Putting on a Show: Director
WHAT IS A DIRECTOR - A DIRECTOR'S VIEW
Ask any half a dozen actors to describe what it is he or she does, and the answers will be variations of the same theme. However, take the same number of directors to give an insight into directing and you would be forgiven for thinking they were on about different subjects!
In the professional theatre, it is fairly simple. (The explanation, not the actual job!) The director, he or she, is responsible for the accurate and artistic interpretation of the authors work. He is usually approached by a producer who is responsible for putting up the money for the show, or more realistically these days, heading a consortium of people putting up the money. Also in the professional theatre, the director often has the cast chosen for him by another team of people.
How different it is in the amateur world! And how different it is from one theatre company to the next,
The first task the director has to do is find the play and to consider the ramifications of his choice. Is it the kind of play his audience wants to see? Can he cast it? Does it require a set that will fit the societies budget and does the society have the capability to build it? etc., etc.
In the professional theatre, it is fairly simple. (The explanation, not the actual job!) The director, he or she, is responsible for the accurate and artistic interpretation of the authors work. He is usually approached by a producer who is responsible for putting up the money for the show, or more realistically these days, heading a consortium of people putting up the money. Also in the professional theatre, the director often has the cast chosen for him by another team of people.
How different it is in the amateur world! And how different it is from one theatre company to the next,
The first task the director has to do is find the play and to consider the ramifications of his choice. Is it the kind of play his audience wants to see? Can he cast it? Does it require a set that will fit the societies budget and does the society have the capability to build it? etc., etc.
The casting of the play is usually the one element that makes a 'would be' director put a play back on the shelf. An example might be, say, a (simple?) cast of a family of four, Mum, Dad, Son and daughter. You might have an actor that would make a great father and an actress who would make a great mother. But, together, they would not make a good theatrical 'Mr. And Mrs.' (The lady might be six feet tall and the gentleman five feet two inches for instance!) If the actor playing the father is say, forty years old, it is a problem if your youngest male actor who might play the son, is around twenty eight! Conversely, if an actress playing the mother is around sixty years old, it beggars belief to cast a thirteen year old girl as the daughter. This example is just the tip of the iceberg and the are dozens of such considerations to overcome.
The amateur director has to arrange for the set to be decorated. He has to find the furniture to dress the stage in keeping with the period and type of play he is directing. He has to liaise with the costume (wardrobe) department, the lighting and sound engineers, the publicity department and be at rehearsals to assist the actors in achieving that 'accurate and artistic interpretation' of the authors work.
It is a long, often complex undertaking. But, would you like to know what is the best, most rewarding and exciting job in amateur theatre? IT'S BEING A DIRECTOR.
The amateur director has to arrange for the set to be decorated. He has to find the furniture to dress the stage in keeping with the period and type of play he is directing. He has to liaise with the costume (wardrobe) department, the lighting and sound engineers, the publicity department and be at rehearsals to assist the actors in achieving that 'accurate and artistic interpretation' of the authors work.
It is a long, often complex undertaking. But, would you like to know what is the best, most rewarding and exciting job in amateur theatre? IT'S BEING A DIRECTOR.