The First Week of Polishing
The first week of polishing is complete and I couldn’t be more comfortable with how much Love and Information has already improved. With the notes from the previous run in my mind I had a good idea what I need to improve and approached polishing with a fair amount of excitement and a dash of nervousness. Polishing is known for being the most relaxed and stress-free part of the rehearsal process. It’s the time when you can make your ideas become whole and come to life. Blocking is the basic moves that will enable your piece to run but it will be far from the finished product. Where as when it comes to polishing it can be seen as taking a piece of wood and smoothing out the edges. Which is why it’s exciting!
The actual process is dependant on the actors learning their lines and knowing all their notes (instructions and feedback from the director), which have been accumulated through the blocking process and the runs that we’ve now done. In polishing, the director wants to be adding to the basic structure which they have created to make it an all round better show that flows and looks good!
I came into this week with fresh eyes. I knew exactly how I would carry out the polishing process. From having had a run, it meant that I was able to see what scenes needed more time, I’m not ashamed to say that one scene in particular didn’t work, so now through polishing I am making adjustments – it’s all part of the process and the role of being a director.
So how did the first week of polishing actually go? It honestly went quite well! In the first half of the session we completed a good chunk of polishing. Then in the second half I decided to do some team building exercises and character work, as there had been a consistent note from both of the runs for the cast to have more energy and react to each other’s characters. The cast and I worked well and I feel that I am in a good position to finish the polishing through the next couple of weeks.
Once the polishing is finished it’s into the swing of production week once we’ve had our final run, which from a directors viewpoint is daunting as well as an opportunity to find out whether all the hard work that has been put in has paid off.
Georgie Nott
For your chance to see Georgie at work as part of the Young Directors’ Festival visit the MAC Birmingham for final tickets!
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