My Master Builder | Rehearsal Diary
My Master Builder– Week Six
Technical Rehearsals and Previews
It’s finally time to move into Wyndham’s Theatre to begin our technical rehearsals and to layer the play that has come to life in the rehearsal room with set, lighting, sound and costumes!
In the morning, Ben Wright and I hold an understudy intimacy call in our now empty rehearsal room – Stage Management moved everything down the road to the theatre as soon as we all went home yesterday afternoon. Then it’s time to walk down to Wyndham’s to sign-in at stage door. The cast find their way to their dressing rooms before assembling on stage for a briefing and a walk around the backstage area led by the theatre staff. Richard Kent and his team have built an extraordinary set, which feels detailed and robust. All the actors remark on how they really feel they are in a house in the Hamptons, with a glorious view of the bay beyond.
Michael and Paule Constable have been ‘plotting’ in the theatre last night and this morning. This means they have worked through Paule’s lighting ideas for the chapel and the atrium and how the lighting will transition from a bright summer’s day to a dusky evening over the course of the play, which takes place throughout one day. With Michael’s notes, they now have a solid template to work from with actors on stage.
We have four days to tech the show before opening to audiences next Wednesday. We’re hoping to fit in two or three dress rehearsals, so Michael works quickly with a lot of focus. Things slow down a little when we get to the big party scenes, where I have to direct our ten party guests, made up of our understudies and supernumeraries. This is their first proper rehearsal time and there are big scene transitions happening at the same time, with Stage Management clearing furniture behind automated flying pieces of set. Luckily, because we worked so quickly through Act One, we can afford to give these scenes the time they need.
Our first preview on Wednesday night is exhilarating. It’s a very special moment to share a brand-new play with an audience for the first time – you can feel the charged atmosphere backstage and in the auditorium. Ewan receives a round of applause as soon as he steps out to begin the show. There are lots of big laughs in places we both did and didn’t expect and Michael will use each night’s audience to navigate the preview period before placing a ‘technical lock’ on the show.
Throughout this week, we work on stage during the daytime and perform the show in the evening. We continue to work through the trickier scene transitions and finesse more technical moments, like the end of the play. Michael also works on script edits and acting notes with the cast, according to what he learns from watching the show each night with a fresh set of spectators.
By the following Thursday, we have done all the work we can on the script, lighting, sound, scene transitions, costume and make-up. The show has been ‘locked’ and the cast now have five more previews before press night to settle into a rhythm without any cuts or changes. By the time we get to Tuesday’s press night, the company is ready to open and settle into the next ten weeks of performances!
