Inside the Rehearsal Room

Shortlisted for the STR Theatre Book Prize 2023



With an exclusive focus on text-based theatre-making, Inside the Rehearsal Room is both an instructional and conceptual examination of the rehearsal process. Drawing on professional practice and underpinned by theory, this book moves through each stage of rehearsals, considering the inter-connectivity between the actor, director, designers and the backstage team, and how the cumulative effect of the weeks in rehearsal influences the final production.



The text also includes:



- Auto-ethnographic and fully ethno-graphic case study approaches to different rehearsal rooms

- Interviews with directors, actors, designers and actor trainers

- A consideration of the ethics of the rehearsal room and material selected for production

- Practical exercises on how to creatively read a text from an acting and directing perspective



Informed by over 20 years of directing experience in the UK and Europe, Robert Marsden's book offers a practical guide that ultimately demystifies the rehearsal process and challenges how the rehearsal room should be run in the twenty-first century.