Rehearsal Preparation

Professional training and rehearsal ethics –

1. Make it a point to read the handbooks for any school or production company of which you may be a part. Reading about the history and philosophy of a company is also helpful in better understanding its aims and goals.

2. Be early in order to warm up.

3. Avoid personal activities that interfere with concentration and energy.

4. Eat before class or rehearsal, not in the studio or in the theatre.

5. Do not read newspapers during rehearsal or class; it's rude and can be demoralizing to your associates. Do this reading during breaks outside the space.

6. Do not chew gum; it may be distracting to others.

7. Always wear clothing that the instructor or director has requested.

8. Learn and follow all smoking rules; you are obliged not to endanger the health and safety of others.

9. Do not wear dangling or jangling jewelry; it may be distracting to others.

10. Take responsibility to do your own research and analysis. This is part of your process.

11. Memorize all lines accurately and on schedule as directed.

12. Never interrupt the teacher or director and the actors during rehearsal.

13. Do not direct or coach your fellow actors. If you have suggestions, channel them through the director or teacher.

14. Control your impulses to recite fellow actors' lines while they rehearse, or to cue them if they forget a line.

15. Avoid the temptation to proffer opinions about scene work or attempt to "fix" the work of others.

16. In discussion, think as an investigator, not as a director or a critic.

17. Accept criticism without defensiveness. Use what works and discard the rest.

18. Apply observations of others to your own work.

19. Be open to new methods and techniques. There is no one "right " way to be successful as an actor.

20. Avoid talking and whispering during class work and rehearsal. Many times the actors perceive such talk

as negative criticism. We must work to remove obstacles, not create them.

21. Never invite guests to attend class or rehearsal unless you have the permission of the stage manager or instructor in advance.

22. Take responsibility to keep the studios and rehearsal rooms clean.

23. Don't try to second-guess the director. Make your choices and present them to the best of your ability.

Professional performance ethics --

1. When performing, we must build our day around that event, preparing ourselves so that we can give full energy to the work we have helped create.

2. Performance schedules vary and change. Check your assumptions.

3. Be on time. Lateness can be equivalent to absence.

4. Always enter and exit through the stage door.

5. Always sign yourself in. Telephone the stage manager if are going to be late.

6. Check the callboard every day.

7. Do not smoke, eat, chew gum, or drink in costume or in the wings unless required by performance.

8. Check your own props at half hour.

9. Do not site on prop furniture backstage.

10. Place only props on the prop tables.

11. Remember, backstage energy affects onstage energy.

12. Respect the warm-up and pre-entrance preparation of your fellow actors.

13. Always be ready in the wings for your entrance. Missing an entrance is a betrayal of the trust of your fellow artists. Always be thinking ahead.

14. Be award of sight-lines. If you can see the audience, they can see you.

15. Play every role to the best of your ability, no matter how small or how large.

16. Always respect the audience, regardless of size; the audience is a partner, not an adversary.

17. Do not break the illusion of the theatre by appearing in costume and makeup offstage or outside the theatre.

18. Never allow the comments of outsiders to change any aspect of your characterization. Always consult with your director about your work.