Hey there. I just wanted peoples thoughts on the type of rehearsals people prefer. One play I was part of the director made us come through the doors as the character we were playing and not come out of role until our slot was finished or we walked back out the door to head home. This I personally felt was much more of a challenge, you had to think about everything, how they would react in certain situations, their reply to questions you hadn't considered, things that made them tick etc. In the current musical I am apart of it's not like this at all, we are only our characters when we run a scene, the majority of the time when we are going over musical numbers just to get the harmonies, many are very much themselves. They do not stand, sing or give any indication of their characters bar me - Maybe it's just because I love playing an old woman ;D Anyone's thoughts would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks Aaron
Acting : Rehearsals. by Aaron Belcher
Rehearsals.
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Aaron, I think both methods are incredibly valuable. The way rehearsals are conducted and what they consist of are both dependent on the nature of the piece. For instance, I am part of a company that found its roots in a Romeo and Juliet performance project, and from day one, we've conducted rehearsals through a series of improv work and personal stories; it was from those activities that the work was born. A very organic and humbling way to rehearse ; ) I love intimate rehearsals because then you can really tell what makes the other person/people tick - the work functions as both a mirror and window into two worlds. Just out of curiosity, what's the musical you're working on? Do you find the type of rehearsal helpful? ~Laura
Good question and I wish you success in your roles. I always left it up to the individual actor. Some can turn on and off and other have demanded they be call by their character's name. I’ve worked with Rod Steiger who had the ability to turn it off and on while Jim Carrey had specific instructions to be addressed only by the character's name during a particular shoot. Sometimes giving the actors something the character would use in real life but not necessarily be seen like a coin or a set of keys in their pocket would help them get into and stay in the character. What works best for you? If you feel you need to be in character all the time ask the cast to oblige you, most will as long as you don't freak them out too much.
I agree that both are just as valuable as each other. Though, for a musical, especially when going over the musical numbers I feel maybe it's best to always run them how you would perform it to maintain that stamina? I don't know. That sounds incredibly brilliant and must feel/felt extremely rewarding too. I would love to try and incorporate that sort of thing with the company I am apart of. Especially the personal stories. I suppose with those also, they allow the group/company to get to know one another in much more depth and be able to, if needed, bond? I am working on a "National Theatre Connections Play" called "Alice By Heart" by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik. As many of us, myself included, play more than one role being able to, as Mike said, switch in and out of role seems to be very useful. We have a casts of about 22, ranging from 14/15 to 19/20. Thank you Mike. I wouldn't have suspected any less from good ol' Kim Carrey. I suppose in order to get the best performance out of an actor would be to allow them to maintain their preferred approach to a character. I find that almost becoming the character completely, so knowing how it would react in situations, like you said, that may not necessarily be in the film/play/performance itself is a great way to be confident in the role you have been given. Especially with live performances, if something doesn't always go the way it was planned, and you haven't prepared for it, having explored your character in such depth could allow you to overcome those issues that, lets face it, do happen without breaking role. I think maintaining role during the musical numbers is probably the furthest I need to go, I've noticed it's encouraging some of the less confident ones to play around with this much more and not shy away from being their characters when they should be playing them, because they will have to sing as them at some point.