How to Rehearse a Play

Damon Kiely is the author of How to Read a Play (Routledge 2016) and is a director, playwright, and professor of directing and acting. He is the chair of performance for the Theatre School of DePaul University, USA.

• 1. Introduction 2. Lessons from the Past 3. A Survey of Current Practices 4. Rehearsing a Play Without a Script: Notes on Devising 5. Rehearsal Workbook

'Kiely (DePaul Univ.) provides a bit of history, a splash of personal experience, and a wealth of knowledge from 50-plus modern directors worldwide. Offering tools and exercises to aid in the seemingly mysterious process of directing a play, the book comprises five chapters, the largest of which, at about 100 pages, is "Survey of Current Practices.” Here Kiely provides interviews with modern practitioners, offering the reader multiple ideas and viewpoints to help solve the challenges that occur from opening rehearsal to opening night and beyond. Other chapters are “Lessons from the Past,” which looks at some famous historical directors (think George II, Stanislavski, Brecht) and highlights their strengths and processes, and "Rehearsing a Play without a Script," which offers a brief look at rehearsing devised works. The book concludes with a chapter specifically focused on the rehearsal—the direct interaction with the actors. Though this book does not provide "the path” to directing, it serves as a solid holistic view of the director’s duties. It looks at the subject from a fresh viewpoint, offering multiple ways to reach the end goal—a successful production.'- E. C. Skiles, Lone Star College-Kingwood