Discussion ensued, and the agreed upon script was announced along with a casting call for the required actors. Meanwhile, the technical director began drawing ground plans for the set (there were no changes in the script; only one set was needed). The head of the company had decided to direct, making that process simple, and he made several alterations to the ground plan before approving it. The set was projected to come in under the tentative budget that had been previously assumed, allowing more money to go to costumes as the play was a period piece, the costumer (a friend of the technical director's in a design class) was overjoyed with the windfall, and was able to rent many of the necessary costumes.
Auditions were held, and the stage manager and director first watched over fifty actors perform monologues. Those who seemed appropriate for the various parts were asked to come back and read excerpts from the play. Through this process, the actors who most "clicked" with the roles (and each other)...
Rehearsals involved blocking (determining where and when to move) as well as discussions of what was needed in a given moment/scene and how best to deliver that to the audience. Everyone was quickly comfortable with their actions, and began to hone the timing and intensity of their moments onstage. The set was being built at the same time, in the performance space, and fittings were held two weeks before opening. With the set finished a week before the first performance, the actors were called in to stand onstage while lights were focused (to ensure there were no unwanted shadowy areas, but an even cover of light), and the final rehearsals consisted of a full performance of the play with costumes, lights, and set, but no audience. On opening night, the front of house person arrived (who had heretofore been entirely uninvolved but knew exactly what she was doing). Tickets had been pre-sold by phone and were available at the door. The audience came, enjoyed the play, and the process was complete.
