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.

Play Readings: A Complete Guide for Theatre Practitioners demystifies the standards and protocols of a play reading, demonstrating how to create effective and evocative readings for those new to or inexperienced with the genre. It examines all of the essential considerations involved in readings, including the use of the venue, pre-reading preparations, playwright/director communication, editing/adapting stage directions, casting, using the limited rehearsal time effectively, simple "staging" suggestions, working with actors, handling complex stage directions, talkbacks, and limiting the use of props, costumes, and music. A variety of readings are covered, including readings of musicals, operas, and period plays, for comprehensive coverage of this increasingly prevalent production form.

The 42 exercises detailed in this comprehensive guide provide both the instructor and the student a 'user-friendly' workshop structure. The basic concepts of directing are learned progressively. This approach is totally new -- the student discovers the demands and problems of directing by actually doing it step-by-step. The student's own directing style emerges with each exercise.

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.

How stage directions convey not what a given moment looks like--but how it feels

Here is a practical, accessible introduction to one of the most complex jobs in theatre. Linda Apperson clearly and concisely leads the reader through the procedures and responsibilities of stage management, from auditions to closing night. What is “blocking”? How do you “call” a show? Who is the technical director, and why do you want him or her as your best friend? How can you tame (or endure) a prima donna? When is the best time to offer advice to the actors? Ms. Apperson answers these and countless other questions in a resource book that will become a constant companion for both the novice and the experienced theatre person. Especially useful is her attention to personal relationships among actors and crew. She insists that working to create an atmosphere of respect backstage will improve the show onstage, and she shows precisely how this is done, based upon her years of experience in managing the stage. Stage Managing and Theatre Etiquette includes samples of prompt scripts and other essential stage manager’s tools.

Theater music directors must draw on a remarkably broad range of musical skills. Not only do they conduct during rehearsals and performances, but they must also be adept arrangers, choral directors, vocal coaches, and accompanists. Like a record producer, the successful music director must have the flexibility to adjust as needed to a multifaceted job description, one which changes with each production and often with each performer. In Music Direction for the Stage, veteran music director and instructor Joseph Church demystifies the job in a book that offers aspiring and practicing music directors the practical tips and instruction they need in order to mount a successful musical production. Church, one of Broadway's foremost music directors, emerges from the orchestra pit to tell how the music is put into a musical show. He gives particular attention to the music itself, explaining how a music director can best plan the task of learning, analyzing, and teaching each new piece. Based on his years of professional experience, he offers a practical discussion of a music director's methods of analyzing, learning, and practicing a score, thoroughly illustrated by examples from the repertoire. The book also describes how a music director can effectively approach dramatic and choreographic rehearsals, including key tips on cueing music to dialogue and staging, determining incidental music and underscoring, making musical adjustments and revisions in rehearsal, and adjusting style and tempo to performers' needs. A key theme of the book is effective collaboration with other professionals, from the production team to the creative team to the performers themselves, all grounded in Church's real-world experience with professional, amateur, and even student performances. He concludes with a look at music direction as a career, offering invaluable advice on how the enterprising music director can find work and gain standing in the field.