Why some actors don't like rehearsals?

Ask_the_dusk

Ask_the_dusk

Member
I don't mean the obvious reasons like lack of time or interest in some cases.I've done workshops on directing actors and read some good books - Judith Weston's directing actors, and some not so good books like... Never mind . But I never quiet understood why some actors in interviews say that they don't like to rehearse ? Is it because actors who work more intuitively are afraid that they may 'nail it' at the rehearsals and then of course not be able to give the same identical performance on the actual shoot? So, I guess my question is , which type of actors don't like ( and dont benefit from) rehearsals? I'm asking this because Ill be shooting my first short soon and I WILL do rehearsals. Just wondering how should I handle it. How do I get the ' feel' of how each actor work if I haven't worked with them before.
 
Curious what actors in what interviews have said that they don't like to rehearse. Have any examples? Every good actor I know appreciates and recognizes the value of rehearsal, and I've never had an actor tell me he/she wished he/she wouldn't like more rehearsal time. Now, good things do sometimes happen spontaneously in rehearsal that you might never get on camera, and the same thing happens when you roll camera, special things can happen if you have good actors, and these moments tend to occur more often when my actors have had more time to really know and own the scene -- once they've really *got it* they are able to flex a bit more during the scene. Rehearsal adds to the actor's confidence, and it definitely comes across on screen.
 
Yeah, I agree with apocolypto.

Rehearsals, reads etc. give the actors a really great perspective of each scene and the overall beat of the movie.

Some actors don't like the discipline side of it so I let them ad lib or mess around with the sides at the rehearsals. My priority is for them to have mental ammo when they think about their scene. Especially important is their understanding of the other roles around them so that the chemistry flows as smoothly as possible.
 
I recently heard Jmes McAvoy at the 2008 Oscar's Roundtable saying he doesn't like rehearsals ...Also read somewhere about , I Think not sure, Diane Keaton , that she can't take too many directions. I'm not talking about blocking, but for acting directions. Like when you ask you actor to make an adjustment , but you say a little ' too much ' . ( Even if you didn't give them a result oriented direction ).
 
Ask_the_dusk said:
I'm asking this because Ill be shooting my first short soon and I WILL do rehearsals. Just wondering how should I handle it. How do I get the ' feel' of how each actor work if I haven't worked with them before.
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How did you cast him in the first place? Did you not meet up with him for how ever long it takes to suss out every single aspect of his involvement in the upcoming gig?

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If an actor says he won't rehearse and you accept that, how do you tell everyone else in the production, you got trouble right from the get go. Your lead gal is not going to do the nude scene .. I can tell you that.

Cheers.
 
Well, IMO, rehearsals can sometimes create preconceived notions on how one should react in the mind of the actors, rather than allow the actors to react more freely and honestly as if it's the first time they've heard the words coming from their screen partner's lips. Spontaneity is a big telling point in whether or not a performance seems 'acted' or not. The worry of many professional level actors is that the director will become married to line readings and moments in the rehearsal that won't necessarily be truthful moments during filming. I heard recently that Brando never memorized his lines (not 100% on the validity of this) because in real life one never knows what one is going to say, and you can tell the difference. I was told he had his lines placed in various places off camera.
 
You're probably way too young to remember the old Jackie Gleason Show on Prime Time TV back in the fifties, it was a live weekly sitcom. They would rehearse all week for the live show that went on TV, all except for Jackie. A stand-in for Gleason would rehearse with the troupe all week and then the first and only time the cast would perform with Gleason was during the live telecast! The show was number one in the ratings and it's spontaneity was very much due to the fact everyone was on adrenaline not knowing what ad-lib line Gleason would come up with. During the week he would golf and deal with production issues. Of course he probably rehearsed with Paul Newman in the Hustler, but I don't know. Gleason was a natural.
 
vic777 said:
You're probably way too young to remember the old Jackie Gleason Show on Prime Time TV back in the fifties, it was a live weekly sitcom. They would rehearse all week for the live show that went on TV, all except for Jackie. A stand-in for Gleason would rehearse with the troupe all week and then the first and only time the cast would perform with Gleason was during the live telecast! The show was number one in the ratings and it's spontaneity was very much due to the fact everyone was on adrenaline not knowing what ad-lib line Gleason would come up with. During the week he would golf and deal with production issues. Of course he probably rehearsed with Paul Newman in the Hustler, but I don't know. Gleason was a natural.
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That's great, actually!

