Since I was arguing with you about directors and I am such a big Mamet fan I thought I would share his view on directors.

“Take away the director from the staged play and what do you get? Usually a diminution of strife, a shorter rehearsal period and a better production.”

I thought you would enjoy that.

Bill Aitken

My apologies. I didn’t mean to call you unprofessional. I think the act of rehearsing in the manner in which you propose is unprofessed but you and I will just have to agree to disagree on that.

Bill

There are simply no blanket statements about the nature of something as all encompassing, artistic, and actor centered as live theatre. There are no universals, and that is what my experiences have taught me. True, time tested, labor intensive experience, which includes studies of the craft in college, ten years acting and directing experience, and my supplemental professional experiences. I would thank you to not suggest that my background, myself, the advice I give, my colleagues, and the companies in which I choose to do my work are in some way unprofessional, or not up to some universal theatre standard which does not exist, simply because they happen to work in ways that are different from your own.

Differences in approach I will accept. Accusations of not being professional or serious about what I do, I do not accept.

Rehearsing without the director , the stage manager or someone authorized by the director is unprofessional and amateurish. In any of the professional theaters I have worked in DC, and most of the community theaters also, it most likely would get you fired.

And why would you want to rehearse without the director? The actors cant see what they are doing, cant see the interaction and if it can be changed later by the director why waste your time doing it? Just do it in the rehearsal to begin with.

The role of the actor is to serve two things. The text and the director. That’s it. If an actor doesn’t want to do that they should either become a writer or a director.

As to the directors opinion or word being “sacrosanct” that’s not the point. The actor has a job to do, to act, and the director has a job to do, to direct. The actors shouldn’t be directing each other, another thing that will get you fired, and the director shouldn’t be giving the actor line readings or getting up and ‘showing” the actor what they want.

You should have plenty of rehearsal time over the normal five to six rehearsals a week over a four week rehearsal schedule to get ready to do a run of 16-32 performances. If your not you should approach the director or the stage manager and ask for more rehearsals but to go off and rehearse without them is unprofessional.

Bill

Theatre is a living, predominantly actor’s medium. It requires a focus and direction, of course, but bestowing some kind of magic upon the presence of a director or stage manager, and making their observation of all proceedings sacrosanct, (making individual effort a sacrilege) does not at all serve theatre well.

Thank you for your comments, and for reading the column.

Running lines is one thing. Hanging out and discussing the show is one thing. Getting together and rehearsing without the director or stage manager present is way out of line. I hope you were only talking about the first two and not the last.

Bill