The Art and Practice of Directing for Theatre

Chapter 8Scheduling Rehearsals

One of the biggest keys to scheduling individual rehearsals is to avoid wasting time—your own and that of your cast, crew, and production staff. It seems like a pretty simple premise, but you would be surprised at how often that admonition is ignored. Well, if you’ve been in many rehearsals yourself, you might not be surprised at all. A common phrase in theatre that we’ve all heard (usually around our freshman year after walking into a rehearsal as the minute hand is clicking onto the hour, and delivered by the stage manager in an icy tone) is: “On time is late; early is on time.” We demand that our actors be mindful and courteous of the company’s time, so it stands to reason that, as directors, we should do the ...