Rehearsals, Dresses and Tech runs in the New Theatre

The first rehearsal in the new theatre wasn't a dress or a tech this was more just to get used to our new set and the volume at which we'll have to speak. The dressing rooms weren't open so we had to wait outside when we weren't on stage which also meant that we didn't have the small televisions where we could watch what was happening on stage and see when we needed to get ready to get to our entrances.
When I had to go onstage I got to my entrance on time but I didn't realise how quickly I had to get to my place which is on the opposite end of the stage. I almost skipped across stage which isn't acceptable unless my character is extremely gay so for future reference I'll have to speed walk and come on first. After my scene is finished, I'm backstage for the rest of the play so I have a lot of time to kill.

The tech run was mainly the tech team going over lighting cues as this play is largely dependant on lighting. The volume at which we speak directly correlates to the lighting changes because if the lighting managers can't hear what we're saying and miss a cue, it could cause a lot of confusion during a performance. So this run was more for them and if they asked we had to repeat scenes to make sure they had everything right. No set changes have to be made either so there won't be blackouts where TTA sneak on and change things. Apart from the tent but actors onstage do that.

The dress runs were just us performing but in full costume. There wasn't that much of a difference at all but it completed our characters. For some people they figured out what underwear worked with their costume and for the convicts women, they found out that bending over too much or climbing on things was a bit revealing. The costume department have also decided that the officers and convicts will have separate dressing rooms because if we touched the convicts too much we got dirt on our costumes. For us officers, it meant managing our wigs and making sure they fitted well. Sometimes if we felt they were sliding off or someone's wig was crawling off their heads, we would let them know so they could adjust it. It also meant us bringing the appropriate shoes (black boots) because if you didn't have them, you looked like an idiot. You ruined the illusion.

Rehearsal

This rehearsal we rehearsed act 2 and worked on the transitions which need to be quicker. The scenes were quite static and when Sarah gave notes out to the actors, almost all of them were about pace which was dropped.

Some of the actors in the company have been having trouble finding meaning in what they're saying and when they face this problem, the audience don't believe them. So they did an exercise with us where they stood on a raised platform in front of everyone and spoke their lines out. Whenever we didn't believe them, found an important part where they could place more emphasis or a part that could sound better we said "what was that?" or "you want what?" or whatever suited the moment. They would then repeat that bit over and over until we believed it. After a few attempts, the lines sounded better as we helped them find how to say it and they began to find the meaning behind what they were saying. This helped the entire scene develop as well because if one actor doesn't understand what they're saying it becomes a hindrance to everything else.