Production: Casting & Online Table Read

Casting

Casting is important when a director is working to bring the story's characters to life on screen, since the actors determine with their performances how authentic the audience believe the story to be, as well as how invested they become in the conflict (Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier, 2013:213). When casting, directors should thus keep in mind that they will "need actors enthusiastic about the character they play, who will work well with you and other cast members, and who will be loyal to the project" (Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier, 2013:213).

To cast our film, I sent out a casting call on the website StarNow, to which we received 46 applications. Due to this large number, we decided to first audition applicants through video self-tapes, and use these to determine which actors we would like to have audition in person, thinking about the factors above which we would need - enthusiasm, loyalty, and whether we thought they would work well with us. A big factor in this was also whether we felt that they fit the character.

To keep track of the applicants I used a spreadsheet so that I would know who had replied to our initial message asking them to audition via video, and who had sent us a self-taped audition. I felt this helped since messages from the actors were often spread between my account on StarNow and my email. On the spreadsheet, I used green to signify that the actor had replied to the message, or sent a self-tape, yellow in the self-tape column for actors who had said they would send a self-tape audition when replying to the initial message but hadn't sent it yet, and red if they hadn't replied or sent a self-tape. I also wrote which role they had auditioned for, so we could keep track of how many applicants we had for each character, as well as their location, if this was on their StarNow profile, so we could start thinking about travel costs. For actors who sent me a self-taped audition via email, I also noted their email so that I could email them back as sometimes I found that messages would get lost in my inbox, making it hard to find their video audition, or reply to their email. Including a notes column in the spreadsheet was useful when, for example, an actor had to withdraw their application, or had an agent who they needed to negotiate with before auditioning.

Overall, I found that using a spreadsheet made it easier to glance at applications quickly, rather than scrolling through messages, and allowed me not to lose track of any applications.

After self-taped auditions, we had planned to hold in-person auditions at the studios but were unable to do this due to lockdown. Therefore, we cast actors from self-tapes. I found this hard initially, as I had gone through the video auditions and taken notes earlier in the process, and found from this that I wanted to see how each actor took direction since I felt like some of them could be good for the roles, but just needed some direction to help refine and guide their performance, which is why we had planned to hold in-person auditions. I also wanted to discuss their interpretations of the characters, as well as their work methods and training to get to know them a bit better. I thought that this was necessary in helping us cast the right actors, since, as stated by Martin Scorsese, the casting process involves "meeting the people, spending time with them, talking with them, then, putting them together with the other actors" so that the director can see not only how each individual actor works, but also how they work together with other actors (MasterClass, 2020).
Despite this, we cast two actors from their video auditions - and I was also able to watch some monologues they had previously performed and one of their showreels, which they both sent me - since we thought from these that each actor was a good fit for their character. I then held these initial discussions with each actor over video call, before holding an online table read.

Online Table Read

Since the table read was the first time I met and worked with both actors, and it was happening before filming, I decided to treat it as a rehearsal. During the rehearsal stage of production, it has been said that the director's aims are to:

Get to know the actors
Allow the actors to get to know each other
Build trust in the actor-director relationship
Develop a method for character research
Explore approaches to each scene, refining these by defining beats, and adding blocking
Build an understanding of how each actor works so that the actors and director are able to use this understanding to communicate effectively, and, as is often necessary, quickly, on set
(Rea & Irving, 2015:133).

The director can work in stages during the rehearsal period to achieve these aims. These stages are often initial discussions with each actor, and a first read-through, which is then followed by a second read-through (Rea & Irving, 2015:133-5). However, the most important thing the director should work to develop during the rehearsal process is trust between them and the actors, since "the level of trust between actor and director will allow the actor to take the types of creative risks necessary to explore the limits of what can be achieved with their role in the film", which, it could be argued, is an integral part of building an authentic, believable performance (Rea & Irving, 2015:133).

Considering this, I therefore decided that our table read would follow the structure of:

Initial discussions with each actor about their characters, work methods, and training
A first-read through - during which the actors only read the lines, and do not act them out
A second-read through - working to create and refine the performances by exploring different approaches to the script
(Rea & Irving, 2015:133-5).

Initial Discussions

A director can begin building trust with each actor by holding individual initial discussions with them, since this allows ideas to be discussed in an informal way, with minimal pressure (Rea & Irving, 2015:133). It has been suggested that it can be useful for a director to discuss with the actor how the actor likes to work, their training, how they develop characters, and how they interpret their role (Rea & Irving, 2015:133). The director can also discuss with the actor their plan for filming, any potential limitations or challenges they have determined could affect production, and how they see the character (Rea & Irving, 2015:133).
From these suggestions, I created my own list of questions which I felt would be most useful to discuss with each actor:

How do you see the character?
What do you think are the central ideas of the story?
What are your work methods?
How were you trained?
How do you like to approach developing a character?

