting cues into your script, create a technical to-do list and establish a schedule for tech rehearsals.

Technical (Tech) Rehearsals: Of all your rehearsals, technical rehearsals will demand the most patience and focus from the company, since they require a lot of stillness and silence while a few individuals work out technical details, such a the timing of a lighting cue or the volume of a sound cue.

During the company meeting after your final run-through take everyone through expectation for tech rehearsals. Establish guidelines for procedures and behavior, and set clear goals. If you have not been rehearsing on your stage, your technical rehearsals will mark the first time your cast will experience your actual performance space. Make sure you build in time to make the necessary spacing adjustments.

As you work your way through tech, keep these best practices in mind:

• Make sure all set pieces are fully constructed and painted so you can practice transitions with those that move.

• Establish clear communication with your creative team and backstage crew.

• Designate a prop table on either side of your stage and make sure all props are always returned to their designated places.

• Call actors who wear wireless mics (if you use them) a few minutes early to get them wired. Do a sound check to make sure everyone can be heard and set playback levels for the accompaniment tracks.

• Actors should wear any costume pieces they have beer using in rehearsals, but you can hold off on full costumes for now.

• Work through the show from beginning, focusing mainly on sound and lights. Stop to fix any tech-related performance issues, such as an actor not being in her light.

• Use a handheld mic to communicate clearly without having to raise your voice. Unless there is an emergency, only you as director should stop rehearsal, usually via a simple "Hold, please" into your mic.

• Depending upon the amount of time you allocate, you may not get through the entire show in one technical rehearsal. If this is the case, at the next rehearsal, simply start where you left off.

Dress Rehearsals: Once you've set and practiced all your technical cues, determined your final spacing on the stage, and worked through all your transitions with actual set pieces, you're ready for your dress rehearsals. You can think of dress rehearsals as run-throughs in full costume with complete technical support! Your goal is to run the show as you would with an audience, only you have an opportunity to stop and work out any last-minute kinks if needed. Here are a few tips for putting the finishing touches on your show:

• Budget your rehearsal time realistically. It can take a full hour or longer just to get everyone warmed up, in their costumes, and ready to perform.

• Rehearse any quick costume changes (called "quick changes") prior to running the show.

• Run the show, stopping only to address safety issues or costume problems.

• Since tech rehearsals involve a lot of stopping and starting, your performers may be a little rusty with pace and cues. Take notes during the run and share them with performers at the company meeting at the end of rehearsal.

• Invite a few "friends of the court" to attend dress rehearsals so your company can get used to a little audience response before your official performances.

• Try to build two or three dress rehearsals into your master schedule, knowing that your first will be a little rough and that your final dress rehearsal should be as good as opening night.

CONSISTENT ENGAGEMENT

You may find yourself at times working with a handful of performers while the rest sit idle. To keep everyone consistently engaged in the process, encourage performers not rehearsing to observe carefully and provide positive feedback (compliments), under your supervision, to the actors who are rehearsing. In addition, set up nearby activity stations, such as a listening station where students can review the music (for musicals), a publicity station for creating show flyers and posters, or a memorization station, where they can run lines with one another.

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