Rehearsals

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Final rehearsals: Boot camp

Day 1
Romeo & Juliet's rehearsal process began much like any other play's in that we worked full days in a rehearsal hall aided by stage Managers and the rest of the creative team, but like most other play's its process was also unique unto itself. Each director brings their own approach and Elizabeth Freestone certainly introduced us all to some new ways of working. (I'm afraid I can't reveal those new ways of working here, as they are guarded industry secrets.)

After three weeks of rehearsals in London we prepared to spend our final week (technical rehearsals, dress/preview performance) at Wispers Girl's School in Haslemere. The cast and crew joked that this was going to be our 'boot camp'…

Wispers School is set in a sprawling old country estate and we were given a very warm welcome by the headmaster, who explained that the girls were giddy with excitement to have a troupe of "rogues and vagabonds" arriving for the week. After getting settled we gathered in a secluded corner of the grounds to meet and discuss what we hoped to accomplish in our time there. We had spent our last day in London stumbling through a first run of the show and this meeting gave Elizabeth and I the chance to find out what the actors’ main concerns were. When we asked them what they needed most in order to move forward with confidence, getting to know the Camper Van, running lines and outdoor vocal projection were among the most popular answers. Instead of giving the company notes from the final London run (these were covered as we worked on individual scenes later on), Elizabeth instead asked each actor to offer one another a compliment on the work they had each witnessed so far. It was nice to see how much respect there was among the company for the risks being taken.

After an hour in the hot sun I found myself creeping towards the shade, and as we broke for lunch everyone was a little pink and cooked. Being the good assistant I urged everyone, director included, to wear sunscreen for the afternoon call - but of course didn't heed my own advice.

After lunch there were line cuts to be made and then the cast had their first, highly anticipated, introduction to the Camper Van. We felt it best to just let them play on it, explore it; try it out in various ways. Their initial reaction was a little cool and distant - it felt foreign to them and seemed like it belonged to another company of actors (there were jokes about needing to christen it with a bottle of wine later that evening), but as the day wore on it rapidly grew on them.

The van had been set up under an enormous tree and we learned quickly that this should never be repeated; whenever a gust of wind rose up even the most experienced actor was drowned out under the rustling of a million leaves.

Since there was no need to travel home and back (we were staying on site and all of our meals were supplied by the school), the actors volunteered to rehearse during the evenings as well. That evening, Elizabeth drilled the dance in the school's gymnasium while I prepared the schedule for the following day. Since we had the whole grounds at our disposal, Elizabeth could rehearse ‘on stage’ while I took any remaining actors for a secondary call elsewhere. In fact, our fight director was arriving the next morning so we started day two with three rehearsals running simultaneously.

Day 2

As Elizabeth worked through detailing the show, I spent the day acclimatising the actor's voices to the great outdoors. We had spent three weeks in a small rehearsal hall and now the horizon was our only limit. I knew we would be dealing with many variables in each venue; the shape of the space, traffic, wind and audiences choosing to sit a long way from the stage. It was crucial that the actors could be clearly heard but whilst not shouting (and therefore losing the intimacy and nuance they had found in the rehearsal hall). I asked them to begin a scene standing face to face and after each line take a big step backwards, all the while holding to the connection they had established when they were close. They could easily get about 200 feet apart before they started to lose that connection. What was important about this work was that it assured them that they could be heard outdoors at quite a distance, but it also made them aware of the energy and breathing/support they needed for this.

Day 3

The first two days had been beautiful, with perhaps the biggest complaint being too much sun, a fault of our own for not being in the habit of lathering on protection (and a stiff back from sleeping on what I'm sure were infirmary beds left over from World War I). It was only just that experiencing Boot Camp should mean experiencing all the elements. On the third day, which was meant to be spent incorporating the technical elements into the production, we woke up to rain. The lights had to be bagged in plastic, the deck mopped and many of the Elizabethan costume pieces, we found, were too delicate to be able to be dried quickly if they got damp. We continued according to schedule as best as we could. By mid morning the one pair of shoes I had brought were soaked through and after changing socks twice I decided the best way to solve the problem (if not the most flattering) was to line my feet with shopping bags.

Despite the weather, we were still making good progress and it was really encouraging to see all the production elements coming together. By early afternoon it seemed like the skies were clearing, but no sooner had the rain stopped but insects appeared in droves. Our jackets were still zipped, our hoods still pulled tight and now instead of sunscreen we were dousing ourselves with repellent. I hadn't experienced a day like that since Boy Scout camp at the age of twelve.

