Venturing off text...

There are of course countless rehearsal techniques to draw from and each production I direct I select the ones I think will help the actors find the performance we are looking for.  One of the many I have up my sleeve is off text improvisation – which is – exactly as it’s name suggests – improvisation by the actors of the scenes that occur outside the text of the script.  The resulting “scenes” can give the actors more depth and detail to a character and a greater understanding of a characters journey up to and throughout the play.

As with all techniques there is a risk…specifically with this one you can find that you waste valuable rehearsal time on something that becomes self-indulgent and although entertaining to the participants it ultimately doesn’t add anything to the character or story.  It’s something I only use with care...however this week we have used it to excellent effect.

This week, in case you missed the barrage of photographs, has been our Summer School.  We started on Monday morning with a script and finished Friday evening with a performance.  The excellent cast have worked exceptionally hard and taken a real pride in their work and the result was a swash buckling retelling of a tale of Robin Hood with a very modern setting.  You’ll be pleased to know good conquered evil, the bullies were squashed and true love won in the end…just as it should be… Brin and his Everyday heroes was a joy to work on and I hope as enjoyable for the audience.  An audience that in addition to the friends and families of the performers included members of the local community who let us share their space.

Anyway...back to my main point – off text improvisation – we’ve done two lots during the week and the rewards have been rich.  Through exploring some of the experiences of the characters not included in the script, relationships have been defined, moments of the scripted stories have made more sense and the story as a whole has a richness it wouldn’t have had without it…this has happened so much quicker than if we had just relied on text based rehearsals.  They’ve been valuable in the making and entertaining in the watching and although none of them were included in the performance the spirit of them was present.

I have always been a strong believer in exploring a wide field during rehearsals and this week has been perfect evidence of the rewards that can be reaped.  Now onto NODA Summer School for the week where this and many other rehearsal techniques will be explored with a completely new company of actors…