I think a lot of people unfortunately mistake their own lack of understanding of the art of acting for the supposed 'lack of discipline' of actors in general. Sure, there are lazy actors, but I wouldn't think there are any more than lazy writers and and lazy directors. In fact, in my experience, there is no other art form as wholly intensive.
 
Vic777,... vcassel, that's great input. Tricky though.Raster - to answer your question : I haven't cast anyone yet. I'm trying to understand some things about rehearsing and how actors work, before I do the auditions.
 
I've directed actors of all levels from amatuer to professional. And I can tell you this. Rehearsals are very important, especially for complex blocking. Not only are rehearsals important, table reads are just as important if not more. It's a heck of a lot easier to change out lines that dont sound good then , than on set while crews are waiting. Although sometimes you have no choice. It's not a bad idea to tell the actors you cast, when casting them that you will have mandatory rehearsals. If they dont want to rehearse, at least you know right then and there, and you can decide if you their not the right person for the job.
 
As an actor, I've found that almost all other actors I've worked with like to rehearse, as I do. For me the reverse is far more the problem - not nearly enough rehearsal time is allowed (often almost none) for actors to come anywhere near "owning" the scene(s). I personally find this to be very challenging, and not in a good way. Unfortunate...

Of all the actors I've worked with only one stands out as (apparently) not very interested in rehearsing. When we did so (on my suggestion) it was obviously not what he wanted to do - he rushed through his lines in sort of 'memorization only' mode (not acting at all, just reciting) while I attempted to get a feel for the scene as we might do it. Needless to say, this was not especially productive, at least not for me. When we shot the scene, this actor then went the opposite way - HUGE, capital A 'acting' - as it turned out he tended to do in most of his other scenes: ridiculously over the top. Evidently he like to 'save it all up' for the shoot, and then let loose with full fury...

Interestingly, his performances were specifically noted in those terms (negatively) in one of the reviews of the film.

Otherwise, like I said, pretty much every actor I've worked with has welcomed rehearsals.

I always crave more. Much more...
 
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Because some directors will rehearse it to the point where the scene becomes completely stale and all the spontaneity dies. But that is only some directors...

Don't get me wrong, rehearsals can definitely be beneficial, but there is also something very powerful about the first time the words on a page are said, if the actor has done all the prep-work and is completely connected.
 
Im a little from column A and a little from column B. I agree with Teresa above, I dont like overdoing anything. My rehearsals arent about blocking any scene, I usually go through the characters and set up clearly who the characters are discuss how then that character may react and then run some random scenes. The most powerful tool I think I can give an actor is a complete understanding of the character and and their motivation.
 
+2 and then some .. Ted, invariably the word gets around and he'll have to find another avenue, and it'll never be on stage in the theatre. No rehearsals? he won't get in the side door.

ATD .. another bug is actors arriving late for rehearsals and I don't mean 5mins .. that can easily morph into 'no' rehearsal. You might know this but establish everything right from the start, but do it very well .. find out what each likes, coffee and tea etc.

IMO your first meetings are actually part of the rehearsals, they'll set the tone of .. everything.

Cheers.
 
teresadecher said:
Because some directors will rehearse it to the point where the scene becomes completely stale and all the spontaneity dies. But that is only some directors...
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I have never come remotely close to that situation on a film shoot. Not even in the same universe...

...there is also something very powerful about the first time the words on a page are said...
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Well yeah - but that will only be available on setup one, take one. Probably a wide shot. Then you do it 20 more times for the other setups and takes. The first take may have been magic (and often is) but it's usually of no use. You're going to *have* to be able to repeat it *well*, many many times. The *last* take might be your close up - the money shot. That's where rehearsal pays off (and conversely, the lack of it hurts).

