The House: Rehearsal Diary 2

24 September 2024

Our last week in Dublin and move to Galway was busy but brilliant – those final weeks of rehearsal where you are trying to fine-tune the storytelling and performances and bring the play to life as best you can.

After rehearsals, the production moves into the Town Hall Theatre in Galway so that all elements of the production can come together: the set has to be loaded into and put on the stage; the lights are hung and focused; set up of speakers and systems; organisation of stage area and props; setting up and preparing costume, hair and make-up stations.

Once all is set up in the theatre, the actors join, and we work through the play from the beginning. The design team are set up in the stalls and there is a steady stream of communication as each works on their own area but in conversation with one another. We work steadily and efficiently, adjusting as needed what we have rehearsed in the rehearsal room. At the end of each day, we have a meeting with all departments and decide what needs to get done the next day. Normally the first session of the day is given over to any stage work that is needed to be done: fixes to the set, readjustment of lights, working on sound etc. Then the second and third sessions are with the actors, in costume and make-up, to continue working through the play. End of the technical rehearsals leads to the dress rehearsal and then on to the previews.

We continue the work once these performances start. The production team sits in and notes the show – if you see someone scribbling in the dark into notebooks during previews, it’s probably someone working on the show. Then there is a production meeting after each performance ends to share technical and creative notes. These notes get worked on the next day, in the morning and afternoon, ahead of that evening’s performance. With each day there are fewer things to consider as the company become more solidified with the production. For the dress rehearsal, I had 10 pages of notes and by the final preview I only had one page!

This progress of a production moving from the shared intimacy of a rehearsal to the public sharing of performances can be challenging but it is why we do what we do. We make these plays and we tell these stories to share them with audiences. And there is a great excitement in that. It can be nerve-racking when you sit in taking notes during previews but there is also joy in noticing how the audience is responding to the play and performances. There was a terrific response to the production in Galway and after a successful sold-out run we’re delighted to now be bringing The House to the Gaiety Theatre as part of Dublin Theatre Festival.

Photos: Ros Kavanagh