Scheduling Woes
A long time ago, I wrote that the rehearsal schedule for Lear (which runs from Oct. 30 to Dec. 8, and then from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1) was a peach. That is, I should have no difficulty fitting in all the components necessary in rehearsing a Shakespeare play: character work, language work, intention work, rhythm work, scansion, blocking, fight choreography, musical work, and lots of runs. Lots of time, I thought.
I was a blithering fool.
Lear is huge. Right now I'm aiming for a cast of 15, portraying 29 characters. All of those actors will need individual attention at some point or other. If I devoted even one single rehearsal to each of those characters, I'd have used up half my rehearsals, just like that.
Lear is complicated. Most of the things I mentioned above will take twice as long as they would with a lightweight Shakespeare like Midsummer Night's Dream. I have some ideas of how to simplify the blocking process, but I can't afford to skimp on most of the others. The rhythm work and scansion will be particularly difficult, because of all the wild, crazy rhythms and the frequent shifts from verse to prose. Fights will also be time-consuming and complex.
And then there's that big ol' break over Christmas--which, again, I wasn't the slightest bit worried about in the abstract. Now I think it's a real conundrum. I want to be able to tell my actors to come back on Jan. 1 with their lines memorized. But most actors find it tough to get off-book without their blocking. And you can't block the play until you're clear on everyone's intentions, and you can't do intention work until you've done basic language work... and suddenly it seems like, if I really want Jan. 1 to be my off-book date, I have to find a way to fit 80% of my process into the first 50% of rehearsals.
To compound my angst, I've been supervising the casting of Walterdale's first production, The Rez Sisters. The director has secured a fantastic cast, but talented people have busy lives, and working around everyone's schedules is proving to be very difficult. Now, Rez only has 8 actors in it...so what's it going to be like for me?
Excuse me while I hide under my bed for awhile.
I was a blithering fool.
Lear is huge. Right now I'm aiming for a cast of 15, portraying 29 characters. All of those actors will need individual attention at some point or other. If I devoted even one single rehearsal to each of those characters, I'd have used up half my rehearsals, just like that.
Lear is complicated. Most of the things I mentioned above will take twice as long as they would with a lightweight Shakespeare like Midsummer Night's Dream. I have some ideas of how to simplify the blocking process, but I can't afford to skimp on most of the others. The rhythm work and scansion will be particularly difficult, because of all the wild, crazy rhythms and the frequent shifts from verse to prose. Fights will also be time-consuming and complex.
And then there's that big ol' break over Christmas--which, again, I wasn't the slightest bit worried about in the abstract. Now I think it's a real conundrum. I want to be able to tell my actors to come back on Jan. 1 with their lines memorized. But most actors find it tough to get off-book without their blocking. And you can't block the play until you're clear on everyone's intentions, and you can't do intention work until you've done basic language work... and suddenly it seems like, if I really want Jan. 1 to be my off-book date, I have to find a way to fit 80% of my process into the first 50% of rehearsals.
To compound my angst, I've been supervising the casting of Walterdale's first production, The Rez Sisters. The director has secured a fantastic cast, but talented people have busy lives, and working around everyone's schedules is proving to be very difficult. Now, Rez only has 8 actors in it...so what's it going to be like for me?
Excuse me while I hide under my bed for awhile.
posted by Scott Sharplin at 4:13 p.m.
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