In the lead up to our technical rehearsal we have piled on the rehearsals in order to delve deeply into the textual details and character work. In booking four hour blocks of rehearsals, I have divided up the rehearsal to make use of the time we have. By allowing the actors to take the first hour of each rehearsal to focus on their lines and cue lines they can prepare for each scene that we will cover. Amber will then lead the second hour as assistant director; she will take the actors through sessions which aid them in building on the character work further. Finally, I will be leading the actors through rehearsals for the final two hours after they have fully prepared. By scheduling the rehearsals in this way I hope to utilise the time fully and allow the actors the time to go over rehearsals. In adding this first hour rehearsal which is solely for the actors, it gave the actors the opportunity to line run as they did not take up the opportunity themselves.
As our rehearsals have developed as a company we decided to mix up the order of the original script and place what would have been the final scene depicting the Sunday morning at the beginning of our performance. In doing so we want to show more of a contrast between the actor’s attitudes by going back in time. In changing our order, we wanted to accommodate our audience in making the performance less predictable, which can be the case with naturalistic plays. In addition to this, I decided to stylise some of the bridge sections to make them contrasting to the action of the rest of the play. By adding a more surrealist effect to these sections, we wanted to present a definitive change in time which was more aesthetically appealing.
During our technical rehearsal after setting the stage and programming the lights, the actors we brought onto the stage to begin familiarising themselves with the space. With the time restriction that we faced we were only able to run key sections which needed the use of audio and visual elements which are feasible within the theatre space. One of the main aspects which I observed from the teach box was that actors needed to up their energy levels when on the stage otherwise they would meld into the background. Joe’s character especially at time seemed lost completely when compared to the energy levels of the rest of the cast. In running the main bridges which have been added to our script, being the main movement sections.
After our technical rehearsal, we have booked an all-day rehearsal where I have arranged for the company to have a mock show day. By running through the general order of the day and allowing the actors to have full run through under performance conditions I hope to prepare the actors, as well as the technical team. In doing so, I also hope to make the general running of the show day quicker and more efficient, therefore allowing more time to be focusing on tweaking the performance in order to fill the theatre space.
Until next time…