On Planning a Rehearsal

Know the play.

Determine how much time you have to put the play together.

Determine where the play is going to be performed and rehearsed (sometimes these are two different places.)

Determine which parts of the play will be the most difficult to teach/rehearse.

Make a synopsis for all scenes to determine which characters (actors) are needed for each.

Break the play down into scene sized-chunks. Plan these into the rehearsal schedule in sequential order. Allow more time for the aforementioned difficult parts of the play. Plan to run groups of scenes in order along with production numbers (off script) for actors to get a sense of flow. This is usually done with each act and then the whole play—off script.

Since every character is usually not needed for every scene not every actor will need to show up at every rehearsal…make this clear on the schedule.

Leave a week right before opening night where you will rehearse in the performance space. During this time you will start layering in costumes, make-up and technical effects (lights and sound.) This time will also include the final dress rehearsals.

Once the schedule has been planned with consultation from your creative team, get it down on paper before the rehearsals (practice) starts.