Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Length of Practice

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edh915
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Posted: 11/17/10 at 1:07pm

I prefer 7 weeks, but 6 weeks is acceptable.
We rehearse two hours a day, four days a week.

Most Important: We start on time and finish on time.

I have no patience with directors who require their cast to be "on time", then spend 45 minutes dealing with lighting, sound, or set people. Rehearsals are for the actors. As a director I deal with the rest of the crew away from (usually before or after) the actors' rehearsals.

I think it's important for my actors to know that whatever plans they make, whatever steps they take to fit the play into their lives, working around the rehearsal schedule I've given them, will not be tampered with. It's a matter of respect. I show them up front that I respect them and their contribution to our show, and (fortunately, so far) the respect is always reciprocated.

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Theatermama
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Posted: 11/17/10 at 3:16pm

I do 8 weeks of rehearsal on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday (Due to my work schedule) until Tech Week from 6-9 but usually we try to be done by 8 if I use children. For my musical last year we had dance rehearsal on Sunday and at 7 on Tuesday for the first several weeks until all songs were taught and then just on Sunday for review with choreographer.

I am very conscious of my actors time, I work scenes out of order for blocking so that only the lead usually has to be there every rehearsal. We work around conflicts and I am very flexible. The first 4 weeks we block and work each scene twice. About 3 weeks before Tech we begin run throughs and what we are doing this time that is new is I had them audio tape a read through with space for movement that we had blocked then we are rehearsing without scripts and with the audio files for the first 2 rehearsals of the runthroughs to get the movement, entrances and exits etc. in order in their muscle and mind memory and lets them focus on the acting and not the words. Then they are to be off book by the 3rd rehearsal with someone on the prompt book - word so far is they like it. It was a suggestion given to me by my son who is majoring in theater at a state university so I thought I would try it. He had a director that used it all throughout the rehearsal process and he felt it really helped so suggested I might like to try it. I will use it again and maybe earlier in the process next time, it took me a while to figure out how to do it. Thanks to my stage manager's access to the technology needed it worked easily. We only get to tech 3 days before opening and those are longer rehearsals but I still try to be done in 4 hours if I can.

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Theatermama
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Posted: 11/17/10 at 3:23pm

I should note though this summer we did Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged that ran for the last 2 weekends of the month and we didn't start rehearsal until the beginning of the 2nd week of same month and they rehearsed for 1 1/2 weeks for 6 hours a day Monday - Friday and then Monday through Thursday (including tech Wed/Thursday day) and we worked for several more hours a day on producing and tech duties and then teched for 2 days and opened that last tech Thursday night. That is much more like summer stock but it is possible. It helped that 2/3 of the cast had done the first act a couple of years before and the third actor had been a grip for the entire show so all were familiar.

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lparks
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Posted: 11/18/10 at 7:27am

Our production of Narnia the Musical is rehearsing 20 days (6 weeks with holiday breaks) - average of 3 hour days with 5 days at 8 hours. 20 days does not include Tech week, which begins Sunday prior to opening Friday performance.

Our production of Boxcar Children and Miracle Worker will both have 3 weeks, 20 hour a week rehearsals schedules, usually Sunday - Thursday.

Landon Parks,
Producing Artistic Director,
Bloomington Repertory Theatre Co

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MartyW
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Posted: 11/18/10 at 7:32am

The wide variety of options here just goes to prove one of my favorite green room sayings... "All community theaters are not created equal".. Bottom line is, we all have to do what works with our folks and community....

Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."

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FFootlighters
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Posted: 11/18/10 at 9:29am

I learned the following as a rule of thumb.

1 minute of stage time = 1 hour of rehearsal.

Therefore a 90 minute play = 90 hours of rehearsal.

Break that down to 3 hours a night at 5 nights a week = 6 weeks.

This, imo, is where the standard of 6 weeks and 8 weeks comes into play. For a production with volunteer actors that can only rehearse at night, three hours is about right. I also start the rehearsal with warm-ups, acting exercises, etc. then spend 2 hours working the show with the final half hour to fifteen minutes for notes, questions and general housekeeping. For a musical, the extra 30 hours is for dedicated dance and vocal rehearsals.

For me, the cast size also changes that formula. For a small cast, I can get more done in less time. For a large cast or a farce that has intricate blocking and timing, I might need more. I can easily do a 2-hour show with 5-6 actors in 6 weeks of rehearsal and feel that we're ready on opening night. For a larger cast, I don't count tech week into the 6-week process as I'm changing my focus from the actors to all the technical aspects that are being added. This gives the actors another 8-10 hours to solidify the show.

Just FYI - I also learned another rule of thumb early in my career.

1 minute of stage-combat = 1 hour of rehearsal.

Again, if I've got a large bit of sword-fighting, such as "I Hate Hamlet" or a large knife fight, such as "West Side Story", I'll pad the rehearsal accordingly. In fact, I think we rehearsed West Side for 10 weeks. Unheard of, I know, but it was mostly with high school students who could afford the time. Anecdotally, I had a patron ask me where the road company would next be performing after he saw that production and was shocked when I told him they were high school students.

Cheers

Fairfield Footlighters
Fairfield, OH
http://www.fairfield-footlighters.org

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MartyW
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Posted: 11/18/10 at 1:02pm

FFootlighters, I know your Group. This is Marty Williams, (late of the OCTA board). Do I know you?

Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."

