Shrdlu, Rehearsal, The Adding Machine

First rehearsal in the theatre

Rehearsal Technique: General/Specific Insights/Principles

Nice to be on stage – energizing.

Problem: At home, I’ve got the scenes memorized, but in the theatre, going full out, caught up in the moment, I lost track of blocking and lines.

These are the classic ‘cognitive load’ & ‘context dependent’ leaning issues, again. The environment is new, all the old environmental cues, i.e., the size/dimension of the space, the lighting; everything is different, I have to pay attention to new things (e.g., getting use to moving around in a new space): of course people go off their lines and blocking when they move from rehearsing in an apartment to rehearsing in a theatre, which is why there is real learning advantage in rehearsing and performing in the same space.

Tech rehearsal is another example of increased ‘cognitive load’ & a brief breaking down of ‘context dependent’ leaning. As a stage manager, I’ve seen it every time: people have their lines and blocking down cold, and then – tech rehearsal. They’re practically falling off the stage, running into each other, and skipping sections. Any director/company that doesn’t allow for at least one full tech rehearsal is asking for a rough opening night, and they usually get it.

Solution: Right now, I can ‘perform,’ or I can stay on my lines/blocking, but I can’t do both (‘dual task’ problem), so -- slow down. Make staying on my lines and blocking a priority. As I “get use to” the new space (i.e., critical features of the environment, the edge of the stage, for example, will gradually be automatically encoded by the cognitive-motor system, and I won’t have to pay explicit attention to them), I’ll gradually work back up to my usual full rehearsal-performance speed.

Also, working with the text in hand is definitely a skill – I see Maia and Brock seemlessly working with the script in hand, i.e., “acting,” pursing objectives, and picking up lines as they need them, all seemless. Just practice and be patient, and this will come.

Also, LISTENING! I’m not doing this. ALWAYS focus on and take in Mr. Zero – don’t just “hear” him, listen to him, put full attention on that when he’s talking.