The Art and Practice of Directing for Theatre

Chapter 9Table Work and Blocking

I was once in a production of Thornton Wilder’s classic, Our Town. For a solid week, we sat around a table at each rehearsal and had detailed discussions about character biographies, desires, motivations, and life-choices. By the time we got on our feet and actually began the process of rehearsing the show, almost the entire cast were so tied up in trying to incorporate everything that had been discussed, we were unable to play, experiment, grow, and develop truly three-dimensional characters onstage. I was also once in a production of Richard II where we began blocking the show during the second rehearsal … and completed the blocking three nights before opening. The resulting performances were sloppy and confused, ...