Directions for Directing: Theatre and Method lays out contemporary concepts of directing practice and examines specific techniques of approaching scripts, actors, and the stage. Addressed to both young and experienced directors but also to the broader community of theatre practitioners, scholars, and dedicated theatre goers, the book sheds light on the director’s multiplicity of roles throughout the life of a play – from the moment of its conception to opening night – and explores the director’s processes of inspiration, interpretation, communication, and leadership. From organizing auditions and making casting choices to decoding complex dramaturgical texts and motivating actors, Directions for Directing offers practical advice and features detailed workbook sections on how to navigate such a fascinating discipline. A companion website explores the work of international practitioners of different backgrounds who operate within various institutions, companies, and budgets, providing readers with a wide range of perspectives and methodologies.

Every director, from the beginner to the most experienced, will find in this book invaluable information to make their direction more effective. Following a general overview of the director's role, the book focuses on how the director shapes and guides a production - from preproduction meetings to curtain calls. Veteran directors and actors in community, regional, and academic theatre offer their expertise on a range of topics, including: selecting the right play things to look for in an audition criticizing effectively basics of directing a musical staging a big show with a small cast blocking tips managing rehearsal and schedules and much more. Directors may be an unseen presence in stage productions, but their influence is everywhere to be seen - and heard. Stage Directions Guide to Directing provides welcome support to directors charged with unlocking the full potential of their productions.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1910 Edition.

Demystifies one of the most difficult aspects of directing.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1910 Edition.

Flexible and concise, Stage Directing details the seven steps that make up the directing process: selecting a work, analyzing and researching the playscript, conceiving the production, casting, beginning rehearsals, polishing rehearsals, and giving and receiving criticism. Each step is highlighted with valuable directing tips, as well as examples from modern and contemporary playscripts and productions. Exercises, objectives, and key terms put directing precepts to a practical test, revealing what is significant about each phase of the process. Over eighty charts, graphs, and photographs unite to exemplify the text. With a fresh voice and an engaging writing style, Patterson provides insightful questions, suggestions, and illustrations that define and invoke contemplation about the role of the director. Three original short plays provide the opportunity for hands-on analysis and the application of practical concepts. In a final essay, Patterson highlights the function and growing artistry of the director in the modern and postmodern theatre by concisely examining the history of the director.

The second edition of this elegant and accessible primer offers a helpful reference and resource for directing actors in film, television, and theatre, useful to directors, actors, and writers. Combining underlying theory with dozens of exercises designed to reveal the actor's craft, Lenore DeKoven discusses constructing the throughline; analyzing the script; character needs; the casting and rehearsal processes; as well as the actor and the camera. Distilling difficult concepts to their simplest form, DeKoven explains how to accurately capture and portray human behavior on stage and screen, offering creative solutions to issues she has encountered or anticipated after decades of experience. Excerpts from interviews with acclaimed actors offer insight into their work with directors, what inspires them, and what they really want from the director. This second edition incorporates the film Moonlight (2016, Barry Jenkins) for analysis of the directing concepts discussed.