Rehearsing is a vital combination of thought, discussion and doing - never find yourself indulging too much of any one of these. It is a series of carefully planned experiments in human behaviour - some will work, some will fail - the aim is to discover corporately what works and is truthful for all. To conduct an experiment you need have some idea of what might work, be committed to it and be open to ideas and stimuli that hadn't previously occurred to you. It can be a plodding process; sometimes seemingly devoid of that 'divine' inspiration, but "inspiration" - in all fields of arts and sciences - only comes out of systematic, careful work, with the occasional happy accident thrown in. ["Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." - Thomas Alva Edison.]
1) BEFOREHAND: Before rehearsals start you should read the script
several times and get a 'broad impression' of your character and
his/her circumstances. Don't, however, fix on a specific idea
of how your character is going to behave etc., simply have an
idea about what he/she might 'bring on stage' - ready to respond
to what your fellow actors give back to you within what they "bring
on stage".
There is no way that you'll have an entire character history ready
by the beginning of rehearsals - nor should you, as your "history"
will be affected by those of the other characters. However, don't
go into rehearsal with no ideas at all about your character's
history. It is desperately frustrating for other actors if you
just say your lines with no thought or feeling behind them - it
gives them nothing to bounce off. In my experience most people
bring too much on stage at the start of rehearsal; a few (notoriously)
bring on too little. "Too much" can (a) swamp other
actors and (b) give you very little room for development. "Too
little" gives other actors too little to react from. I know
there is an argument for approaching a script as a 'blank slate'
(or 'hedging your bets') - giving the actor a chance to explore
'infinite' possibilities - but rehearsals are of finite duration.
Fundamentally, you need to discover how much you, personally,
need to "bring on stage" at the start of rehearsals.
[Getting inside your character is a bit like getting to know somebody
new - it takes time, reflection away from each other and give
and take on both sides.]
2) THE READ THROUGH: Don't try to (or feel you have to) give a
complete performance at the read through. There is a recent fashion
for dispensing for this so-called "formality". It may
be treated as such but - crucially - it is the last time that
you will have a chance to have a live overview of the journey
of the whole play until very late on in the rehearsal period.
3) THE DESIGNS: Try to take in as fully as possibly the set and
costume designs - especially the latter. (I think it a good idea
to get a photocopy of what you're going to wear.) You have got
to be able to 'live' in that environment and those clothes, but
you won't have their physical realisations until very late on.
Put them in your memory now and you'll find it much easier when
you get to the technical rehearsal. It can also be a good idea
to wear shoes, skirts, jackets, etc. that correspond to your costume
design - if they will significantly affect the way you will move
and you're not used to wearing that particular style.
4) GENERAL: Always be as re-active as much as you are pro-active.
Rehearsals must not be seen as a competition! Productions succeed
through co-operation between the actors and fail through competition.
5) GO NAKED!: Everybody feels stupid at the beginning of rehearsals;
some are just better than others at covering it up. You should
go into rehearsal 'emotionally naked', ready to try on a great
variety of "emotional" clothes to see which fit.
6) THE AUDIENCE: Don't concern yourself with the audience early
on in rehearsals. At least the first half of the rehearsal process
is about building up the characters and their relationships. For
instance, don't worry if you suddenly find yourself with your
back to the potential audience if it's to the detriment of your
discovery of the 'truth'. When that "truth" is established,
then work out how to communicate it to the audience.
7) USING THE SCRIPT: The main barrier to early rehearsals is the
encumbrance of having to carry a script. Carry it in one hand
- somewhere at your side! A script held with both hands in front
of you can easily become a barrier between your character and
the others in the scene - that is counter-productive to everybody,
especially to yourself.
It is also essential not to feel that, just because it's "your
turn", that you have to have your script in a position so
that you can react immediately with your line. React to the words
that you've just been given (and their emotional slant), then
flick your eyes to your script (at you side) to find out what
your actual 'line' is. You will find that your gut reaction to
what you've just been given will inform the way you come out with
your next line. Don't worry about losing eye-contact - if you've
really taken on board what you've just been given, the emotional
memory of it will stay with you whilst you flick your eyes to
your script.
It is also important not to fill the moment in which you are looking
for your next line with a pause-word like "Well" or
"Er". It is possible that one of these words actually
starts you next line; but if it isn't that "pause-word"
can unconsciously stick, and you start subtly deviating from the
playwright's intentions for your character.
8) THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!: Occasionally, a line just doesn't
seem to make any emotional and/or logical sense. This is the only
circumstance in which you should try just saying the line (almost
in neutral) to see what happens. The combination of trying this
and the other character(s) reactions can often solve the problem.
9) THE DIALOGUE: This is - largely - sacrosanct, and subject to
the final decision of writer or adapter. A good writer has provided
a carefully crafted text appropriate to his/her drama. It is each
actor's job to bring those words alive, not to argue about whether
they are right or wrong. [See "NEW PLAYS" below.]
10) LONG SPEECHES: Don't think that a long speech is your opportunity
to speed things up - or to be rushed through so as not waste other
peoples' time! Long speeches need to be communicated with as much
care and thought as single lines - thought by thought. Very few
characters, starting out on a long speech, intend to go on at
such length - it is usually the case that they start with one
idea which leads on to another, to another and so on. Just because
the other actors aren't saying anything for a while, it doesn't
mean that they should stop reacting.
This is especially true of telephone calls when the audience can't
hear the voice at the other end. If you really hear (in your 'mind's
ear') all what is being said to your character in the gaps marked
in the script, then the audience will be not become bored when
you are not speaking.
