A Music Director's Epic Tale: Les Miserables

Chapter 2 : Project Planning

2.1 - The Calendar

Like any other major project with lots of subtasks, I found the best way to plan the work was to take out a calendar, look at the performance dates, and then work backwards. At our theatre, we typically rehearse three nights a week (for this show, we also allocated a couple hours on Saturday afternoons). The last three rehearsals before opening are allocated to "tech week", and the week prior is generally for dress rehearsals and/or solid run-throughs of the entire show (minus the major technical elements of sound and lighting) to check for flow and finish cleaning scenes (blocking and singing) so they are working correctly.

Our theater likes to produce four shows per year, and the shows run back-to-back. So while one show is about to finish its run, the next show's audition process is taking place. Callbacks for the next show are completed before the current show's last weekend. The day after the show is over, phone calls are made to the cast of the new show, and the first meeting of director, musical director, cast and their parents happens on the Tuesday immediately after closing.