Rehearsal - New Plays Festival

• Emergency Contact Info Sheets, Photo Release, Gun & Weapon, Nudity, and Minor Release Forms  should be filled and submitted at this time, if applicable.
• All Performance Agreements and payment paperwork must be submitted no later than the first day of rehearsal, or the person's first day working on the production, whichever is earlier.  In the case of designers, paperwork must be submitted prior to their first production meeting.
• All available cast members to be measured. Please have actors wear proper undergarments. No sports bras or shapewear. If a cast member usually wears a bra, they need to wear it for their measurement session.

Designer runs should be scheduled by the production, preferably as part of the original production calendar. 

At least one week prior to tech rehearsal beginning, the run time for the entire run, or each act, should be submitted to the entire production team.

Please see the NPF Tech Week Schedule tab on the New Plays Festival 2026 Dates and Deadlines Document for specifics on the schedule for each individual production.

• Each show will be given 10 hours for tech
• A full run of the production is required within this time.
• The first 15-20 minutes of the 1st Technical Rehearsal will include:
  • Safety Protocols & Walkthrough - everyone must be present.
  • Introduction of 1st Year production crew to Stage Managers, Director, and Designers by Columbia staff.
  • Introduction of Director, Cast, & Crew by Columbia staff.
• No current student may be called to rehearsal prior to 6pm on weekdays. This includes student actors, 1st Year crew members, and ASMs.

Each production has an optional worklight rehearsal during the week in the theater. This rehearsal is designed as an opportunity to have the actors on the stage without tech to allow them to get used to the space.

Please note that at this rehearsal:

• There will not be access to the theatrical lighting system or projections.
• Sound can be played over the speakers from a personal device connected via an aux cord, but access to the full sound system and board will not be available.
• The full set and any props are still available.
• 1st year crew will not be present.

Due to staffing requirements, this rehearsal cannot be used to supplement cueing time for lighting, sound, or projection.

Columbia will provide a photographer who will be present at the final dress rehearsal to photograph the run. 

Directors are permitted to invite guests to attend the final dress rehearsal with the following guidelines:

• A maximum of 10 non-faculty/creative collaborators may be invited
• A finalized list of those individuals who will be attending must be provided to Production Management by 5pm the day prior to the invited dress.
• A member of the production’s team will need to be the on-site point of contact for all guests, meeting them in the lobby and taking them up to the theatre. Lenfest does not provide Front of House staff during dress rehearsals.

Any staged fight choreography (including, but not limited to slaps, kicks, punches, hair pulls, faints, falls, trips, or any use of weapons) will require participation of a qualified fight captain/choreographer/director to be staged safely for all Performers

There must be a fight call rehearsal with all Performers involved, including the Stage Manager and Fight Captain, prior to the half-hour call of each performance. 

An intimacy call rehearsal must be held for all Performers involved, including the Stage Manager and/or Intimacy Director prior to the half-hour call of each performance.

General Rehearsal Space Guidelines

• The rehearsal room will be unlocked 30 min prior to the scheduled rehearsal start time for stage management setup, whenever possible.*
• The rehearsal room will be locked promptly 30 min after the scheduled end time.
• All rehearsal space rules must be followed.
• No cleaning solutions may be used on the marley dance floors. Water only.
• It is the director and stage manager’s responsibility to restore the rehearsal space to neutral at the end of the rehearsal period (except for BG2 which can remain setup between rehearsals).
• Alcohol is not permitted in any rehearsal/performance spaces.
  *Pending availability - in certain cases class schedules in specific studios may preclude the ability to provide the full 30 minute set-up time.

Nash Building: 3280 Broadway, 5th Floor

This building hosts other Columbia departments and non-Columbia businesses. Only Columbia students, faculty, and staff are allowed entry, and only with a CUID. The names of any guests, along with their Columbia-affiliated hosts and reason for visit, must be submitted to the security guard on duty in advance.

• Rehearsal Hours are 6pm - 9:45pm on weekdays, 10am - 9:45pm on weekends (note that on weekends, the building opens at 10am)
• In some cases, it may be possible to schedule rehearsals prior to 6pm, though class schedules take priority and usually preclude weekday rehearsals from starting earlier.
• Nash 1 specifically is not available on some evenings during the academic year, to allow for directing classes to rehearse the day before their classroom presentations in the studio. For the 2025 Fall semester, those evenings are Sundays from 6pm - 9:45pm, and Mondays 6pm - 9:45pm. Other studios in Nash are available at those times.

BG2 Lenfest Building: 615 W.129th Street

• Rehearsal Hours are 9am* - 10:45pm Tuesday - Sunday for pre-1st Tech rehearsals. BG2 is not available for rehearsals on Mondays. Rehearsals with start times prior to 5pm on weekdays require special approval in order to ensure that they can be properly staffed.
• Everyone will need to check in with security with proper ID in the main lobby.
• BG2 can be found on the floor labeled C, which can be accessed via the elevator or the stairs in the main lobby.
• There is a hired Lenfest Technical Supervisor to oversee all rehearsals and performances.
  • The Technical Supervisor will be there to open/unlock and close/lock the rehearsal room/theater at the end of the day.
  • They will also be there to help answer any questions the production may have and deal with any in-the-moment needs.
  • They are the final say on all decisions regarding the building while the production is in the space.
  • The Technical Supervisors will be on the distro for all daily calls and reports to help increase this line of communication.
  • The Technical Supervisor on duty each day will have their contact information posted on the white board in BG2 and in the theater shop.
• The rehearsal room contains basic rehearsal furniture, prop storage, sound system, mini-refrigerator, and bulletin boards. A ground plan and full list of rehearsal furniture that lives in BG2 can be found here: Lenfest BG2 Inventory & Groundplan.
• The Technical Supervisor has access to printers on the 2nd and 7th floors and can assist stage managers with printing.  Stage Managers will also have access to the printer on the 2nd floor.  If a Stage Manager is having trouble with access please contact the Thesis Production Manager.
• There is a water fountain and restrooms available on the C level.
• There is a breakroom through the double doors past the restroom (room C-14) which is available for use by everyone in rehearsal.  Please note this is a shared space with the rest of the building including public safety, facilities staff, and building staff.  Rules for the breakroom are posted on the door and can be found here.  Please note that the breakroom door must remain open at all times and rehearsal cannot happen in the break room.
• We are not able to provide shows with their own key to BG2 or the Theatre, though CU student IDs will be given swipe access to the theater.
• Hallways may not be used for additional rehearsal on any floor in Lenfest

Riverside Church Tower: 91 Claremont Ave. (between 120^th and 122^nd Streets)

• Hours for 12T and 15T: Monday-Saturdays 8AM-11:59PM, Sundays 6PM-11:59PM
• Hours for 13T: 6PM-11:59PM each day.
• Please note that both the Theatre and Film programs regularly use these spaces to hold classes. As such, please confirm with production management the specific availability for any requested rehearsals at Riverside.
• Though these spaces have been procured to support the Theatre Program, we are the guests of Riverside Church and should always act accordingly.

Dodge Hall

This is the hub of the Theatre Program. Student and faculty mailboxes, the copy machine, and printers available for student use are all housed here.

There are two rooms that are occasionally used as rehearsal spaces, most often for table work.

• Room 603
• Room 605

Basic drafting of the Nash Studios and Lenfest BG2 can be found here: Rehearsal Spaces.