to rehearse or not to rehearse

In the many books I've read regarding directing, a major decision to be made on the part of the director is whether to rehearse with his actors.

I've always thought that rehearsals would be a crucial part of a director's preparation with his actors, benefiting all parties involved by providing a glimpse into how the story will unfold during production. But my producer Quentin warned me not to rehearse too much with the actors, because it is important to keep an actor's choices and reactions fresh.  On the other hand, if I don't rehearse, how the heck would I know what to expect come shooting day.  I decided to go for it, but the final cautionary words in one particular book have haunted me:  a director who has never rehearsed should not do so with professional actors.  

So I proceeded with caution.  I scheduled three hours of rehearsal time with the four actors and planned all sorts of activities that would help guide the actors toward the character I had in mind for each of them.  How did things go?  Let's just say that it didn't go exactly as I had planned.

Some of the things I learned today:

Never expect the actor to see a character exactly the way the writer or director does.  Directing a child and directing an adult require manuals from two different planets.  Never overwhelm an actors with too many ideas (i.e., more than one at a time) during rehearsal or during production.  Props are an actor's friend.  I have less time than I think.  Don't work on the same line over and over again:  allow the actor to figure things out on their own time when the pressure isn't on.

The most productive accomplishment from rehearsal today was that I found out which of my "too numerous to count" (borrowing a medical lab term) ideas will not work.  

Considering all this, I have to say that rehearsal was a success, in that I learned a tremendous amount about directing, about acting, and about my story.  

I just hope my actors come back.