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Other Topics
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Other Topics

Author	Message
edh915 Celebrity Joined: 11/19/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 11/17/10 at 1:07pm
	I prefer 7 weeks, but 6 weeks is acceptable. We rehearse two hours a day, four days a week. Most Important: We start on time and finish on time. I have no patience with directors who require their cast to be "on time", then spend 45 minutes dealing with lighting, sound, or set people. Rehearsals are for the actors. As a director I deal with the rest of the crew away from (usually before or after) the actors' rehearsals. I think it's important for my actors to know that whatever plans they make, whatever steps they take to fit the play into their lives, working around the rehearsal schedule I've given them, will not be tampered with. It's a matter of respect. I show them up front that I respect them and their contribution to our show, and (fortunately, so far) the respect is always reciprocated.
	IP Logged

Theatermama Star Joined: 7/23/10 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 60	Posted: 11/17/10 at 3:16pm
	I do 8 weeks of rehearsal on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday (Due to my work schedule) until Tech Week from 6-9 but usually we try to be done by 8 if I use children. For my musical last year we had dance rehearsal on Sunday and at 7 on Tuesday for the first several weeks until all songs were taught and then just on Sunday for review with choreographer. I am very conscious of my actors time, I work scenes out of order for blocking so that only the lead usually has to be there every rehearsal. We work around conflicts and I am very flexible. The first 4 weeks we block and work each scene twice. About 3 weeks before Tech we begin run throughs and what we are doing this time that is new is I had them audio tape a read through with space for movement that we had blocked then we are rehearsing without scripts and with the audio files for the first 2 rehearsals of the runthroughs to get the movement, entrances and exits etc. in order in their muscle and mind memory and lets them focus on the acting and not the words. Then they are to be off book by the 3rd rehearsal with someone on the prompt book - word so far is they like it. It was a suggestion given to me by my son who is majoring in theater at a state university so I thought I would try it. He had a director that used it all throughout the rehearsal process and he felt it really helped so suggested I might like to try it. I will use it again and maybe earlier in the process next time, it took me a while to figure out how to do it. Thanks to my stage manager's access to the technology needed it worked easily. We only get to tech 3 days before opening and those are longer rehearsals but I still try to be done in 4 hours if I can.
	IP Logged

Theatermama Star Joined: 7/23/10 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 60	Posted: 11/17/10 at 3:23pm
	I should note though this summer we did Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged that ran for the last 2 weekends of the month and we didn't start rehearsal until the beginning of the 2nd week of same month and they rehearsed for 1 1/2 weeks for 6 hours a day Monday - Friday and then Monday through Thursday (including tech Wed/Thursday day) and we worked for several more hours a day on producing and tech duties and then teched for 2 days and opened that last tech Thursday night. That is much more like summer stock but it is possible. It helped that 2/3 of the cast had done the first act a couple of years before and the third actor had been a grip for the entire show so all were familiar.
	IP Logged

lparks Star Joined: 1/12/10 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 58	Posted: 11/18/10 at 7:27am
	Our production of Narnia the Musical is rehearsing 20 days (6 weeks with holiday breaks) - average of 3 hour days with 5 days at 8 hours. 20 days does not include Tech week, which begins Sunday prior to opening Friday performance. Our production of Boxcar Children and Miracle Worker will both have 3 weeks, 20 hour a week rehearsals schedules, usually Sunday - Thursday.
	Landon Parks, Producing Artistic Director, Bloomington Repertory Theatre Co
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MartyW Celebrity Joined: 2/02/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 555	Posted: 11/18/10 at 7:32am
	The wide variety of options here just goes to prove one of my favorite green room sayings... "All community theaters are not created equal".. Bottom line is, we all have to do what works with our folks and community....
	Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.."
	IP Logged

FFootlighters Player Joined: 7/13/10 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Posted: 11/18/10 at 9:29am
	I learned the following as a rule of thumb. 1 minute of stage time = 1 hour of rehearsal. Therefore a 90 minute play = 90 hours of rehearsal. Break that down to 3 hours a night at 5 nights a week = 6 weeks. This, imo, is where the standard of 6 weeks and 8 weeks comes into play. For a production with volunteer actors that can only rehearse at night, three hours is about right. I also start the rehearsal with warm-ups, acting exercises, etc. then spend 2 hours working the show with the final half hour to fifteen minutes for notes, questions and general housekeeping. For a musical, the extra 30 hours is for dedicated dance and vocal rehearsals. For me, the cast size also changes that formula. For a small cast, I can get more done in less time. For a large cast or a farce that has intricate blocking and timing, I might need more. I can easily do a 2-hour show with 5-6 actors in 6 weeks of rehearsal and feel that we're ready on opening night. For a larger cast, I don't count tech week into the 6-week process as I'm changing my focus from the actors to all the technical aspects that are being added. This gives the actors another 8-10 hours to solidify the show. Just FYI - I also learned another rule of thumb early in my career. 1 minute of stage-combat = 1 hour of rehearsal. Again, if I've got a large bit of sword-fighting, such as "I Hate Hamlet" or a large knife fight, such as "West Side Story", I'll pad the rehearsal accordingly. In fact, I think we rehearsed West Side for 10 weeks. Unheard of, I know, but it was mostly with high school students who could afford the time. Anecdotally, I had a patron ask me where the road company would next be performing after he saw that production and was shocked when I told him they were high school students. Cheers
	Fairfield Footlighters Fairfield, OH http://www.fairfield-footlighters.org
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MartyW Celebrity Joined: 2/02/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 555	Posted: 11/18/10 at 1:02pm
	FFootlighters, I know your Group. This is Marty Williams, (late of the OCTA board). Do I know you?
	Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.."
	IP Logged

Topic: Length of Practice( Topic Closed)
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