What Happens at the First Rehearsal of a Play (and How to Prepare)

The email from the stage manager arrives a week out. It has a call time, an address, a rehearsal calendar attached, and a line that says something like “Day one: meet and greet, designer presentations, read-through.” You’ve done plays before, maybe at school or in a community company. But this is a new room, a new director, and people who’ve never seen you work.

Many guides to the first rehearsal are written for students or for the director running it. This one is for the actor walking in: what each part of the day is for and what’s worth having done before you sit down at the table.

The short version: the first day is mostly listening. You’ll meet the company, hear the director’s idea of the play, see the designs, and read the script aloud together. Nobody expects a performance. What helps is knowing the play well, having your calendar sorted, and bringing a pencil.

How the first day usually runs

Every company does it a little differently, but the shape is familiar. Toronto Metropolitan University’s production handbook describes a company meeting, usually on the first day, that works as a meet and greet for actors, technicians, and staff. It’s common, the handbook says, for the director to give a short talk and the designers to do a brief show and tell. The first read-through follows, ideally after that meeting.

Northlight Theatre’s write-up of its first rehearsal for Awake and Sing! follows the same order: the cast, production team, and staff meet, the designers walk everyone through their work, and then the cast reads the play aloud.

Put together, a typical first day looks something like this:

1. You arrive, sign in with stage management, and find your seat at the table.
2. Everyone introduces themselves, often around the table with name and role or job.
3. The director talks about the play and the production.
4. The designers present the set, costumes, and sometimes lights and sound.
5. On a union show, the Equity members take care of union business at some point in the day; where it falls varies.
6. The company reads the play aloud.
7. Stage management covers paperwork, the calendar, and what happens tomorrow.

The order shifts. Some companies read first and show designs after lunch. Some spread it over two days. The rehearsal calendar from your stage manager is the best guide to your own first day.

The meet and greet: who’s in the room

The first day can be crowded. Beyond the cast and director, you might meet the stage managers, designers, the producer or artistic director, marketing staff, and sometimes board members or donors. Some of them you may not see in the rehearsal room again until tech.

Casting director and teacher JV Mercanti’s guide to actor etiquette gives simple advice for this part. Go up to people and introduce yourself instead of waiting for them to come to you. Tell them which role you’re playing, even if you’re an understudy. Ask questions rather than talking about yourself. And find the director, producer, and casting director to thank them for the job.

It also helps to learn the stage managers’ names first. They are the people you’ll email about a late train, a conflict, or a missing page, and they run the room for the whole process.

The director’s talk and the design presentation

This is the part actors are most tempted to sit through politely. Don’t. It’s the clearest picture you’ll get of the world you’re about to build, and it often answers questions you didn’t know you had.

Listen for the director’s reason for doing this play now. That reason often comes back in notes. If the director says the play is about a family pretending nothing is wrong, you have a strong hint about how scenes will be shaped.

Then watch the designs with your own body in mind. Ask yourself a few practical questions as each designer talks:

• Where are the doors, stairs, and levels, and which ones will you use?
• What will you wear, and does it change how you sit, run, kneel, or fall?
• Is there anything you’ll handle a lot, like a tray of glasses, a letter, or a weapon?
• Does the period or place of the design change how your character would move or speak?

Write those down. You don’t need to ask everything on day one, and costume worries usually belong at your fitting. But a note about long skirts on a steep staircase is worth having before you start blocking. Our guide to memorizing blocking explains how to mark moves in your script once rehearsals begin.

Equity business on a union show

If the production is on an Equity contract, part of the day is union business. In the US, the TDF Theatre Dictionary describes the Equity deputy as a company member elected by the Equity actors to act as a liaison between the performers and the union. The deputy keeps an eye on rehearsal hours and breaks, can call meetings, and can oversee secret ballots when members need to vote on something.

In Canada, the role is now called the Equity Liaison. Canadian Actors’ Equity says a majority vote decides it when more than one person is interested, but usually one person volunteers and is acclaimed. Any Equity member on contract can serve. The same handbook’s stage manager chapter also has the first rehearsal include a talk about the agreed Equity rules.

What gets discussed and voted on depends on the contract and the company, so don’t assume the details from your last show carry over. If you’re new to the union, it’s fine to ask the stage manager or the deputy afterward what a vote meant. If you’re not a member yet, our guides to joining Actors’ Equity and Equity versus non-Equity theater explain how the two kinds of shows differ.

The read-through: hear the play, don’t perform it

Then the company reads the play aloud from start to finish. Spotlight’s guide to the first day is clear that there’s no pressure to “act” at the first read-through. Someone from the production team often reads the stage directions, and designers may sit in and take notes.