Since I had thought about using some improvisation during the table read, I also asked each actor how they felt about improvisation, and if they had any ideas for improvisation exercises that we could try with the characters and a new situation. I thought this was necessary to ask even though I wasn't sure at this point whether we would definitely try improvisation or not, since "knowing which actors are comfortable with this form of work should be addressed early in the process", so that if an actor is not then they do not feel pressured to try this later (Rea & Irving, 2015:137).

To prepare for these discussions I also made notes about my interpretation of each character, so that I was able to work with each actor to develop a shared interpretation of the characters by adding to and adjusting these according to their interpretation. For example, when making notes about Vera as a character I thought about the information I had determined about her from my script analysis. However, I found from my research on directing actors that it is best if directors allow the actors to make their characters their own by contributing their own ideas, since this can also help to build an authentic performance (Weston, 1996:47). Therefore, I encouraged the actors to discuss their interpretations of their character before I shared mine with them, to suggest that their ideas were welcome and would be listened to. I found that the actress who would be playing Vera had a similar interpretation to the character as me, but she was able to add some interesting ideas, such as that maybe Vera is the best part of Monica, since she encourages her so much, as the actress used her own experience of her mother being a psychotherapist to inform the character.

Coming to a shared interpretation allowed us to both be clear on the character, but I felt that we could have discussed the arc of the character a bit more, instead of only how we each felt the character would be like. This is because it is necessary for the director and actors to agree on and understand the arc of each character, because scenes are often filmed out of order, so, to play the correct emotions at the right level, both the actors and director need to know how the character reaches each of their emotional states by realising what came before, or there is a risk that the performance could be uneven when the film is later cut together (Rea & Irving, 2015:134).

Despite this, I found I was mainly able to use these discussions with the actors to determine if they worked from the inside out, or the outside in. I found that these were two different ways that actors prepare for roles when researching the acting process. I thought that this would be useful to determine during discussions, not by directly asking the actor, but by listening to the way they discussed their interpretation of the character, since "understanding and being sensitive to how each actor prepares for a part will help the director evaluate the pace and rhythm of the rehearsal process" (Rea & Irving, 2015:133). This also helped me when giving direction during the table read, as, since the actress playing Vera used her own experience to build her interpretation of the character, it seemed as if she worked from inside out. Therefore, I felt like it would be more effective to give her direction using facts and events (telling the actors an outline of the emotional event of a scene, such as that the scene is "a fight between two people who used to love each other"), since these types of direction encourage actors to imagine their own experiences and how these relate to the character to build their performance (Weston, 1996:44).

Director's Notes

A director can keep track of all of the information they learn from the initial discussions with the actors, and during the rest of the rehearsal process by taking notes (Rea & Irving, 2015:138). It has been said that "the director relies on these notes so she can say the right thing on the set to trigger the performance she seeks" (Rea & Irving, 2015:138). This is essential since there can often be little time during production (Rea & Irving, 2015:138). Yet, as the director and actors refine scenes and adjust performances they can develop a "a shorthand for communicating what they want to do", as they each learn how the other works, and the director figures out what type of direction best helps each actor shape their performance (Rea & Irving, 2015:138).

However, a director should write down their impressions of each performance given by the actor, because as adjustments are made, and the performance develops, the director may develop new impressions which will replace previous impressions (Rea & Irving, 2015:135). Remembering previous impressions could prompt a director to go back to something which worked well before and could help improve the performance.

Thus, during the table read, I decided to keep notes of my impressions - what I liked or wanted to change about/add to the performance - and observations - what I realised about what kind of direction better helped each actor as I learnt how they work, and what their interpretations of the characters were. Using notes in this way to build knowledge about and a understanding of each actor's process leads to the actors and director being able to "work efficiently together" which means that "problems relating to script and performance can be solved quickly" during production due to this preparation (Rea & Irving, 2015:138).

Dialogue Scene

First Read-Through

The first read-through of a script is able to reveal any problems in the script, such as confusing dialogue or inconsequential scenes, allows the flow, and thus the pacing of the script, to become evident, and acts as an icebreaker as the actors meet and work with each other for the first time (Rea & Irving, 2015:134). Therefore, during this first read-through, a director should ask the actors to not act, but instead only read their lines (Rea & Irving, 2015:134). This is because problems in the script cannot become evident if performance is being concentrated on (Wilkins, 2019). If the actor gives a good performance, this could even cover any problems within the script (Wilkins, 2019).

