Before directors begin working with a cast of actors, they need to make sure that they understand the script and that they have a plan for making the script come to life. Directors will always experiment with a cast and with a script, but a detailed plan will make the rehearsals more enjoyable and the experimentation more successful. Directors aren't always the most important part of a theatrical production, but they are the ones who are most responsible for the production's quality, not to mention the joy actors have in attending rehearsals. This fun begins with a lot of hard work.
Discovering the Spine of the Play
Many steps in the process are dangerous to skip, but refusing to find the spine almost guarantees a cast of actors who are simply saying lines. The spine of the play is the theme as if relates to the characters' objectives. The spine should be written in no more than three sentences and should be explained to the actors in one of the first rehearsals. Here are some examples:
- The Piano Lesson. Character A wants the piano because it represents family heritage, but character B wants to sell it to gain some land. Through this conflict, the characters show how different views of a single heritage can lead to contrasting views of history.
- Romeo and Juliet. Two young lovers want to disregard a tradition of hatred, and they are aided by Friar Lawrence, who is willing to deceive others in order to bring a peaceful end to a feud. When the play ends, the question remains: can dishonest means bring benevolent ends.
- Foxfire. Characters are forced to decide which is more important: land or family, tradition or hope?
- The Importance of Being Earnest. All of the characters know that, in the Victorian tradition, society and life are simply games, and honesty is arbitrary. The characters have to play societal games to get what they want. Although Jack tries to persuade Lady Bracknell with up-front honesty in the beginning, he only persuades her after revealing an accidental honesty in the end.
The spine drives all other decisions. A director should feel free to alter the spine, but usually, the idea is to decide on a spine and make sure all of the elements, from the actors' objectives to the lighting effects, lead to the singular purpose of the spine.
Develop a Vision for The Production
Directors who do not plan to make their production different from all previous productions of a play, should not direct the play. Those who have decided to direct a play because they want to recreate the movie, should simply show the movie to some friends and pretend they're in it. Imitation is definitely not art. Why would anyone want to direct a play that does not show any of their artistic vision? A director's production will not completely copy someone else's because no one's spine, if composed in isolation, will ever be the same. Furthermore, a production begins with a “Magic If” inside the actors that comes out in reactions as characters pursue various objectives and encounter obstacles to achieving those objectives. People are different, so each actor's reaction and level of frustration will vary depending on how the actor would react in real life and what the actor decides is his or her “What's at Stake.”
Each director will also want to change the tone or even the mode of a play. Some directors have even successfully changed time periods. (Antigone works well during the Civil War.) For example, a production of Romeo and Juliet, may easily include elements of commedia dell'arte to bring the fun of play back into the theatre, mixing comedy and tragedy as Shakespeare did. Another change might be an approach. One director may simply want the audience to feel more sympathetic toward a character than another director would. Although the director talks to the actor only about what is inside, the director is always looking at the effect that comes from the actor in the agreed-upon given circumstances.
Break the Play into French Scenes or Beats
These suggestions may not necessarily be in order. A director may want to break the scene, analyze its parts, and then decide on a spine, but most directors seem to believe it's easier to read the play several times before deciding on a spine and a vision, a decision that will help them decide where to break the scenes and why.
Sometimes, a director may use very little logic when it comes to breaking the scenes. The divisions seem right. For the most part, directors break scenes into French scenes, which originally depended completely on entrances and exits, as long as the entrances and exits change the tone or content of the action on stage. Directors will also divide a scene if the objective changes, often dividing it in a single speech as a traditional beat would divide a character's monologue.
The director should then determine the actors' objectives in each beat. The actor should discover the objective on his or her own, but the director should have some answer in mind, even if the director changes his or her mind. It's ok to change ideas; it's just not ok for a director to enter a rehearsal process without ideas.
Find Ways to Intensify Conflict
When scenes in a play seem to drag, the reason is usually that the conflict is not tight enough. A pair or a group of characters have conflicting desires, but they're not sword fighting over those desires. This is where the director wants to tell the actors to be angrier or to yell more or something equally external and ridiculous.
Instead, discover something in the “backstory” about the character or the conflict. In general, any idea that is not contradicted by the story is fair to believe and to add to the “Magic If.” Give the characters a history that will intensify their love, hatred, fear, etc.
Emphasize words that sharpen the characters feelings and show their happiness or frustration. Neil Simon writes plays that allow the characters to hammer certain words. Usually, at least one character is sarcastic and knows how to say something biting with phrases that would otherwise be just words, but if the director does not make sure those words receive emphasis, then the conflict becomes water and the audience is bored.
Be Ready and Be Flexible
Certainly, a director will want to discover a play's nuances with the actors, especially if the cast has creative, dedicated, and experienced actors. Ultimately, though, the director is responsible for the performance, and such responsibility will inspire a good director to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Furthermore, having a detailed plan usually makes actors feel more comfortable; they are more likely to buy-in to the director's vision if the plan is thorough. Even directors who abandon or modify their plans are better off starting with a well-thought idea that begins with the play's spine and designs character and movement around that core.
Sources
Although most of this article is based on twenty years of directing and acting experience, a few sources have made the journey more enjoyable. For directors who have little time for theory and would like a few checklists and a brief explanation, the Play Director's Survival Kit is exactly what the name suggests. Even though I have been using this book for about fifteen years, I still begin each new project by reviewing this manual. Two of the sources may seem more appropriate for working with actors (i.e. Stanislavski and Hagen), but these experts' beliefs and experiences in the theatre provide a vital starting point. Finally, people who want to make directing a habit should eventually read Clurman's work. Although he did not invent the idea of unifying a performance by the play's spine, his book On Directing makes the idea clear and presents the idea so that a directing would not think of working any other way.
Clurman, Harold. On Directing. New York: Fireside, 1972.
Hagen, Uta. Respect for Acting. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 1973.
Rodgers, James W. and Wanda C. Rodgers. Play Director's Survival Kit. West Nyack, NY: Center for Applied Research in Education, 1995.
Stanislavski, Constantin. An Actor Prepares. New York: Routledge, 1989.
Jon Blackstock - Blackstock has taught and directed theatre productions for almost twenty years and wishes Suite101 could be typewriter compatible.
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