The Rehearsal

Stanley is admitted to the New Zealand drama school and begins navigating the demanding program. He quickly meets his two roommates, William and Theo, and forms the core dynamics of his year. Instructors Hanna and Livia push for authenticity and emotional depth from the start, signaling a tough but formative journey ahead.

Hanna is hard on him for lacking emotion while Livia urges him to draw from life experiences to act authentically. A provocative exercise is introduced that includes a moment of saying the word fuck you and getting physical in class. This pushes Stanley to confront boundaries and commit to a more intense acting approach.

News breaks about the sex scandal involving married tennis pro George Saladin and his star student Victoria. Amid the uproar, Stanley meets Isolde and they exchange phone numbers, sparking a connection. The scandal becomes a context that the students will later use in their projects.

Stanley is assigned to a five-member acting group and meets with Hanna. She pushes him to keep digging for deeper truth and to connect with his own life experiences. The group forms around this instruction and begins shaping their upcoming project.

After lunch with his psychologist father, Stanley performs a scene in which his father tells jokes that reveal a more complex father figure. His father resists the idea of him becoming an actor, creating tension between personal life and career. The exercise illustrates the raw material actors mine to shape character.

Hanna recognizes Stanley’s progress and gives him a book from her own library to read. She emphasizes that acting is hard and that he must go all the way, encouraging continued risk-taking. This mentorship marks a turning point in his commitment to the craft.

The group decides to use the sex scandal as their acting project, though Stanley has not told Isolde about it. William reminds him of the need for honesty, foreshadowing the personal-vs-art tension at the heart of the story. The choice sets up a conflict between personal relationships and artistic ambition.

The next in-class assignment is to act an intimate scene. William recounts an Easter dinner in which his father humiliates his mother, but Hanna criticizes it as merely telling a story. She emphasizes that intimacy requires bearing one’s soul and building trust, raising the stakes for the performers.

Frankie talks with coach Saladin at a coffee shop to gather background for their project, while Isolde invites Stanley and William to a barbecue at her home. Victoria secretly borrows Stanley’s phone to call her coach, creating more hidden dynamics. Stanley struggles to tell Isolde the truth about their project.

Isolde and Stanley grow closer and eventually have sex, signaling a deepening of their relationship. Hanna warns Stanley to keep boundaries and not be ruled by a schoolgirl crush. The romance becomes both a personal escape and a complicating factor for the group project.

While the tennis project continues, a shocking announcement arrives: William has died in a car crash. The memorial service shakes the school, and Isolde’s kiss with another girl at the service adds to the emotional turmoil. Stanley watches the fallout unfold and begins to question loyalties.

On the night of the performance, the curtain parts and a small opening signals the unfolding scene. Frankie walks down the aisle, followed by another woman, while Stanley and Isolde enter from opposite aisles and join at the curtain. As the performance unfolds, more of the audience steps onto the stage in a nod to William's First Follow Technique, creating a participatory finale.