Time Part VI Rehearsal Time

Rehearsal Time. When did the standard time for rehearsal in America become three and a half weeks? Money concerns have made us focus on creating better production in less time without any giant leap in skills to create the delicate ephemera that is Theatre. In Europe, where most Theatre is subsidized by the government, rehearsals on average last seven weeks and can sometimes stretch to six months or even years. That's not feasible here, but we should have as much time as we need to produce something.


The balance needs to be struck between Time to develop a script, a role, a design, and a show; and the Exquiste Pressure that Anne Bogart speaks of. Actors want as much time as they need and no more. Designers want as much time as they need and no more. Lord knows Technical Directors and their crew want as much time as they need. But, probably some more.

The old saying goes: " You can have Quick, Cheap, or Good. You can have any two but you can't have all three." Then let's propose taking quick out of the mix. Give them the time to build, take the time to rehearse. If designers are with you at rehearsals and you are in the space, then tech doesn't become a week, it becomes part of the process.