That doesn’t mean reading flat. A good first read is clear, awake, and connected to the other actors. Say the words cleanly, listen to the person reading to you, and let what they give you land. Knowing the play, pronouncing your words, and listening matter more here than a bold choice.

Some things to keep in mind while you read:

• Keep your eyes up when you can. Knowing the play well enough to look up at your scene partner for a beat is more useful than any choice.
• Mark cuts and changes as they’re announced, in pencil.
• Note any moment where you were surprised by how another actor read a line. That’s a conversation for later rehearsals.
• Don’t apologize for a stumble. Keep going, the way you would in a run.

Our guide to preparing for a table read goes deeper on marking your script and reading in the room.

The calendar: conflicts and the off-book date

At some point on the first day, stage management usually goes over the rehearsal calendar. Two things on it matter more than anything else to you: your conflicts and the off-book date.

You probably listed conflicts when you auditioned. Now is when they become real. In Davidson College’s stage management handbook, conflicts are taken into account when the schedule is built, and only the director can approve or turn one down. So check the calendar against your own diary before day one, and tell stage management straight away about anything that has changed. A conflict raised in week three, after the schedule is built around you, is much harder to fix.

The off-book date is the day you’re expected to rehearse without the script. Spotlight’s guide says it’s typically at least two weeks before opening, but every production sets its own, so find it on your calendar. One student company’s stage management guide has assistant stage managers on book after that date to give you the line when you call for it, and starts line notes about a week later. Our explainer on what off book means covers the related terms.

Do you need to know your lines by the first rehearsal?

Usually, no. Unless the director says otherwise, the first rehearsal is a read, and you’re expected to have the script in your hands. Many actors also find it helps to stay open on line readings until the director has talked about the play.

But the actors who do best on day one know the play well, even if they haven’t memorized it. They know who says what to whom, what every word means, and roughly how their part sits in the story. That’s what lets you look up from the page.

If the rehearsal period is short, or the director has asked for some scenes memorized early, ask the stage manager before day one rather than guessing. And if you know the calendar is tight, starting on lines early is your own call. Our plan for learning lines for a short rehearsal period lays out how.

What to have done before you walk in

A week is plenty for all of this. Here’s a practical list:

• Read the whole play at least twice: once straight through for the story, once with attention to your character.
• Look up every word, name, and reference you’ll say out loud, and check pronunciations.
• Count your lines and speeches so you know how big the job is. Our free script line counter does it for you.
• Check the rehearsal calendar against your work, travel, and family plans, and send any new conflicts to stage management now.
• Fill in any paperwork the company sent ahead, such as contact sheets or forms.
• Hear the play aloud at least once before the read-through.

That last one is the easiest to skip and one of the most useful. Reading silently, you hear the play at your own pace. Hearing it aloud tells you how it moves: where the fast exchanges are, where the long speeches sit, and how your scenes feel from the outside. In Offbook, upload the script, give each character a voice, and choose Just listen: it plays the scene out loud with every character in their own realistic voice, before you’ve even picked a role, as the video below shows.

A full-length play fits too: Offbook’s page picker can split up to 150 pages of a script into up to 10 scenes. Once you’ve heard it, pick your role and it reads every other part, listens while you say your lines, and plays the next cue when you finish. That’s a good way to know the play well enough to look up from the page on day one. If you’re working on a classic, our public-domain plays show line counts and scene charts for every role.

What to bring to the first rehearsal

Spotlight’s list of the basics is short: the script, a notebook, a pen or pencil, a water bottle, and snacks. A few additions help on a long first day:

• Your script if you have one, plus a pencil and an eraser for cuts and blocking.
• A notebook or a page in your phone for design questions, names, and dates.
• Your calendar, so you can confirm or flag conflicts on the spot.
• Water and something to eat. The first day often runs long with talking.
• Clothes and shoes you can move in, in case the director gets people on their feet.

Turn your phone to silent before you sit down, and keep it away during the read. The first day sets the tone for how the company works together, and you want to be the person who is listening.

Questions actors ask

How long is a first rehearsal?

It varies by company and contract. Your rehearsal calendar or the stage manager’s email will give the call time and the planned end time. Expect most of it to be sitting and listening.

Will the director give notes after the read-through?

Sometimes a few general ones, but the first read is usually for hearing the play. Detailed work on scenes tends to start in the days that follow, often with table work before blocking.

What if I’m the understudy?

You’re part of the company, so introduce yourself and say which roles you cover. Our guide on learning a role as an understudy covers how to prepare when you won’t get much rehearsal time.

Should I read the stage directions out loud at the read-through?

Often not. Someone from the production team often reads them. If you’re unsure, ask the stage manager before you start.