Of course, the 20 takes leading up to the money shot could be thought of as rehearsal, but they're not. They're takes...
 
Rehearsals aren't a time to "lock in" a scene. The goal of rehearsing isn't for the actors to be able to "nail" their performance in the first few takes. I have three main goals when rehearsing: build trust, learn about how each actor works, and practice experimenting.

Building trust is the time for actors to learn to trust you as a human. When asking actors to perform emotionally difficult scenes with truth and sincerity, they have to be willing to show you themselves and know you won't judge them. They have to know that no matter what happens on set, you will have their backs. If an actor trusts you, you can get to the "real" directing that comes from emotion instead of logic. I spend around 50% of rehearsal time just hanging out. I try to steer the conversation toward inherently sensitive subjects like family, goals, childhood, losses, etc. I begin by being incredibly open and honest myself, and never force anybody to share any personal stories. I've found that by immediately being honest and open with people, bypassing the social norms of getting to know somebody slowly, intimate relationships can be formed quite quickly. As somebody who got into filmmaking as a tech nerd, this process is exhilarating.

The next step is learning how each actor works. Some actors like to watch themselves act (death to good acting), some have strange quirks they fall into when they're struggling with a scene, some have less stamina than others, etc. It's important to know these things before showing up to set, the sooner the better. It will dramatically affect your shooting order, schedule, how much you direct each actor, the tricks you play. I've found that asking the actors about their process is actually quite ineffective. An actor may tell you that she usually does her best in the first few takes, for example; judge for yourself. All directors and films are different, so even experienced actors can be dead wrong about the best process for them. It's still a question worth asking, because it's good to know if you're doing something that the actor doesn't like. If an actor doesn't like too much rehearsal, be aware, but don't let it change your plans. If he trusts you, he will go along with it. The way to learn how each actor works is to watch them act; discussion won't tell you much.

Practicing experimentation is next. This essentially means making a habit of risk-taking. Give positive feedback when an actor does something unexpected. There are no wrongs in rehearsals. Experimentation is the key to never having a scene get stale in rehearsals. An actor will always be a bit off-balance (how real people are in real life), never knowing what his scene partner is going to do. This keeps performances honest. The other purpose of experimentation is to find alternative ideas for the scene. It's very hard for a director not to see the movie in her head, so experimentation lets you consider other options. Ideally the director is as open to seeing things go in a new direction as the actors are. This is tough in practice, especially in the case of a writer/director. Think of rehearsals as practice for you as well.

The more technical elements of rehearsals, blocking and pacing, are secondary in my opinion. Working on this too much can really slow things down and make rehearsals dull. Keep things fun and exciting.

To reiterate the main point, rehearsal is not about getting actors to memorize their performances. If this is your goal, rehearsals will likely hurt the film.
 
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An important distinction too that is worth noting is the difference between learning lines and rehearsal. It sounds simple, but it's something I don't think I knew to differentiate when I started making my film. You *can* shoot without rehearsal (not usually a good idea), but you really can't shoot if your actors don't know their lines (at least not very easily.) We've shot in situations where there have been big script changes at the last minute and while if you really stay focused you can pull shooting scenes like that off even if the actors are learning lines and rehearsing at the same time...it can be agonizing, you will definitely be in for a very long night, and it's no way to do an entire film.

Our process goes like this: We plan the shoot date, I send out the scripts, go over questions about the scene with the actors, the actors learn their lines over a few days, then we'll meet several hours before that scene's shoot, do table reads of the scene while the crew sets up, rehearse the scene up to the point that we are about 90% where we want to be and then start shooting. Our film is ensemble and the actors have all worked together quite a lot, so this does help to a degree in terms of being able to do this somewhat quickly...but we spend a lot of time talking before we get to rehearsal too.

You can definitely get stale performances if you over-rehearse, but...honestly I think that's something people like to mention because it then allows them to justify not putting in the time to rehearse, because rehearsing isn't sexy -- shooting is sexy. My point is just that I think most performance problems are related to lack of rehearsal rather than excessive-rehearsal.

