Reddit reviews Tips: Ideas for Directors (Art of Theater Series)
We found 4 Reddit comments about Tips: Ideas for Directors (Art of Theater Series). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Used Book in Good Condition
We found 4 Reddit comments about Tips: Ideas for Directors (Art of Theater Series). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
I'll try to respond to each item:
Rehearsal Time: 3, 4, or 5 nights a week is reasonable. As long as you don't have every actor called to every rehearsal. (I'll discuss this more later.)
Schedule: Plan out what you are going to work at every rehearsal. For example, on Monday we are working Act I Scenes 1-2. Call only the actors that are in those scenes. Work those scenes, run those scenes move on. If I have a long enough rehearsal process I like to plan in 30 minutes to 1 hour of rehearsal for every minute of show.
Warm-ups and Exercises: I'm a firm believer that these are activities that actors should take care of before rehearsal begins. Sometimes you'll encounter an activity or an exercise that will help with a scene or a moment in the show, then, by all means, work it into the rehearsal
Off Book: An expectation that I have for my actors is that the third time I run a scene, they are off book. They may not have a scene memorized at the start of rehearsal, but if you're using your rehearsal time well, they will have it memorized by the end. You can also set official off-book dates. With Shakespeare I would do it by Act. Let's say that I'm going to block and work Act I over 1 week. Well, the final rehearsal that week would be the official off-book date for Act I.
Staging: Venue size shouldn't matter too much. If your actors are comfortable in what they are doing, then they'll be able to adjust. If you can secure them a bit of time to work in each venue before hand that would be ideal. Just enough time for them to work their spacing and to move around the space and get comfortable.
Initial Sessions: I like to have a brief discussion with my cast, introduce the designers and stage manager, review the production calendar, and then do a table read. It's ideal if your designers are at the table read, but I know that doesn't happen all the time. Discuss your ideas about the characters, but don't dictate exactly what you want. As for character research, that is part of the actor's job description. Rehearsal is a place for the actor to try out the work they've done on their own. The director is there to shape what the actor brings, not to dictate what is seen.
Minor Roles: Call them when needed. Invite them to come to sit in at any rehearsal, but only call them when you need them. There's nothing worse than feeling like someone is wasting your time.
Individual Work: (See Above)
Technical Work: Preferably before you've even auditioned. You should have production meetings before you ever start working with actors, get everyone on the same page. Invite them to the table read.
Books and Resources: [Stage Management] (http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Management-Edition-Lawrence-Stern/dp/0205006132) [Tips: Ideas for Directors] (http://www.amazon.com/Tips-Ideas-Directors-Art-Theater/dp/1575252414/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394337595&sr=1-1&keywords=tips+ideas+for+directors)
Hearts and Minds: Don't waste their time. Be well prepared for every rehearsal. Do your director homework. Study, analyze, and plan. If you don't have an answer to an actor's question, find it as soon as you leave that night. Have an answer for them the next day before you even start rehearsal.
Actor Wishlist: This is strictly my opinion, feel free to ignore it. Don't give a line reading. Nothing more humiliating as an actor than for a director to have to give you a line reading.
That's how I work. I would absolutely kill for a 3 month rehearsal process.
Two books:
A Sense of Direction by William Ball
Tips: Ideas for Directors by Jon Jory
Everything else you will learn from practice.
Tips: Ideas for Directors https://www.amazon.com/dp/1575252414/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_XCZxDbXY0NFG0
Harold Clurman: On Directing
Bill Ball: A Sense of Direction
Anne Bogart: A Director Prepares
Books
If you haven't already done so as a Stage Manager before, you should get and read through a stage management book. I like "A Backstage Guide to Stage Management" and "A Stage Manager's Handbook". Hopefully your stage manager will understand and take responsibility for all of their own duties, but you work in concert with your stage manager more than anyone else and understanding what their role is and how you can best work with them is a very important and often under looked part of the director's process. I'm sure you know something about this having stage managed for these events twice before.
My favorite books on directing are Notes on Directing and Tips: Ideas for Directors. Both books are laid out in a similar manner: as very small snippets of advice, no longer than two or three paragraphs, giving a very specific suggestion about preparing for rehearsals, your role in the rehearsal room, and how to give meaningful/helpful notes. I recommend these books to newer directors because I don't think that directing theory is very immediately valuable or accessible, and the tip format of these books is incredibly accessible to any theatre artist, regardless of experience, and is also wildly helpful.
My General Tips