oment. I have tried the other way,
but whatever is cut and dried is never any good. I must be inspired at
rehearsals.

When those who are going to be the principals have learned the songs,
I talk to them and try them out on a few little test steps to see what
they can do. Some of them are usually able to do some little dance
movements. Then I make them stand behind the ensemble and do the work
I have taught them, not in front of the chorus where they would be
embarrassed if they missed a step, but behind the lines where they can
be picking up the work. Then I eventually get them out in front, and
they usually do about the same dance as the ensemble, because if they
don't the ensemble shows them up. And you don't get your precision
effect. You must always get in an effective finish to every number,
either a final picture or an exit. If you want the chorus to get a
hand, bring them on for the encore, and let the chorus exit big on the
encore, but first get your effective finish. Then you have them all
back for the encore, then exit the chorus if you like, and let the
soloist stay on and let her or him do a solo dance if it is going to
be strong enough. There are different ways to finish a number and you
have to use your own judgment.

Be patient when you handle the principals and chorus, but persistent.
Shape up the dialogue right away, and take the entire show through as
soon as you can--the first Sunday as I suggested, if possible. Make
them run through the show no matter how it looks. They must stand up
for the ensembles and go through what they have learned, no matter how
rough it is, and the principals must do whatever they are supposed to
do to the best of their abilities. Don't take "no" or "I'm not
prepared" or anything like that for an answer. Accept no excuses; go
through with it. The more you go through the sequence the better they
will be at the performance.

Along about that time I am thinking about the pictorial effects. I
will have worked out a costume plot for the principals and chorus by
this time. By a costume plot I mean an assignment of dresses,
costumes, for both the chorus and principals. I make out two separate
plots, one for the members of the chorus and one for the principals,
in sequence from the opening number of the show down to the end of the
show. If I have thirty-six or forty-eight members in the chorus, I put
their names in and the costumes that they wear for each number, in the
order t