Time flies

It is ironic but inevitable that the most creative period of rehearsals is also the busiest, meaning I have not had enough time to blog as regularly as I'd like. I hope, in these final weeks, to right this wrong and fill in the considerable gaps with an outline of our progress.

We have reached the stage now where all scenes are fixed. In other words, we have identified the form and function of each scene, sorted out most of the blocking and the actors are off book. The importance of this milestone should not be underestimated, particularly with a production such as this. It is only now that key decisions can be made in terms of lighting, projections and film work, and we can concentrate on refining what we have rather than generating news ideas and material. It has taken a long time to reach this point, with some scenes taking a lot longer than others. In some cases, Scene 17 in particular, we have had to scrap our initial ideas entirely and start again from scratch.

It has been a lot of hard work, I get the impression that I have made more demands on both the cast and myself than usual in the short amount of time that constitutes each rehearsal. But at the same time it has been a huge amount of fun, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the creative process, which switches between moments of individual and collective inspiration and cold hard slog to break through the pain barrier when ideas are less forthcoming. That said, perhaps the most challenging role has ended up being that of the Stage Manager. I doubt Peter had any idea of what his job would entail at the start of the process, but I have to say he has been an absolute rock. His job has emerged as a combination of stage manager, project manager, film director and technical director, co-ordinating an ever-growing group of people, and learning new skills to enable the director's vision to be realised.

The challenge that faces us at this point in time is that we have one rehearsal left before I am unavailable for a week, and it feels as though this hiatus has come at precisely the wrong time, when really we should be taken full advantage of the momentum we have gathered. We will have to make the best of it, and perhaps the cast and crew will be grateful for a week in which they can recharge their batteries, reflect and really cement the lines in their heads before we hit the final week of rehearsal, which promises to be hectic and even tougher on the stamina reserves than the last few weeks have been.

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