However, when your character is writing a letter, and saying the
words out loud, you need to write faster than you can in real
life. This is because we think faster than we can speak, and much
faster than we can write - unless you can do shorthand.
11) JOURNEY: Every character has
a journey - not just through the whole drama, but through each
section and often through each speech. It is a common fault for
actors to anticipate the end of a section at the beginning - you
should take each sentence (even phrase) at a time and find the
"journey" to the conclusion.
12) STAGE DIRECTIONS: Read stage
directions but do not take them as 'the gospel', but as possible
pointers. Some stage directions come from how the play was done
originally - your production will be different - maybe only subtly,
but because it's a different group of actors, it inevitably will
not turn out in the same way. The published stage directions are
often the result of the conclusions reached by the original cast
within their circumstances. Your cast and "circumstances"
are new - and therefore different "stage directions"
will occur. There is no one definitive way to play any part.
13) "PAUSE" & "SILENCE":
These are the worst of all stage directions - particularly the
former. 'Find' these moments; don't feel you have to 'impose'
them from square one.
14) DOTS & DASHES: I have
not yet come across a playwright who uses "..." or "-"
consistently. It seems that both can mean either the speaker ending
up in mid air or being interrupted. Consider carefully and look
at the possibility of trying both ways.
15) ITALICISED TEXT: Do you damnedest
to ignore this unsubtle stage direction. You may end up stressing
this particular word, but if you start out by doing so because
the italicisation makes you, you will find it harder to come to
terms with the whole line. The same applies to, the even more
unsubtle, underlined text.
16) SCRIPTED HESITATION- OR PAUSE-SOUNDS,
LIKE "Er", "Um", "Tch", etc.: Find
these sounds naturally as you discover the truth of your character.
A good playwright will have found the right "hesitation-
or pause-sound" for each character and circumstance. The
more usual "Um" and "Er" are comparatively
easy, but take care with exactly what is written. Words like "Tch"
and "Argh" are more difficult on the tongue, teeth and
lips. If you find them difficult, early in rehearsal, try an approximation
and practise the scripted sound separately. Gradually, your approximation
will meld with that scripted sound.
17) APPARENTLY UNSAYABLE WORDS:
Don't let these interrupt your flow. Again "approximate"
their sounds and work on them separately.
18) UNDERLINING/HIGHLIGHTING:
It is so much easier to "react" with the appropriate
line if your own lines are clear to you on the page, i.e. you
should underline or highlight clearly the words you have to say.
Don't include the stage directions in your underlining/highlighting!
Some playwrights are/were fond of writing too many of the bloody
things and it can be very difficult to sort out your spoken words
from the playwright's idea of how you should say them.
19) ABBREVIATED WORDS: It's is
the playwright's job to abbreviate words appropriately to each
character; it is the actor's job the respect the degree of abbreviation
inherent in the script. Too many actors think that a sloppy speaking
character can abbreviate even further - which can be to the detriment
of communication. For instance, "It is like...", "It's
like...", "S'like..." and "Like..." represent
different degrees of "sloppiness" - it is important
to adhere accurately to the playwright's intentions.
20) WRITING DOWN NOTES: It's terribly
easy to presume that you'll remember a note (either from the director
or one for yourself). It happens all too often that some "notes"
disappear from your mind as rehearsals progress. Give yourself
time to write as much down as you can. Don't try to write an essay,
even a brief explanation mark (or cross, or whatever) next to
a word or phrase can reawaken the memory of the full "note"
when later studying the script.
21) LEARNING LINES: Aim to absorb
your lines through the rehearsal process rather than consciously
learning them in private. You will find the truth of your character
much more easily. Outside rehearsal study the text and absorb
your character. Don't try to cram his/her lines into just your
memory - your soul needs to feel them first. It is my experience
that in a properly conducted rehearsal process, actors don't need
actively to concentrate on learning lines; they simply absorb
them as they get under the skins of their respective characters.
Also, when an actor consistently dries at the same point, it is
because the truth of that particular moment is not being fully
realised and needs reassessing.
22) NEW PLAYS: In any play there
can be things that don't make sense/seem right on the page. (See
THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! above.) There is a terrible temptation
with a new play to immediately ask for a re-write when this occurs.
Play writing is like acting: some intelligence combined with a
lot of gut instinct. Try before you argue - and let the playwright
take the final decision.
23) THE DIRECTOR: The director
is not always right. He/she may have more experience than you,
but he/she doesn't (and cannot) have the depth of interior knowledge
of your character that you should aspire to. Always find the courage
and openness to try out positively something 'directed'. If you
find that that 'direction' really cannot work within your inner
understanding of your character, try to discussing the problem
objectively and rationally.
24) TAKE YOUR TIME!: There is
absolutely no point in charging at a script and attempting to
'perform' from square one. A character is gradually created through
absorption, which is a slow process - a bit like eating a sumptuous
meal. If you take your time and savour the food you'll feel much
better than if you bolt it down quickly. Similarly, lines chewed
over carefully will (a) go in more easily and (b) contribute far
more to your fuller immersion inside the character. In fact, I
believe that a playwright's words and phrases should be treated
like good food and 'savoured' accordingly.
25) TIME OUT OF REHEARSALS: Rehearsing should not stop when you are not in the rehearsal room! You should carry your character around with you in the breaks through the rehearsal period - not like a lead weight, but like a domestic cat; dependant, but not dominant on every moment of your private time. It is amazing what insights can occur when focusing on something completely different. I reckon that 75% of an actor's work is done outside the rehearsal room.
Simon Dunmore
25th August 1999