For our first read-through, I asked the two actors to not act, so they read their lines, which I think helped them get used to acting with each other, as well as get to know each other. I also decided to read the stage directions to help give the actors an idea of pacing and test how the script flowed. However, I feel like I could have asked someone else to read the stage directions so I could listen better to the pacing of the scene and take notes on this, as I think this would have been helpful when we later began to refine the scene.

To further collaborate with the actors, the director can at this stage of rehearsals ask them what they think the theme or through line of the story is, working with them to reach a shared conclusion (Rea & Irving, 2015:134). When doing this the director should not give their interpretation, but rather "adopt a way of directing the actors' attention to the meaning of the piece with probing questions" (Rea & Irving, 2015:134). This could give the director new ideas and change their view of what the theme of the story is, even for a writer/director, who has written the script (Rea & Irving, 2015:134). Nonetheless, the director should make the final decision on what the theme of the story is (Rea & Irving, 2015:134).

I could have done this at this stage after the first read-through, yet, this was something we discussed in our initial discussions. I also wasn't sure what kind of questions to ask the actors which would help them reach an interpretation of the theme at the time, and didn't want to over-intellectualise the script, since I felt that this could take the actors out of the moment by causing them to think too much about the theme when performing. Although, after the table read, I feel like discussing the theme would have been beneficial at this stage, since it could have helped to refine the performance by giving the actors an even better understanding of the story and characters. We could have discussed this by me asking what their interpretations were, and then asking questions about the situations their character goes through in the story, what emotions and traits these reveal, and how this makes up the character arc, building to a shared interpretation of the theme.

Second Read-Through

During the second read-through, the director and actors work together to "collectively explore the potential of the script beyond the words on the page", working out and shaping the beats, pacing and subtext, as well as blocking (Rea & Irving, 2015:135). This read-through gives the director their first chance to see the actors working together and performing their interpretations of the characters (Rea & Irving, 2015:135). For this reason, when blocking the director should at first give little direction, seeing how the actors naturally move through the scene, to further allow the actor to express their interpretation of their character (Rea & Irving, 2015:135).

Take 1

Before the actors began with the second read-through, I tried to encourage them to listen to each other and relax by telling them that they didn't have to get the lines exactly right, could play off each other, and say the lines when they wanted, since this can ground actors, and therefore help them to perform in the moment (Weston, 1996:77). This was all the direction that I gave the actors at this stage, since I wanted to see how they would interpret the scene and perform with each other.
Nonetheless, I found that a challenge of using video call was that I should have checked if both actors could see me before beginning the read-throughs, since I didn't realise until one of them told me when I was giving feedback for this take that she had only just been able to see me, and had before only been seeing a circle with my username in it.

Take 2

Pacing is considered "a primary responsibility of the director", since it is vital that the actors do not peak emotionally too early, or too late within a scene or within the whole film, in order for their character's arc to be portrayed effectively (Rea & Irving, 2015:137). It has been argued that it is common for directors to talk to actors about pacing by directing them to give their performance, "louder, softer, faster, and slower" (Rea & Irving, 2015:137). However, as these are adjectives, they are result-oriented direction, and it is hence more effective and helpful to an actor if the director gives them an objective or action which will help refine the pace of the scene (Rea & Irving, 2015:137). Considering this, I felt like I wanted the scene to have more urgency after the first take, so I gave the actors the adjustment of aiming to jump in on certain lines and interrupt each other.

I felt that giving the actors this objective to refine the pacing helped tighten the scene by adding some urgency. I decided to ask the actors how they felt about how we were developing the scene after this take, since I wanted their input so that if they had suggestions, questions, or concerns they had a chance to voice them. They also felt like the scene was beginning to flow better and had more energy.

Take 3

To keep the energy of the scene up, I decided to add some movement - as much as we could over video call - by having Vera enter, and Monica exit.

I felt that adding this movement made the scene more confrontational, and helped the actors add more emotion to their performances by adding some more urgency, allowing the scene to flow better. Because of this, I felt that this take was the best one so far and could potentially be the final take. Yet, I decided to do one more take to see if the scene could be refined any more.

Take 4

I wondered if the emotion of the scene could be further strengthened, so I asked the actors how they were getting on playing off each other, since I felt like this could be challenging over video call as they were physically separated. They found it hard to see each other, so tried to pay attention to each other more during this take.

