Theatre Etiquette - Multiple Shows?

As always, there are exceptions to every rule. While all of the arguments here make sense, they are generalisations and may not necessarily apply to every case. Case in point: for the first 4 years or so of my professional career I was employed in what could be described as a repertory theatre...in a typical year we rehearsed two shows up front, then started touring them and in the meantime found time to rehearse and add a third show to the programme and then a fourth. At any stage we could be called upon to perform any of the rehearsed plays...often two different plays on the same day...and mid year we took a break to learn a fifth play which played its season before we returned to the four we had in repertoire. Now, I realise that the big thing in our favour compared to the argument most of you are presenting here is that we had a unified schedule, so none of the rehearsals or performances clashed; and also there was a core cast who spent most of their time together, making the rehearsal process far simpler and efficient. But it illustrates that it's perfectly possible to concentrate on several things at once and do them well. All the roles I played were major if not lead, and all were very physical. If the characters were quite varied it was much easier to keep track of everything than if there were two similar characters in different plays, but there was never any real confusion as to what performance I should be giving when. Many different scripts, costume changes, songs, choreography, set changes...it was simply what you had to learn to do the job. I guess the mindset was a little like a film actor needs when filming their takes out of sequence...you needed to know what was meant to be happening there and then for whichever character you were playing, and you could simply switch on to the moment as required. As a result of this experience, I have since often found myself working on several projects at once...most usually rehearsing one play during the day and then performing another at night. To survive professionally, I have had to be able to do this to stay in work. Luckily, it's usually no different to any amateur performer who is also concentrating on their day job. All the arguments presented here about retaining your focus, sustaining your energy, keeping your appointments and giving each task your full committed effort are valid. What you bite off is relative to what you can chew. So long as you understand this, it's not impossible. Cheers, Craig ~<8>-/====\---------