PTT Program 5 Day 2 Video 1.txt

The first thing you should do is read the play for enjoyment. This may be your only time to see the play with fresh eyes, so read for pleasure. See how the story unfolds, how the playwright takes you from one moment to the next. Learn about the characters the way the audience will, and discover how...

The first thing you should do is read the play for enjoyment. This may be your only time to see the play with fresh eyes, so read for pleasure. See how the story unfolds, how the playwright takes you from one moment to the next. Learn about the characters the way the audience will, and discover how the play works on you. Don't read it and be constantly saying to yourself, how are we ever going to do that? Worry about those questions later. For now, just enjoy it. The second time you read the play, take notes about what props and costume pieces you will need to both rehearse the play and perform the play. If the text mentions that a character drinks some coffee, that doesn't necessarily mean that you will only need a cup of coffee. Did the character pour the coffee? If so, that means you'll need a coffee pot and probably sugar, sugar bowl, creamer, with cream, a spoon to stir the coffee and maybe even a saucer. If the coffee was served to the character, then it might indicate a coffee service of some kind. Keep in mind that a coffee cup and coffee are 2 different props. Carefully reread the play and keep a running list of all the props that will be required to rehearse the play and perform the play. Once you finish, transfer that list to a computer and make sure that you put a date on that list. It's sure to change. And every time you change it, you're going to want to revise the date on that list. If you're gonna be using more than one computer, keep this information on a disk, flash drive, cloud server, or other storage system so there's only one master list of the information to keep current. If your company has a production website or cloud server to keep all the crew heads up to date, post it there, or email to everyone to whom the change applies. If your prop master also made a list, it's a wise idea to combine your lists. That way, the 2 of you are working from one single list and not making assumptions about what is on the list. Likewise, if your costume shop manager has made a list, combine both of those lists also. Remember, these lists change daily. You wanna have a system that is flexible. Many companies use a cloud server, a production website, or other electronic communication to constantly update information. These lists can be accessed by anyone who needs the information. Each theater will have its own method of communication. The technology department at your school or university can probably work with you to set up a production website for your shows. While you are reading the play this time, you are discovering what you will need to rehearse and perform the play. If the text mentions that a character tosses a hat onto a chair, mark that down in the column for costume pieces. If the text calls for a character to remove his jacket and hang it up, mark that down, and don't forget to add the coat rack to your props list. You can assume that your actors will come dressed for rehearsal, but don't assume that they'll come to rehearsal supplying their own rehearsal garments. After you have read through the play looking for the props and the costume pieces, you'll have 2 lists, a long prop list and a much shorter costume piece list. If you're going to do a period piece, your director might want your actresses to wear rehearsal skirts, possibly corsets or bustles to get used to sitting down or just moving around in them. Talk to your director and find out what they require. Directors often know when they plan to have their actors working on their feet, then pass that information and the lists to your prop master and costume shop manager so they can provide rehearsal props and costumes. Remember that your prop master and costume shop manager have enough on their plate. Always treat them with respect and courtesy. You might be able to solve some of the rehearsal requests inside the rehearsal hall. You might have coffee cups already in rehearsal, so you don't need to ask the prop master for rehearsal coffee cups. As you read the play for the 3rd time, you'll need to pay attention to the entrances and exits of each character. This is called a French scene breakdown. I've been told the reason we call them French scene breakdowns is that neo classical French playwrights change their scene numbers every time a new character entered or exited. Ultimately, you're going to want to have a document that easily shows you who is on stage at any given point in the play. The main purpose of this tool is to help you in scheduling rehearsals. Using a legal pad or a spreadsheet, start at the top of the play and write down the page number on the left followed by the characters who are on stage at the top of the play. The first time anyone enters or exits, write down the page number and the new list of characters on stage. If a character leaves the stage for only a moment, you don't need to mark that down. This breakdown is to keep track of who is needed to rehearse a particular scene. Now there might come a time when someone might have an off stage line. Be sure to note that on your breakdown. There might be ways to rehearse that scene without calling that actor for an off stage line. There might be a segment when a character hides under a table. Again, note that on your breakdown, the character x is under the table. Again, there are ways to rehearse that scene without having to call that actor into rehearsal. When it comes time to put the scene together, you'll want everybody in the scene to be there. For a full run through, you will want everyone to be there. But your director might decide that for early rehearsals, off stage voices and hidden characters need not be at the rehearsal and might best spend their time learning their lines. Slowly work your way through the play until you have all the entrances and exits plotted on your legal pad or spreadsheet. Now transfer that information to whatever method you're going to use to store that production information. When you get a chance to talk to your director, ask them if they are planning on adding or subtracting any characters from any of the scenes. They might already know if they wanna make a change and have a certain character off stage or on stage for a particular scene. Now, update your breakdown. This scene breakdown will be very valuable to you when you and your director try to figure out just what you can rehearse if your cast has numerous conflicts with the rehearsal schedule. As you read the play for the 4th time, it is time to begin thinking about your 1st production meeting. Before you enter that meeting, you're going to have to make a production meeting agenda. This agenda should contain all the questions that you and others have about how you as a theater organization are going to approach the play. During this reading, take careful notes about technical requirements of the play. These aren't things like what color book should this character be carrying or how long is this character's skirt. These are moments where the playwright might call for a fire in a fireplace to burn evidence or rain on stage. Look for moments in the text that will need both your director's and designer's involvement and make notes about those moments. These items become the beginning of your production meeting agenda. You'll wanna talk to your designers and department heads to see if there are other questions that should be brought up at the production meeting. Add these items to your list, and you have your agenda for your 1st production meeting.