So far, we've blocked 3/4 of the play, in just 3 rehearsals. One more and we've got the overall structure complete.
The title of this post is one of the things I say most frequently during blocking rehearsals for plays. Sometimes you find yourself faced with 5 or 6 actors all asking what they are supposed to do next.
In an ideal world, I'd like to be able to work out a play in the same way that one is taught by professional directors and actors. In other words, spend time working on the characters' motivations and actions and let the scene build naturally from there. Unfortunately, as is common in the am-dram world, the standard of talent/training and depth of committment of the actors varies from person to person, making it very difficult to address a play from that viewpoint. Also, the lack of time to rehearse (compared to a pro company) means that the director has to be quite dictatorial in making decisions on movement and characterisation that would, in an ideal world, be more of a group decision.
Having said that, so far the rehearsals have gone very smoothly. Already, the shape of the play is coming together - though doubtless things will change dramatically in places before we go on at the end of May - and most performances are already heading in the right direction. I think the decision to distribute scripts early was the right one.
We've had one small casualty. There was a misunderstanding with one of the original cast over which part she would be playing and when she turned-up to the first rehearsal, I think her disappointment at not playing the expected character was a fatal blow, so she has now pulled-out. Never mind, it meant that I was able to re-cast with one of our actresses who had not been able to take part otherwise.
3 years ago