During this take, I found that the actors had become more comfortable with each other, and with the pacing of the scene. However, I thought that the last take was better with the pacing and emotion, since asking the actors to focus on playing off each other seemed to make the scene a bit too intense in places.
Therefore, we decided to use take 3 as the final outcome. The main thing which would have improved this scene would be if I had given the actors each an objective, as I had prepared before the table read, such as that Vera needs to defeat Monica's writer's block, while Monica aims to stop Vera from leaving, since I feel like this could have helped refine the conflict by creating two different viewpoints for the actors to try and get across.
I think that whilst directing this dialogue scene I also could have done more work with the actors on shaping the beats and subtext of the scene. I had done work on this myself through the script analysis, which I went back over and refined before the table read. Despite this, I wasn't sure how to guide the actors through shaping beats and subtext, so this is something I could work on. Taking more notes during these read-throughs may have helped with this, since I didn't make many. I also think the scene will improve once we are all able to be in the same room, and develop blocking, since this could give us a better idea of the pace and energy of the scene. Nevertheless, I think that from this dialogue scene I was able to see that the actors each had a good idea of their character, and worked well together, as well as see how they took direction, and which type of direction helped them the most.

Improvisation

This allowed us to try some improvisation. Improvisation can be used within rehearsals "to help clarify the meaning of the scene, the subtext, or the dramatic beats" (Rea & Irving, 2015:137). What the actors and director discover during improvisation can then even be added to the scripted scene (Rea & Irving, 2015:138). For example, improvisation can be used to explore moments between the characters which do not happen in the script, such as one of their earlier meetings or arguments, which can help the actors and director expand their understanding of the characters' relationship (Rea & Irving, 2015:138).
During the initial discussions I had with the actors, I asked them if they had any ideas for improvisation exercises we could try during the table read. Since they didn't have any suggestions, I researched some improv exercises, which could both help us create an unscripted scene, as well as tighten the dialogue scene if needed. One of the improvisation exercises which I thought could help us better understand Monica and Vera's relationship involved two actors having to keep up a conversation and accompanying action, with one of example situations given being "showing someone they have not done a good job" (Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier, 2013:271). We couldn't really keep up an action over video call, so I thought we could do this exercise with just the conversation. During this exercise, the director could consider whether the actors:

"Keep both topic and actions going?
Keep the physical world they created consistent?
Listen to and work off each other?
Share the initiative equally?
Allow the piece to develop spontaneously?
Develop interesting characters?"
(Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier, 2013:272).

Yet, improvisation can also be used to improve performances for a scripted scene. When the director feels like an actor's performance doesn't have enough emotion or energy, they can ask the actor to exaggerate the emotion they are playing, as this can "release actors temporarily from restrictive judgements they are imposing and give them permission to overact", allowing the director to then set new levels for the energy and emotion of the scene (Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier, 2013:280).

When the director feels as if the actors are struggling to play off each other, and/or seem unaware of each other, the director could ask them to switch characters so that they become aware of the other role, and thus the other actor (Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier, 2013:281). If the director feels as if a line of dialogue or action repeatedly seems false, they could "ask each actor what his or her character's thoughts, fears, and mental images were at that moment" to try and help the performance become more believable, however, it is advised that this technique not be used by a director often (Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier, 2013:281).

Hence, improvisation is considered as "an effective way to loosen up the actors", and can allow directors to find and explore new meanings and approaches to a scene, as well as help them further see how the actors work together (Rea & Irving, 2015:138).

Discussion

After the dialogue scene, I decided to ask the actors to try the improv exercise where one of them has to show the other that they have not done a good job, so that we could further explore Monica and Vera's relationship. I felt that Vera having to show Monica that she hasn't done a good job at writing one day would help reveal more about the characters by bringing out character traits such as Monica's perfectionism, Vera trying to help Monica, and the tension which could come from the fact that Vera's life is dictated by what Monica creates, since I felt like these were present in the scripted scene.

Therefore, I gave the actors the situation of Monica having written something one day, which Monica believes is brilliant, but Vera doesn't. I gave them some possible reasons for why Vera doesn't think Monica's writing is good, but didn't set one, since I wanted the actors to be free to explore the situation. Because of this, I also gave them a chance to discuss the situation with each other before starting to improvise.

During this discussion, the actors refined the possibilities of the scene so that they were both clear on how the scene could go, as well as created a sense of how the scene could be paced. This idea of pacing helped me when I later started guiding them in refining the scene and set objectives for each character.