ABSTRACT
This section of the book describes how to use all the preparatory work you have done with the actors. Rehearsals should allow the actors to build things step by step over time, gradually and slowly. The main skills required from the director are patience and long-term thinking. Even if you are rehearsing for only two weeks, the process should be one that evolves carefully and gently. It is like building a house in which different materials are laid down layer by layer from the foundations to the roof. The materials must be put in place carefully and in a logical order, or the building will not stand up properly. So, try to take small steps rather than big leaps. Do not expect an immediate outcome from the actor and do not respond to their work in an early rehearsal as if it were the final result that the audience will see. Instead, watch it as a step towards that result. And be patient with any early errors or stumbles. Actors need time to build their characters and to practise what they have to do in the scenes. They cannot always respond to an instruction with an immediate solution or result. If you wait a couple of days you may well see the outcome unfold. If not, simply keep giving the instruction until it does. Similarly, if there is a big problem in the scene, do not think you have to solve it in one go. Instead, chip away at it over time.
