New cast VS Old Cast?

Question

I am directing a stage play. Been reheasing for 3 wks now. Show is in 1 1/2 months. I am really adament about them learning their lines in their spare time so when they are "off book" - it won't be so hard to get into character. Everything is going well, but we are having some issues with the new cast catching up with the return actors from last season. With so little time during the week to practice (2 hrs M & Th, 4 hrs Sat) I think in some aspect, the inexperience new cast members are still insecure & intimidated by the grandness of it all. Then we have the age old issue of lead actress and understudy not liking the other one being there, but there's nothing I can do about that. We are going to try a mentoring/buddy program (old with new) to see if that will help them get up to speed, but I really don't have time to babysit anyone. I don't think this is a concern if you are working with a professional - Is it? Any suggestions?

Answer 1

you are absolutely right...you should not have to babysit...but inevitably you end up doing it, as a director. but you have to learn how make them listen to you AND follow instructions, even though they don't want to...which is a lot harder than it sounds. i learned this technique from teaching children theatre for 10 years. firstly, if you're running out of time, start intigrading the things you talked about above into a pre rehersal speech. this #1 let's you immediately set dominance...you are the director/teacher/parent/god, and they have to respect that or they won't listen as a group. #2 it gets everyone on the same page and focused. keep the speech up beat and progressive. establish a positive mood and an eager attitude to start rehersing, you're cast will follow. next thing i would do, and this worked EXTREMELY WELL with ages 5-50!!!!, is a group warm-up. i like to lead them because i'm doing the same things in the warm up i would do in the speech. keep it upbeat, positive, but maintaining control over what they're doing. you're telling them a SPECIFIC way to warm themselves up so they have to listen to you and follow your direction in order to know what they're warming up/doing next (see where we're going with this - establish control without them ever knowing it). keep the warm up under 15  min, going from the tip of the head to the toes, adding your own quircky and fun ways to do this (if you want a detailed warm-up...i got that too. not to brag but i worked on it for like 5 years so it's pretty good and universal for ages just email me!). so at this point you should be about 20-25 min into rehersal but you've established goals, re-established your control, focused them as a group, and energized their bodies so they should be ready to go! it's up to maintain everything you established at the beginning so the rest of the rehersal goes smoothly.

more tips: 1)block your scene before rehersal. even if you end up changing the blocking with the actors on their feet it okay...might be even better. you want your actors to believe in you/have faith, and them seeing  you trying to "figure it out" as you go does not inspire them no  matter how organic and original you think you are. it's apart of the focus thing. 2)don't call actors if you don't need them. idle actors are you're worst enemy. they loose focus, cause the people trying to work to loose focus, and then you have to stop what you're doing (loose focus, anyone?) to refocus but then the one s you're working with are left alone....do you see? don't call them. or, if you're doing scenes and know that you will need them eventually, put them to task. have them make something (props, costumes, even sketching ideas) or getting the cast shirts organized or something...hey, lines are a great idea...learn the lines. 3)be encouraging!!! especially when you give a note. even if they don't even remotely take your note, be positive that they did something. if they're not working with you, schedule time away from the others so they won't feel intimidated. 4)if you're having trouble with specific actors, TALK TO THEM. don't let them be petty cause they will. if the lead and the understudy don't like each other and they're verbal about it and everybody knows it, that means they're spreading bad juice on everyone. they need a sit down and talk. sometimes they just need to clear the air and it resolves itself very quickly. 5)if worse comes to worse, be an a*****e. the bottom line is NO ONE WANTS TO LOOK LIKE c**p ON STAGE. no matter how unskilled, lazy, mean, young, inexperienced....no one wants to look stupid and have their friends and family laugh at them. tell them this. sometimes actors get so self involved they forget their only real job, along with your as well, is to tell a story. and if one of them fails, the whole thing can fail. every single cast i've worked with i've had a tough love talk at some point. usually it's the last few days of rehersal where everyone is so tired and they really start slacking. remind them that they have to do this in front of people and they get it. it's your job to motivate, but that can only happen when they motivate themselves.

omg!! i have so much to talk about. i'm an actor but about seven years ago i started directing, starting with kids. and i love it. i'm a control freak so it totally appeals to me. plus i have leadership qualities so it totally fulfills me. i LOVE theatre and telling stories and making audiences listen and make actors do what i want them to...it's great! if you want to discuss more in depth, i'm very okay with it...it's a great skill to have. it makes you approach everything, even outside of theatre, differently and respectfully. good luck and keep breathing!