Back in rehearsals!

As I've mentioned before, the rehearsal room is my favourite place to be, professionally speaking. I'm currently working on a revised edit of Handel's Giulio Cesare, destined for a mini run at the Edinburgh Fringe. With three singers and 60 minutes of music, it's going to be a pacy trip to the opera.

In this industry, you can of course learn skills and gain experience, but there are some elements of the process that will always feel like starting from scratch. That's inevitable when each show is different and most of them will have a brand-new cast of performers. Because of this, I think one of the most important elements of my role as a director is building trust in the room.

The performers need to trust in my vision, and my ability to build that vision. I need to trust that they will play their part in it. We all need to trust that the company will care for each other in such a way that enables vulnerability.

It might take time, and it might require a different approach on my part for each of the different players. But it is essential if we want the show to succeed. It's why corporations have retreats and away days. Theatre attempts to build bonded teams in a matter of days. Written out like that, it seems ridiculous, but I'm amazed at how often we pull it off.

This blog is also a reminder to myself for the halfway point in rehearsals. Every show reaches a point where opening night feels too close for comfort and it's not entirely clear how we're going to pull this off. Yet somehow, we do. Trust the process.