The rehearsal process is the time to take the theoretical beliefs you’ve been taught and experiment with the different ideas, steps, and actions to see what best serves to bring this situation or this character to life. The rehearsal process is a direct microcosm of life, because in life we’re continuously trying new avenues to see what best suits our particular needs. The rehearsal process gives us the luxury of failing. And within moments of failure, you sometimes find a profound insight into the journey of life.
By studying and participating in a rehearsal process, we learn that life is a series of steps and sequences that lead to understanding the action of a play or situation. One often begins the rehearsal process, or any new situation, feeling fear and insecurity. The more you rehearse, dissect, analyze, and understand that situation or play, you begin to break free of the fear.
A teacher or director’s first responsibility is to create a safe environment where the professional theatre artist or student can feel secure. Most situations in life dictate that we compete to the highest level possible. Experience tells us that if we use our powers of competition, will, and dogged ability to get the job done, we’ll probably come out on top. In creative situations, this approach is very destructive. Creativity and talent don’t mix with competition or will. That is why the director or teacher must create an atmosphere that makes the student feel accepted, relaxed and provides a sense of certainty.
Exploring the rehearsal process and the role the director plays leads us to how the Circle of Concentration fosters originality, which we’ll examine in our next post.
