This article has been written by Zoë Chapman, who made her directorial debut with "Romeo and Juliet" in November 2002.
As a first time director I was very nervous as to how the company would view my ideas for Romeo and Juliet, so I was given two Bench club nights to go through my ideas with the company and get some feedback. During these two sessions I was able to talk about the visual side of the production so I put together some set designs and costume ideas. I also played some videos to show where I had been inspired. Then I moved onto the play itself: my thoughts on the characters, how I saw them and how I interpreted the play. I also did some team games to work on the idea of the two families — this helped me to see how successful I might be as the person in charge giving the instructions and to see what ideas worked and what didn’t.
Despite this being a very nerve-wracking experience (because it was the first time that I had ever put myself forward like this) it came nowhere near the consistent nervousness that I went through during the rehearsal period. For a first time director a cast of 22 is probably not a sensible option! The Director has to put a rehearsal schedule together taking into account everybody else’s commitments like work and holidays. When you’ve only got 20 dates and everybody wants plenty of quality time with you it gets a bit tricky. Then you lose people on the way so you have to quickly find someone else before all the rehearsal time has gone. I think in the end I was at the Arts Centre almost every night – and when you work there during the day as well you do feel that bed and breakfast should be provided!
For the first rehearsal rather than do the traditional read-thru of the whole play I decided because I had a very mixed cast of Bench regulars and new members I got my cast to partner off with someone they didn’t know very well and we spent the evening making masks – I used the process where we used gum paper that was cut up into pieces and then wetted so that it could be stuck on the face and built up to make a mask that would mould exactly to your face and thankfully dried slightly quicker than plaster of Paris. I chose to do this as a way of breaking the ice so that when we did do the read thru at the next rehearsal the cast wouldn’t feel so conscious of themselves and also know that they were with friends so if they did say something wrong they wouldn’t feel stupid.
Once the rehearsals get under way the role of the director gets harder for a number of reasons. Not only is it a lonely job: you arrive first and leave last, you’re expected to know all the answers and a tough question or situation will arise when you are at you’re most tired or least planned. The way to solve this is to be clear as to where you want the play to go, know the play inside out as most of the information is there and also be prepared to admit when you’re not sure and acknowledge any ideas from your cast and crew – they’re on your side! At the same time you can’t be everyone’s friend all the time but there’s always a pint after the rehearsal!
During the rehearsal period you’ve also got to take into account that it is not just the actors who need you to answer their questions. There’s also the backstage team, costumes, set construction, lighting designer and operator, publicity, fight co-ordinator, programme editor, mask maker, and you just end up with your head buzzing to the point where you have no idea what you’ve said or agreed on! And that’s the point where you quietly, calmly leave the room take a deep breath and then re-enter and start afresh.
Despite the fact that you are constantly on the go, there are moments when it suddenly goes into slow motion and a scene that you’ve been working on for weeks but has never quite worked suddenly clicks and both you and the actors just know that you’ve got a lovely piece of theatre. Moments like that stick with you more than anything else and get you through the next rehearsals and renew your faith in yourself.
Then, before you know it, you’re putting up the set, you’ve walked through the tech rehearsal, the dress rehearsal hasn’t gone too badly and it’s the "First Night"! Not being a parent myself, I can only imagine what that feeling is like to watch your child grow and then it’s that time to let them go and sort themselves out but I think watching your show on the first night comes pretty close to that feeling that you’ve done all you can and know it’s their turn. Being part of The Bench is a lovely feeling because they are a very supportive company who allow you to sit back and enjoy their performances comforted in the knowledge that as a director what you are about to see is their best performances that you have put together during the over ten weeks of exhausting, but satisfying, teamwork.
Zoë Chapman