I am currently directing The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney, and have a couple of the scenes within the show that really need to have the pacing tightened up on and improved.  I've tried giving the actors some notes as such and we've tried a couple speed throughs, but they still are dragging with no real improvement.  Does anyone have any suggestions on things I could try to get them to pick it up and tighten it up (games/exercises and such)?  This is the first show I've directed, so even the very basics would help at this point.  Thanks all!

I once had a director that would snap her fingers rapidly when the pacing slowed down.  It was annoying enough that we sped up just to stop the snapping.  So, I guess it worked

I remember working with an actor whose trademark were these long, "dramatic" pauses he'd insert into his lines. Of course, it affected the pacing of every scene he was in and it drove other actors to distraction.

Finally, the director couldn't bear giving another note of "pick up the pace" or "lose the pauses" and during notes after rehearsal, he asked the actor "what's with those long pauses during your speeches? Are you having trouble remembering your lines?"

The actor (who considered himself quite the professional) was very indignant and haughtily replied "No, I was ACTING."

"Oh," said the director, "well in that case, act faster."

I find that Italian rehearsals help with this - because it stops the actors from being slow and pausing to 'act'.

In my experience, pacing comes from the actors knowing the action and playing it fully.