Day 4

The next day was still damp and my shoes still wet. The stage managers were already busy at work striking and moving the set. I had last seen them there the night before and wondered if in fact they had gone to bed at all?

Audience members, when faced with the camper van, might think that the actors just drive up to the site and explode out of the van onto the stage. It's designed to appear that way, but in truth, there's no engine and any manoeuvring needs to be done manually; one person steering whilst three or four people push from the sides and behind. In preparation for our dress rehearsal and preview we moved the stage and the van to the School's front lawn. Moving meant a trial run at striking and setting up but changing location would also mark the event, honour the final phase of boot camp and give the actors the opportunity to experience a new venue and see how it informed them. Although van is actually fairly light and easy to push, it’s a little tricky to manoeuvre it up a path and through a narrow gap in the hedge. More actors then we needed were helping and we were building up a fair speed as we approached the hedge. I was pushing from the side door and unaware that a number of branches were being bent forward until they swung back, swatted me off my feet and sent me flying.

So far, the actors hadn't had many opportunities to weave the show together and tackle the issue of pace. Once we were set up, Elizabeth decided that the best way to spend the time remaining before dinner break was to do a speed run. The result, running through the entire show in just over an hour, was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. The pace served the play and, we hoped, opened the actors’ eyes to the fact that, for much of the play, the humour comes alive with that level of drive. The tragic elements were, of course, sidelined, but that was not the point of the exercise.

The company hosted a question and answer session that morning for the students and to thank us they hosted a Bar-B-Q for us before the evening run, complete with wine that none of the actors could drink before they went on stage. I felt it shouldn't go to waste and I didn't want to be rude, so I had a little. Having experienced hot sun, rain and insects, it was perhaps no surprise that it was bitterly cold for our dress rehearsal. Elizabeth, Dominic (Dromgoole, Artistic Director), Stu (Barker, Composer) and I were all bundled up in blankets downing tea. Elizabeth's notes were becoming increasing illegible from shivering and Dominic borrowed some unused costume pieces during the interval for warmth, wearing one of the servant's funny hats that didn't make the final cut.

Day 5

It looked like it would be a nice last day at Wispers and fine end to a rigorous but gratifying week. We were all proud that we had accomplished so much in a few days and felt battle hardened and ready for anything. Our dress rehearsal would truly put that to the test.

An hour before our preview performance it began to rain. We were offered the option of using the school's gymnasium but, as one of the Stage Managers rightly pointed out, this was the test. If we started the tour by shying away from the weather we might always feel inclined to, but if we faced it we would always know that we could. So, the cast performed for a small invited audience of about 80 people during a two-hour torrential downpour. The stage was slick and pooling with puddles; a cause for concern during the fight scenes. After the opening brawl the actor's costumes were drenched. They soldiered on with driving wind and rain pelting their faces. Despite their raincoats, umbrellas and blankets, the audience sat on the edge of their seats and were attentive and appreciative until the very end; their laughter and applause made one realize they were absolutely engaged in the story despite the weather. Of course, lines like "Now ere the sun advance his burning eye" (II.iii.1) and "The day is hot…" (III.i.2) delivered with a knowing shrug or roll of the eyes to the audience as if to say "what can we do? We're in this together" received a special laugh. The actors and audience bonded, knowing they were not only sharing but also enduring a unique experience. As the performance splashed on the amazing thing is that we all forgot the cold and wet; we were no longer aware of our discomfort and were just mesmerized by the story unfolding.

The scene best served by the geography of the space was the ‘balcony’. A short two-foot wall ran along the edge of the space between the stage and the school and when Juliet asked "How cam'st thou hither… the orchard walls are high and hard to climb…" (II.ii.62) she couldn't help but smirk and be a little unimpressed by Romeo's less than daring feat. Responding, Romeo couldn't help but look to the audience and pause slightly before saying "With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls…" (II.ii.66) making it more of an apology then a testament of his passion. This interchange was greeted with roaring laughter by the audience who realized that everyone, actors alike, had been caught off guard and were experiencing something truly spontaneous. As the scene neared its end and Romeo said to the audience "Love goes towards love as schoolboys from their books, / But love from love, towards school with heavy looks…" (II.ii.156-157) he trundled off towards the school and everyone felt the weight on his shoulders. What made these moments so lovely was that it wasn't in-jokes made by actors sending up a scene, but instead it was two characters having to react to the reality of their surroundings and the unforseen nuances they brought out in the text.

As the play ended and the small crowd erupted with appreciation it became clear to all of us that we had a special show - the story was clear, funny, moving and enthralling. Boot camp ended with passing the ultimate test - not only succeeding but surmounting the worst of circumstances.

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