VI. The Rehearsal Process
Directing - Spring 2006
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The 9 Basic Steps
Prep
1. What is the story really about?
2. What is this scene about?
3. Why is this scene in the movie?
4. What must I as Director achieve with this scene
so that it will function properly within the movie?
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The 9 Basic Steps
Rehearsal and Production
1. What are the character objectives, obstacles, arcs,
means, actions, activities, adjustments, windows of
true nature, risks, stakes, etc.
2. How can I direct and stage the scene in order to
clarify and underline the essential dynamics within
the scene?
3. How can I capture (record) this scene in order to
enhance the essential dynamics of the scene?
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The 9 Basic Steps
Post
1. How do I rediscover the story that is contained
within the material I have created?
2. How do I reassemble this material in order to
create the most dynamic version of my story?
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Rehearsal Priorities
Overall
1. Reveal your vision.
2. Establish rhythm, pacing, tone and style.
3. Develop backstory.
4. Develop specific relationships between the
characters.
5. Explore working relationships.
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Rehearsal Priorities
Specific
1. Work on problem or challenging scenes.
2. Go over scenes that mark significant changes or
turning points.
3. Discuss the structure and arc of each sequence
4. Explore unwritten scenes and events.
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First Rehearsal
The Read-Through
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Actors
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Casting Director
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Makeup Artists
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Hair Stylists
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Art Department
Invite everyone to the first rehearsal.
There are certain people who must be there
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Individual Character POV
1. The individual character (actors).
2. The narrator/storyteller.
3. The Director
The audience experiences events as filtered through:
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Develop Character Backstory
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The Writer’s
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The Director’s
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The Actor’s
Approach this task from three perspectives:
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Personal Histories
Example: Jenny from Forrest Gump
1. Her father sexually molests her.
2. She feels like an outcast.
3. She befriends a classmate who is an outcast.
4. Her new friend becomes very dependent on her (and she on him).
5. She kills her father.
6. She is intent on being the rebel.
7. She is unable to embrace Forrest’s love of her.
8. She becomes involved in a series of inappropriate and destructive
relationships.
9. She is suicidal.
10. She finally returns, on her own, to Forrest for protection and solace,
and to die.
Here are some significant aspects of this character that the
actress will have to assimilate:
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Personal Histories
Example: Jenny from Forrest Gump
1. Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted?
2. Have you ever felt like an outcast?
3. Have you ever felt like rebelling against all authority (or
perhaps you actually have rebelled)?
4. Have you ever been involved in an inappropriate or
destructive relationship?
5. Has there ever been someone in your life who was very
loyal to you and you didn’t totally accept or embrace that
loyalty?
6. Ever felt suicidal?
Approach her with the following questions:
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Improvisation
1. To explore a past event not in the script.
2. To explore aspects of a relationship.
3. To reexamine the written scene.
Reasons to use improvisation in rehearsal:
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Scene Work
Key Scenes and Turning Points
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Forrest meets Jenny
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Forrest learns that he can run
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Forrest goes to visit Jenny at college
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Forrest meets Bubba
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Forrest meets Lt. Dan
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Death of Bubba
Select scenes that are key scenes or turning points in the story.
Example: Forrest Gump
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Scene Work
Character Relationship Arcs
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They meet in Boot Camp and establish a relationship
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They are reunited and sent to Vietnam
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They serve together under Lt. Dan
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Bubba gets shot and dies
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Forrest meets Bubba’s family
Select a specific relationship and follow that relationship from
the beginning of the movie to the end.
Example: Forrest and Bubba
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Scene Work
Individual Character Arcs
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With Forrest as a child
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Keeping Forrest in school
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Giving Forrest a sense of self-worth
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Guiding Forrest in his relationship with Jenny
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Calling Forrest home when she’s dying
Follow one character in relationship to all other characters and
events.
Example: Mrs. Gump
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Rehearsing the Scene
1. What’s the overall story?
2. What’s the reason for this scene in the story?
3. What do I need to accomplish with this scene in order
to make the story work?
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Is this what I want?
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If not, what is missing?
As you listen to a scene, consider these three questions:
Then ask yourself
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Scene Adjustments
1. Change the obstacles
2. Change “the moment before” for one or both characters
3. Alter the means of one or both characters
4. Raise the stakes for one or both characters
5. Adjust the subtext
6. Adjust the physical behavior
7. Improvise the scene
8. Improvise the scene before
9. Add or adjust an activity
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Intimacy Exercises
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Have your actors sit across from each other, knees
touching, eyes closed. The actors explore each other’s faces
with their hands, describing what they feel.
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Have your actors assume a relaxed and close position. Have
them think about the most embarrassing, exciting or
stimulating moment in their live, or their character’s lives,
and have them whisper these stories to each other, with as
much detail as possible.
Exploration Touch
Whispering Intimacies
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Staging
1. The characters in relationship to each other
2. The characters in relationship to the environment
3. Each character in relationship to himself
Staging (or blocking) is the placement and movement of
characters, within the appropriate setting, during a scene.
The 3 key relationships in staging are:
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Effective Staging
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The actors will seek comfort and balance, and the
scene will lose its tension once they achieve it.
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The audience desire balance and closure and they
will lose interest the moment they get it.
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It is the imbalance and tension in your staging that
will help maintain the pressure and conflict in the
scene.
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Developing an Eye for Staging
1. Look at photographs
2. Watch people
3. Watch films without sound
4. The deconstruction exercise
5. Experiment using actors
6. The single shot exercise
7. Storyboarding
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