Open Forum

  • 1.  rehearsal time

    Posted 02-01-2016 21:55

    Hello, I am in charge of scheduling our auditorium. We do three high school theatre productions (a play, musical, and a spring play or musical) and I am curious what the typical amount of time needed for rehearsals is. 8 weeks seems to be the standard. How many weeks do you spend on your productions? 

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    Colleen Lentz
    Speech and Drama Teacher/Director
    Cudahy WI
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  • 2.  RE: rehearsal time

    Posted 02-02-2016 05:39

    Colleen,

    Most people put up a musical in about 8-10 weeks, rehearsing 3-4 days a week.  The woman I direct with takes about 5 months, but she starts in November, and only has a few scattered rehearsals in November and December, with major work starting in January (we open in early March).

    Non-musicals take about 6-8 weeks, depending on the type of show and how often you rehearse.  At our school we rehearse three days a week, for 2.5-3 hours at a time.

    My contest show (45 minutes) is about a 5-6 week process, but I am overlapping with our fall show.  We take a hiatus during that show's tech week.

    Ray

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    Raymond Palasz
    English/Theatre Faculty; Thespian Troupe Director
    Lake Central High School
    Schererville IN

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  • 3.  RE: rehearsal time

    Posted 02-02-2016 08:26
    One Acts - 4-6 weeks
    Plays (with minimal set/tech issues) - 6-8 weeks.
    Musicals (with a cast of over 80) - 8-12 weeks.

    Josh Ruben, M. Ed.
    Fine Arts Head
    Northwest Whitfield HS
    1651 Tunnel Hill/Varnel Road
    Tunnel Hill, GA 30755
    706.516.2200 (ph)
    706.673.7098 (fax)

    "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood …. 
    Make big plans; aim high in hope and work." 
    - Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912)




    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: rehearsal time

    Posted 02-02-2016 08:30

    Our rehearsals go for 8-9 weeks for our musical and 7-8 weeks for our spring play. We rehearse 4 days a week, under 2 hours on three of those days, and four hours on one day. We also stop and start because of various school breaks. Never enough time, but we somehow manage to pull it off...

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    Jennifer Jordan
    Drama and Dance Director
    Miss Hall's School
    Pittsfield MA

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: rehearsal time

    Posted 02-02-2016 09:13

    I don't get the auditorium until hell week. If the stage is empty I can claim it but I'm not allowed to book it for the entire process. All the other rehearsals happen in my classroom.

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    Shira Schwartz
    Chandler Unified School District
    Chandler AZ

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: rehearsal time

    Posted 02-03-2016 08:23

    Hello,

    I've got a fairly good situation, but it's taken 11 years to reach it...I really established a relationship with our facilities director and fill out all the necessary paperwork to reserve the space well in advance.  It is the expectation that the stage is off limits to outside groups the two weeks prior to the show.  That is not always the case, but because the facilities director knows that I did all the paperwork and followed the rules, he helps me out with timing (we needed to start at 6:30).  The group said they need it until 6:30, he tells them they need to leave by 6 :))  Also, I made a big stink a while ago about meetings with fewer than 50 people scheduled for our auditorium.  I made a point of recommending other spaces on our campus (the library, one of our three cafeterias, etc.) for smaller meetings and events, and that has  helped with the frequency people are requesting to use the auditorium.

    That said:  

    We rehearse 5 days a week for 8 weeks to mount our musicals-- we use a live, student orchestra as well.

    We need 4-5 days a week for 6 weeks to mount plays.

    One acts are usually rehearsed in class and take about 4-5 weeks.

    The best thing, as frustrating as it can be to explain why it's so important for theatre to be rehearsed on a stage, is to communicate just that to your admin, activities director, director of school counseling, and anyone else who will listen.  When we are asked to rehearse our musical in a classroom so a group of 50 people can watch a video about AP tests, that's like the football team asked to hold their practice in the library so cafeteria workers can learn about food safety.  It just doesn't make sense.

    Stay strong and communicate what you need (and maybe a bit more) so that people will know what you do and how important it is for you to be in the performance space as much as you can get it :)

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    Lisa Dyer
    Henrico VA

    Original Message