Scheduling. Does the word alone strike terror in your heart? A visit to the dentist can be more relaxing than trying to get a bunch of people together. But fear not. Do what must be done and you will have great art to show for it.
At first it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but sitting down together and making a rehearsal schedule is crucial to the success of your project, whether you are presenting yourself in recital or producing an opera. After all, this is the only time you have together to create a show. A well-planned schedule not only makes for strong performances, but also sends the message that your project is on a professional level.
No one ever likes to feel that their time is being wasted. Be as accommodating as you can when you set the schedule, bring people into a rehearsal space with a clear agenda, use your colleagues’ time well—and presto! Everyone will think you’re a great colleague, and your performance will shine too. It’s as easy and as complicated as that.
Scheduling is the act of deciding what needs to be done and choosing when to do it. Even before you ask your colleagues for their availability, take a look at what the music and your production need. Some things will be a given—for example, you will likely need a dress rehearsal. You can never have enough music rehearsal time. And if the show is staged, your lighting and technical people will need time to load in equipment on the day of the performance.
Different projects will have different depths of complexity to consider. Two brief art songs might be rehearsed well just once—but not if they are world premieres involving extended vocal techniques. Become really familiar with the artistic demands of your show to give you a sense of what will likely demand more time and what can be accomplished on the fly.
Once you have a good sense of your show’s needs, ask for your collaborators’ conflicts and any other special considerations, such as travel time. You can use an online scheduler such as Doodle.com to request this information, but I find that by the time I create an online form for people to fill in and wait for them to respond, I might as well have done it all myself. I prefer to ask for conflicts during a one-month period before a show, enter it all into an Excel spreadsheet, and see what the options are from there.
Once you get everyone’s information together, then pause. No matter how clearly you asked for their conflicts, I guarantee that someone will send you their availability instead, or vice versa. Or they will tell you one schedule and then change it two days later. Or they’ll have a long travel time on one day but not another, but won’t quite indicate which is which. Be as careful as you can when deciphering other people’s schedules. You may think you’ve created the perfect schedule until you realize that you misread someone’s availability and have to start all over again. Take a deep breath. Do it right the first time and you don’t have to do it again.
Another difficult thing about scheduling is that many factors have to come together at the same time. You can finally find dates and times for rehearsals, only to discover that you have no space to rehearse then. The solution is to keep spaces in mind as you start to assemble possible dates. Ask the people you are rehearsing with if they have connections to inexpensive or low-cost rehearsal space. I have found that colleagues are an excellent and generous source for securing locations.
Even before you start planning rehearsals, consider other things going on around the time of your performances and how that might affect the schedule. I’ve made the mistake of planning a show for early January, only to realize that the holiday season would eliminate many possible rehearsal dates. Also, unless you are paying professional wages, don’t be surprised if some of your artists ask to reschedule at the last minute if they receive higher-paying gigs. And, of course, there will be illnesses, emergencies, traffic, and excuses. This is where knowledge of your project’s artistic needs comes in, as it will allow you to improvise around changes and rehearse your highest priorities even when plans change.
Once you determine your rehearsal dates (having checked and double checked everyone’s availability), communicate the schedule in a clear and reliable way. That is, an e-mail might not do it. I prefer a Google doc, which can be referred to readily and eliminates endless e-mail chains, in case of changes. Even so, less technologically inclined performers might prefer an attachment or even a printout. If it helps them get the rehearsals onto their calendars, do whatever it takes.
Even with best efforts, you will likely end up with a schedule that is less than perfect—the star can come only at the end, one piece unexpectedly requires extra time, an entire rehearsal gets cancelled, etc. Trust the fact that your fellow performers are going to do their best, no matter how hectic the rehearsal schedule is. After all, no one comes to the lip of the stage and says “Ladies and gentleman, I’m sorry, but my performance is going to be lousy because so-and-so messed up the rehearsal schedule.” Just like you, when most people commit to putting themselves on stage, they’re going to do it well.
Singers might find themselves facing a particular obstacle when it comes to scheduling: we are simply not used to setting agendas. We are accustomed to following instructions from coaches, teachers, and directors—and practicing according to our own will in the practice room. Telling other people what to do (and setting up rehearsals is effectively that) is not something we get to practice very much. If you chose the music for a program, your collaborators will also look to you for artistic leadership and to set a rehearsal agenda. It can be a shock to find that people will look to you to make decisions and lead.
But own that role and use the exacting experience of setting up the schedule as preparation for setting the bar for your entire enterprise. Scheduling isn’t just an administrative hassle. It’s one of the first steps you’ll take as a leader.
