This Side of Paradise

We've had a lot of productive rehearsals this week and covered a lot of ground, including a run of the whole of Act 4 and work on the opening scene. Just as I was feeling very secure about getting everything thoroughly rehearsed to schedule, I was asked on Wednesday if I'd like to use a different performance space. This is a newly built auditorium with actual dressing rooms, tiered seating and a lighting rig, which is obviously a more appealing option than Jane Holloway Hall (as much as I have a sort of reluctant affection for JHH, I've never liked the idea of the audience having to wait outside in the cold and not having backstage space). However, I still haven't properly seen the space, have no idea of the acoustics and lighting requirements, and a large proportion of the blocking will have to be completely altered. To add to the disruption, nothing is set in stone and I don't even know for definite if my show dates will be the same, when my tech/dress rehearsals will be or how much it's all going to cost.

What with my degree work piling up (which is more important to me at the moment than extra-curricular activities) and other areas of my life proving more stressful than I'd like, it's not easy to keep the momentum of the show going. The photoshoot for the show posters is having to be postponed because everyone's classes clash, and ordering hoodies is being delayed because there might be a change to the venue and show times. 

Despite all the difficulties, I'm having a great time in rehearsals and our film night which was organised with the Shakespeare Committee went really well. We watched the Globe's 2009 production of LLL which could prove problematic because a few members of the cast might tend to try to copy that version - I need to make clear that our concept is completely different, and not to mention the differences between performing in open air and in a smaller indoor space: the acting must be considerably more subtle and have more emotional depth than comic abrasiveness. 

I'm going home on Saturday to get my head together, make some to do lists and power through a lot of work, and hopefully by reading week everything will be organised and ready to start full cast rehearsals.

This has been a difficult week for me in all respects. Although it was great to finally get into the rehearsal room, I've had a bit of a reality check in terms of how much time I need to dedicate to the show. I've learnt that it is absolutely essential to plan every rehearsal down to the wire, making sure that there is enough time to read though and then block and repeat each scene I have scheduled for the evening. There's nothing worse for an actor than coming to a rehearsal that feels unprepared and runs shorter or longer than expected. 

On Wednesday my social life got in the way slightly and I found myself rushing through the last half hour of rehearsal to get to my friend's leaving party (which was also a gig for my composer Ruby's band) because I'd been at house viewings all day and hadn't chosen appropriate lengths of scenes to allow for an early finish. I felt quite guilty and apologised to the actors, resolving to properly plan the timings from then on. One of my initial promises to myself and to the production was to treat the actors like professionals; if actors are being paid for their time then everything has to be on a strict schedule and equally the creative team should expect equal respect in return, that is to say, no talking or messing around in rehearsals, no turning up late, etc. My aim for next week is to properly implement this.

Another issue I have encountered is how the dynamics of a scene can be hugely affected by one actor being missing. I completely understand when students have conflicting activities and have worked rehearsals around them as much as possible, but a lot of the comedy exchanges in particular don't work with anyone missing from the scene. I think it's a case of the more actors the better, and it will most likely come together perfectly at full cast rehearsals. A lot of the actors have also commented that it will be a lot easier to work on acting once they're familiar with the lines, so I'm trying to focus on the text in these initial rehearsals. 

The positives of this week have been reassuring more than anything else; this is my first show as the only Director and there's always that nagging thought that I wouldn't be good enough. Luckily, my warmups have been really well received by the actors and I think they're working in exactly the way I intended. It's also great to see my cast bonding and starting to act like friends having fun rather than strangers reading lines in a room together. It's our first cast, crew and committee social this week so with any luck we'll all be really comfortable around each other by my next blog post!