Photo Credit: adapted from Pilot Theatre via cc
Everyone is always looking towards the end product, everyone invloved in a theatre production has the end goal in sight – opening night and the production itself. However, as an actor you will spend hours and hours in a rehearsal room and that space is where the magic truly happens, it is a safe place where you must be allowed to play, to create, to attempt, to fail and to succeed.
In order for everyone to have that safety to truly be free in the rehearsal room I would advise that everyone followsd these basic guidelines.
These tips and pointers are common sense and common courtesy, but I have been in too many productions where people just don’t seem to consider all these little things.
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Timekeeping
“If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late.”If you are called at 10am then it is no good rushing through the door at 10.02, out of breathe and seraching your backpack for the text – it is disrespectful, rude and stressful for you and everyone involved.If you are running late for any reason then let the stage manager know as soon as possible. -
Clothing
The rehearsal room is not the catwalk or the local nightclub! Dress for the work you are doing not to show off to your fellow cast members.I would recommend you wear comfortable clothes which you can move in and you don’t mind getting a little bit dirty. Think about what you will be doing at the rehearsal and on stage – if it will be a very physical rehearsal then maybe you would dress differently than you would if it is going to be a read through or a run?Tie back your hair and keep it out of your face so that your director can see you.If you will be wearing a specific type of clothing in the production then try and practise in it as soon as possible, and if you can’t get the actual costume speak to the director or warbdrobe about getting a practise version.
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Toolkit
Make sure you have everything you will need with you – especially your script!!! – no one wants to be held up waiting at a rehearsal for an actor who doesn’t have the essentials with them.I recommend you ALWAYS have the following:
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Your Script
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Pencil, eraser, pencil sharpener
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Highlighter
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Notebook
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A bottle of water
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Extra snacks
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A towel
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A voice recorder
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Prepare
Use your rehearsal schedule to know what you will be working on in advance and do some preparation the night before, or on the tube on the way in!Read over the scene, think about any blocking which has already been done for that scene, learn your lines.There is nothing worse than beginning a rehearsal and the actors have not done their homework on that scene, and it is unforgiveable to come to a rehearsal of a scene you have already worked on and to have forgotten all the work done in the last rehearsal.
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Know when to talk(!?)
Know when to open your mouth and when to stay quiet. There is a BIG difference between asking a question for clarification and just speaking to waste everyone’s time.You need to be able to repsect the time of everyone in the rehearsal room they are not just there for you.I always think if your question is vital then ask it but also think – can it wait until after rehearsal and ask the director during the break or even later that evening in the pub, via email or over the phone?At a rehearsal there is never a silly question – but there is often a silly time to ask it!
Professor John P Palmer’s Theatre Essays