But, what's right for your film in terms of rehearsal will likely be different than what would be right for someone else's, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to this, just generally good practices. The process we've used on For the Love of God, for example, would never work if we were shooting a film adaptation of a Shakespearean play, it'd be a disaster.

The kind of film you are making and the skill & chemistry of your acting team has a lot to do with how the rehearsal process should be set up. In our case, we are going for a very particular style, something that feels like improvisation yet is fully scripted -- if we rehearse too much it can get stale but that takes longer than you think it might to happen, and that's why I say, once you hit 90% of what you want, start shooting -- if it gets stale in later takes you'll have the early ones to work with, and at least in my experience it's rare that the first takes are better than the last ones, sometimes they've got a little something extra in one part of the take or another, but they are seldom as solid as the takes you'll get towards the end.

In our case, most of my acting team have stage backgrounds as opposed to film backgrounds -- and this will make a big difference and is an important factor when you determine how you will rehearse and shoot your film, stage actors are used to really digging in and doing scenes over and over again in rehearsal, and then every night for about a month while their show is in production -- this is very different from someone who is primarily a screen actor where it is really about nailing a perfect performance *one* time.

In that way, the expectation for the quality of the performance is perhaps higher than it might be for a stage actor on any given night, but when shooting you can also get lucky once in a while and get a great take by accident which can't be replicated -- stage actors don't work that way, and even if they do a great read, until they feel like they really own it, they are not likely to feel satisfied with where they are.

I'm not putting a value judgement on either, although I do in general prefer working with stage-actors for the kind of work I'm pursuing, but it's something to be mindful of when casting -- what kind of experience does your actor have, is he/she more of a film or more of a stage actor? It's important to know when deciding how to tackle the movie from a rehearsal standpoint.

I guess again my point is to not rush this stuff, take your time when you rehearse and do lots of takes, your actors performances are not secondary to the film which need to be shoe-horned into your movie, your actor;s performances are your movie.
 
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Personally, I need rehearsals to know exactly what the hell is going on, especially if I'm not directing the piece. The more comfortable I am with my lines and the environment, the better I am to let myself go and just let moments happen. I never want to be searching for lines or blocking. Once blocking has been created then I can find motivation for what happens and allow myself to stay "in the moment".
 
I have been acting for about 5 years, and have asked many about their acting styles, and preferences. I believe that as stated above, many prefer to rehearse so as to understand the flow of the scene, etc. But one thing that I have developed personally is that I like to rehearse with other actors, but I do not like to completely memorize their actions and lines, only their cues, so that I can actually listen to them as they speak and give a more natural reaction. That said, I do make sure to know the gist of things so there is not lag time or any manner of unpreparedness, it really is a matter of preference to each and every actor of what is going to allow for them to give a more natural, and believable performance.

Thus ask them what they feel will help them tell the story best, and see if it it a system to which you are ok working with.
 
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I've been acting - stage & screen for nearly 40 years (**** that makes me really old!) and I don't believe you can rehearse too much. Every night I get up on stage I carry the things I want to change, to improve - with me.

I'm two people on stage - 1 performing & 1 watching the performance, every night I'm learning how to tweak the character, the performance. Every night I'm trying to hit the mark I set.

I don't believe for a minute that 'screen' actors can hit that mark without rehearsal - I think they're playing with themselves.

I've been on both sides of the fence - I remember a film some years ago with a particularly emotionally charge scene that we shot in one take the cast & crew raved about but I don't know if that's as good as it could have been. On the other hand I recall vividly playing a wife beating husband (on stage) who loses everything in the end and having a woman in the audience (about a week into the performance) jump up out of her seat with a fist in the air and yell "Yes" - I ran around the green room - I was absolutely thrilled - she hated me! - I hit my mark.

No one acts alone - just learning the lines and thinking about / discussing the performance doesn't get you anywhere near the truth - it's not about acting, it's about reacting - to the people around you.

REHEARSE.
 
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