Question for all the directors out there in BroadwayWorldLand

So I'm directing a play, my first time doing so. And we open in a week and a half (that's terrifying). In a cast of 4, 3 are totally off book. But there's still that 1 who needs to be fed lines and it's throwing the other 3 off.

They all left rehearsal tonight somewhat discouraged; I hope for the one who needs to learn the lines that it'll serve motivation.

I have no doubt that we'll pull through, but what can I do in order to, I guess alleviate the annoyances of the 3 who are off that they have to wait for the one who isn't?

Also, I can't imagine what sitting through the show with an audience will be like for me...any tips on how to get through the opening night?

Fire his ass. Don't put up with incompetence.

I'm not a director, but as someone who's sometimes "that one," if I'm not totally off-book by 3 weeks before a show, I always make sure to schedule specific lines to memorize at specific times when it gets really close to the chase, so I don't get overwhelmed and end up not memorized at all.

that would be called... improvisation.

When I directed Hurry! last year, there was one actor who was nervous about forgetting his lines. He had a monologue that was basically a series of questions. (The play took place at a speed date and his character bombarded the girl with all sorts of ridiculous questions like "What's in your refridgerator?" "What's your favorite kind of food - Mexican, Italian or Chinese?", "Do you believe in ghosts?", "If you could be anywhere in the world right now where would you be?"). He was freaking out about it and I said, "Remember what Uta Hagen says - stay in the moment. The worst case scenario is that you have to make up questions. Just keep on going." At the dress rehearsal, he made up a few questions but they fit in so seamlessly that no one caught on.

If your actor isn't comfortable with improv and staying in the moment, I would advise them to study the script religiously. Writing down the lines helps as well, if they don't feel like toting around the script all the time. And yes, running lines is fine, too. I hate to say "drill" the lines into them but at this point that's what may have to be done.

Also, don't stress too much about opening night. It is a little tense wondering if you've done enough, but I'll tell you from experience ... once your play starts going and you start hearing the audience's reaction, all that uneasiness goes away. I was extremely worried that I didn't do enough for my actors when my play started, but the second I heard the audience laugh and remark on how great the show was, I knew I'd done my job.

You'll do fine, believe me. (:

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First of all, congratulations on directing your first play--you're near the end and that's exciting.

At this point (with a week and a half to go, yikes), I don't think it will be beneficial to let him screw up his lines during rehearsal for the sake of teaching a lesson--that's not fair to the other actors, and would probably end up hurting the play. I would, as others have suggested, sit him down and tell him, firmly but kindly, that waiting so long to get off-book is irresponsible and virtually unheard-of in the professional world. Tell him that you expect him to be fully off-book by the next rehearsal. That's always worked for me in the past--and if he needs them, you can give him some tips for learning lines. If he has long monologues, a good trick I've used is recording them (without inflection) and listening over and over as I perform some kind of menial task.

As for the others, simply let them know that you appreciate their commitment to the show and the work they've done, both in rehearsal and just by knowing their lines. This might also help to shame the fourth guy into learning his. They shouldn't have to deal with this situation, but it's also not your fault, so don't feel like you have to appease them.

And finally, as for opening night . . . just know that it's out of your hands. For the last show I opened (back in November), I was an absolute nervous wreck, and I don't know that there was any real way of avoiding it. But if you have friends/teachers/critics in the audience, don't sit by them. The important thing is that you put on an excited face for the cast, and make them believe that everything is going to be fantastic.

My current show opens tonight. Our last dress rehearsal yesterday had to be canceled due to illness. I'm pretty worried about it. But by now, there's nothing I can do, so I'll simply show up to the theater with a huge smile on my face and enjoy the show, for once, without the stress of trying to improve it.

Good luck! I'm sure everything will be fine for you. And when your show goes well, there's really no other feeling like it--so enjoy!

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You have to let him know that he's being unprofessional and is placing you in the awkward position of having to replace him if he doesn't get it together in 24-48 hours. You can do this in private in a non-threatening tone that will let him know how serious the situation is as well as reinforcing him that HE is the one you wanted for the role, which is why he was cast. It is not your decision to replace him, but he is ultimately putting you in that position.

Meanwhile, stress to the other actors that they will be burdened with the extra responsibility of carrying his ass through the show if a replacement is not an option. Be sure to reinforce the opinion that they are professional enough to handle it and be very supportive. DO NOT play sides and express in any way that they are to gang up on the other actor, but that they work as a team to create the best show they can.

I performed in a show where two of the actors NEVER learned their lines well enough to get through a single performance. It was a comedy with some farcical elements and it kept the rest of the actors on their toes constantly trying to find a way through the most difficult scenes without the audience ever catching on. It was actually something of a bonding experience, though not one I would intentionally recommend.

There was also a time I was handed a show to direct that had already been cast by the Artistic Director, who was acting as Director for this show, decided he didn't have the time to commit to the show a few days before rehearsals began. It was such a ragtag motley crew of Guffman proportions, but the script was such that I could exploit their weaknesses into a sort of campy self-referential comedy. The Artistic Director did not like this at all and tied my hands on the project, demanding it should be played straight. Rehearsals were one disaster after another and the final dress was nothing less than a catastrophe from which he really wanted to gloat as this was my first professional directing project. Entrances were wrong, lines were missed, sound cues were ridiculously off in a variety of ways. The Artistic Director had invited a friend to watch this fiasco and she just sat there, mouth agape, and we were all laughing our heads off at the absurdity of it all. After the run-through, she asked us, "Was that intentional? Because that was pretty funny." I finally got my way and announced to the cast that we were going to change the style and cement the mistakes that were made. After tweaking some previews, the cast really got the style and embraced it fully. The show opened to glowing reviews and sold out the entire run in a week. We added a 2-week extension, which sold out in one day. So depending on the style of the show, you can make the mistakes work to your advantage. In the words of one of the greatest instructors I have ever known, Claire Marie Verheyen, "If you can't fix it, feature it."

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Updated On: 4/30/09 at 04:06 PM