The Schedule That Ate My Brain

I have completed a draft of my rehearsal schedule. Like the rescripting work, it involved a lot of juggling and shuffling, trying to fit an excess of material into a container far too small to accommodate it all. Unlike the cut-script (which will, I hope, remain mostly unchanged from here on in), I know this schedule is going to remain in flux until at least November—and quite possibly all the way through to February. Looking at it now is like trying to bond with your new pet caterpillar.

The only thing that’s keeping it from bursting at the seams is my half-baked plan to blend text work with blocking work. If you’re not familiar with the theatrical rehearsal process, try to imagine learning to play hockey at the same time as you’re trying to work out your season all-star picks. The muscles involved in the two tasks are different, and actors just aren’t accustomed to using both sets at once. Add to that the fact that many of these actors will not be familiar with Shakespeare’s language, and you’ve got a recipe for mental overload.

Perhaps what I need is a text coach. In nearly all of my previous productions, I have charged myself with the task of making the language clear to my actors, because I feel it’s one of my strengths. But now I’m starting to suspect that I need another Shakespeare-savvy artist onhand who can work with actors when they’re not being blocked—sometimes only for a few minutes at a time, before their entrance, or during a sequence when they’re not particularly active onstage. Like the primpers on a film set who swoop in and apply an extra puff of makeup before the camera starts rolling—someone who can swoop in and fluff up their dialogue while I’m concentrating on the big stage picture.

Text coach...or Assistant Director, I suppose. Any takers?