Pre-Rehearsal Process and Meetings

[thehoneymooners]

We are taking a course in stage management at the University of Windsor. One of our assignments right now is to interview stage managers on a certain topic that interests us in stage management. One of the things that interests us is the pre rehearsal process. Who do you have to meet with before the first rehearsal? What do you talk about when you have your first meeting with the director? What are important things to establish right from the beginning? Any comments and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Celeste]

Who are "we"? You?

I primarily do musical theatre stage management. I meet with the producer, the director, the musical director and the choreographer prior to the first rehearsal, primarily for scheduling purposes. I usually meet with the director several times prior to first rehearsal, to discuss working style and to acclimate him/her to the company procedures. It's not unusual to have a production meeting prior to auditions as well, so that the artistic staff are on the same page with respect to casting prior to auditions.

 

[kiwitechgirl]

I meet with the director - usually more than once - and the set designer; sometimes I'll meet with Props but it depends on the show. We almost always have a production meeting prior to rehearsals beginning, where most issues are talked through. I work for one company, and most of the directors I work with have worked with the company before, so I don't have to worry about them getting used to company procedures.

When I meet with the director it's primarily about how they want rehearsals to run, anything particular that they want or need in the rehearsal room, and how they see the show working. Basically I just need to be on the same page as they are. On a musical I'll usually have e-mail conversations with the musical director regarding rehearsal needs (our piano situation is a complicated one!) and whether he needs anything from me. Meeting with the set designer is purely so I can get my head around the set, how it works and how any moving parts are moved, so that I can do an accurate markup; it also serves so that I can make sure the director understands how the set can and can't be used. I also have a constant dialogue with the production manager during my prep time, talking through all sorts of things with him and alerting him to any possible issues which come up - this is not so much meetings as me wandering into his office for a chat! Sometimes I meet with Wardrobe - I'm currently preparing to go into rehearsals for Anything Goes and so I've been in touch with the cast regarding who has their own tap shoes and who doesn't, so there's been a lot of talking to Wardrobe about shoes.