You Got the Part! Now What? A Guide to Navigating Rehearsals

You’ve made it. You’ve done the audition and sweated out the agonizing post-audition wait, second-guessing yourself and running the audition over and over again in your head. Your heart rate stepped up a notch every time you heard your phone ring or a message bleep until the one you were waiting for finally came in. You heard the coveted words, “We would like to offer you the part of….” The relief. That sweet, sweet relief. Not to mention the overwhelming rush of excitement that came with it. Now, let rehearsals commence.

The Initial Excitement

If you are anything like me, as soon as you got the part, you would have re-watched Aladdin, Peter Pan, Robin Hood (Very possibly Men in Tights), Treasure Island (Especially the Muppet version), or re-read Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel. For research and inspiration of course, and not at all the guilty pleasure. Now here you are at the first rehearsal with one of our scripts in front of you.

The First Rehearsal: Table Read

The first rehearsal is normally a table read of the script with the whole cast coming together for the first time. If this is unpaid, then you might already know the people who are sat around the table. If it’s paid, then it’s more likely that you will be meeting everyone for the first time. Either way, this is a fun and exciting rehearsal where you will get to meet new people and hear their interpretations of the characters. And one thing that is guaranteed at a pantomime table read is a lot of laughs. Enjoy.

Blocking: Setting the Stage

Next, it’s onto the blocking. For the uninitiated, blocking is basically setting every single movement, action, entrance, and exit throughout the show. Rehearsal schedules in both the paid and non-paid sectors of the industry, while similar, also have their big differences too.

In the non-paid sector, rehearsals are likely to run for something like four to five months, with the cast meeting several times a week to rehearse for a few hours. These rehearsals will become more frequent, normally by adding a third weekly rehearsal day to the schedule as the run of the show approaches.

In the paid sector, the rehearsal period will only be a few weeks. You will rehearse solidly for this time, starting your days on stage normally around ten in the morning and finishing at six in the evening or even later the closer you get to opening night. It’s not unheard of to be in the theatre for ten hours or even longer on the odd day during dress rehearsals.

Pro Tip: Learn Your Lines Early

My advice to anyone going into a rehearsal period for any show, whether it be a pantomime or not, paid or unpaid, is to know all your lines before rehearsals start. I cannot stress how much easier this will make your time in the rehearsal period. Get those lines in your head before your mental sponge becomes full with remembering other stuff like movement, props, songs, dance routines, off-stage requirements, costume issues, technical cues, and scene changes if you need to do any.

The Fun and Fumbles: False Corpsing

I’m going to let you into an industry secret now. Sometimes, during rehearsals, things can happen by accident which will make everyone laugh. If it’s really funny, then that mistake might well be written into the show as what is called a false corpse. Corpsing is when performers break character whilst in a scene. This can either be by forgetting their lines or laughing. It’s called corpsing because the scene is being murdered. If the false corpse is performed well, then the audience will think it’s a genuine mistake, but it’s actually a controlled and scripted part of the show. Sometimes, due to the very nature of live theatre, real mistakes will happen on stage during a performance which will make the actors laugh. Do you think you could tell the difference between a false corpse and a real one?

Intensifying Rehearsals

As rehearsals progress, they will become more intense. Props will be added, parts of costumes, and some lighting and stage effects if they need to have been gotten used to by the time opening night comes around. In pantomime, nine times out of ten, a sword fight will come into play. These will not only have movements that need to be memorized, but also lines could be said during the fight sequence. They are also timed to music. If you are involved, you will have to move around, perform an action, speak, and listen for musical cues at the same time. A skill that can take some time to master. Above all that, safety must be taken into consideration for yourself, the opposing performer, any other actors on stage, and, depending on the size and design of the venue, the safety of the audience too.

This applies to both the professional and non-professional side of the industry. Sometimes this point of rehearsals can be more of a challenge for non-professionals than professionals. This is because non-professionals will have much bigger gaps between rehearsal sessions, enabling other aspects of their lives to vie for their attention. My advice at this point is to stick with it. It’s becoming tougher, but all mountains become tougher to climb, the closer you get to the pinnacle.

The Dress Rehearsal

The dress rehearsal. Some early nerves might have started to kick in at this point, and stress levels can be very high amongst everyone. Take a breath and only worry about what you need to do and can control. A director once said to me, “Just think of what your first line is, or your first action, and then the rest will come.” I have stuck by that advice ever since. The chances are the dress rehearsal will be the first time that everything has come together, and you will notice massive differences.

Your costume will feel different from the clothes you have been rehearsing in. It may be more restrictive or more loose. Either way, it will affect the way you move, especially if you’re the Dame with the huge dresses, or a skin costume character, which will have an incredibly bad field of vision. When you start the rehearsal, the stage will be dark when you are used to it being light. There will be stage crew or big pieces of set where there were none before. When you’re under the stage lights, you’ll notice the heat that they give off. Also, depending on the height of the stage lights, you might not even be able to see where the audience will be and instead will find yourself staring out into what actors call the void.

One surprise that you might encounter is that you might very well have a little bit of an audience. This little audience will consist of the costume staff watching how the costumes look, any venue volunteers, and quite possibly a photographer. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn what the audience will find funny and how much they will laugh. It will also lift your nerves, make you more relaxed, and enjoy it. You are here because you enjoy it, after all.

Post-Dress Rehearsal: Relax and Recharge

After the dress rehearsal, your energy levels will be high. You’ll somehow be both exhausted and bouncing off the walls at the same time. Take a few minutes and relax. Shortly after, there will be a notes session held by the director. These don’t last long and are usually just little last-minute corrections and adjustments, but make a note of them.

The Big Day: Opening Night

That’s it. You’ve done it. The rehearsal period is over. All that’s left to do now is go home, relax, and have a good night’s sleep. Recharge and get your energy back. You’re going to need it because tomorrow…

…is the opening night.

Break a leg!