It is odd to walk into the final tech rehearsals of a show that is not yours – in a space that you have used many times before yourself. The building is oh, so familiar: the same squeaky seat, broken wall plug, and tripping point on the steps. Many of the students look familiar. They have been with you in that space – it was just indifferent arrangements and wearing different clothes.
But this room is different. I am not sure whether it is the story that is being told on stage or a different director that is sitting in the house that makes for an entirely new atmosphere. It is no better or no worse then the time when I dominate the space – but it is indeed different. It is as if two people bought the very same shirt yet wear it quite differently.
It is amazing how actors adapt to the givens of the space and soon figure out the dynamics of the director and how they are to carry themselves during the rehearsal. They group themselves in different parts of the theatre. They play along and joke – or get serious, but all in a quite different way.
Today, as I watched the final dress rehearsals for Parade in a theatre that I will soon be moving my show into – – I was just caught in the idea that this same room could hold two such distinct worlds.