I recently did sound design/sound board operator/stage crew for Noises Off! For rehearsals, most of the time was spent on Act II. Act III the second most time, and the least amount of time on Act I, which is closest to a regular play. Pretty much every actor was called for every rehearsal. It was difficult stopping and starting Act II, because so much of the Nothing On scene depends on the timing of the actors' lines onstage (hidden from the audience). Blocking also changed once the actors had real walls and doors. Taped outlines were better than nothing, but once the actors saw the real sight-lines and staircases they had to work with, they had to put extra effort in to their blocking and lines. So try to get the cast onto the set as soon as you can. And off book as soon as possible, this show really can't be done while holding a script.
I also recall a lot of effort being spent on the fire axe. We used a dummy prop instead of a real axe. Most of the actors frequently forgot that the axe is heavy, so they would swing it around and pick it up like it was a bunch of rubber and not 10+ pounds of metal. Once they consistently remembered the axe was heavy, the show improved.
I don't have any plots I can share, other than sound effects (very few effects, I'll gather that paperwork for you.)
Rotating the set is a big deal. We ended up having the set in three pieces: large center unit (6' wide x 8' deep), the downstairs doors unit (5' wide x 4' deep), and the upstairs doors unit (7' wide by 8'wide, an L shaped platform to allow for the "attic" exit). Each unit could be supported by itself, and was on its own casters. The units were hooked together with eyehooks. The central unit rotated in place. The downstairs unit was pushed upstage, then to the other side and rotated. The upstairs unit was pushed downstage, then to the other side and rotated. We had four sets of stairs that would be moved. Stairs were not on wheels. The complete rotation could be done with 3 people in about 8 minutes, with 4 people in 6 minutes.
Hint: get lots of extra sardines, they will get lost! We used fishing lures with the hooks removed. They looked ok, but not too realistic. At strike, we found sardines in the cushions, underneath the central set unit, in costumes.
Hint: the breakaway window caused headaches. We started out using double sided tape to hold it in place while waiting for the burglar. The tape wore out quickly. Eventually the ASM drilled two small holes in the plexiglass and simply hung the window in place. Then we had to train the burglar to "break" the window by hitting it high on the pane. The window did break in half late in the run.
Is there a Producer or Artistic Director you could talk with about the director? Good luck!
