Discussion Paper in EL 109 - Speech and Theater Arts

Discussant: Chrystal Faye M. Austria

 The two kinds of directors

There are two kinds of directors - the creative director and the interpretative
director. These two are similar in some ways but very different in more ways.

A creative director puts his main importance on his particular visualization. He

will frequently...
A. Alter the time and setting of the play's act;
B. Enhance the play with songs, dances, and projections;
C. Add passages from other manuscripts from the same dramatist or from the
same era,
D. Put a "Stage Manager" to aid the spectators comprehend the connotation of
the piece.

The interpretative director will just follow everything that the

playwright had written and leave his creative designs behind.
In doing so, he will not hurt the playwright's emotion by altering or
putting an artistic or creative flair to the script.

Another responsibility of the director is to work with the actors. After

you had studied the script and gathered all the important information needed,
you have now an idea on how the production will run. The next thing is to work
with the actors.

It is sometimes frustrating to work with actors because we know

that these are individuals who have their own ideas on how they will play
the parts, but if you have wonderful connections with them, they will also
follow your lead especially if you will tell them the vision of the production and
they are given the chance to be part of the process. One thing to do is to inspire
them because they are really part of the team.

The best thing to emphasize is respect for one another. It is not

because you are the director that you cannot accept any suggestions. Maybe you
were once an actor and experienced these things but your craft might be really
different from where they come from as actors. They are experts on their
character. So you are encouraged to maintain an open line of communication
and discussion about anything.

Remember that teamwork results in greater results. So, have time in

practice to share each other's visions or ideas so that the production can come
up with a good result in the end.

Additionally, bear in mind that the rehearsal is a necessary component

of the process. We cannot achieve a certain level of performance in the first
practice. That is not expected. As a director, patience is always a virtue. Do not
storm out in anger the first time that you see the performance on the first
rehearsal because that is expected.

Lastly, you have to stay ahead of audience. The audience as the most
important of the production is the sector that we need to please because without
them there will be no production. Most members of the audience are really critical
in terms of performance. Sometimes they will give a prediction on how the play
will end even if it is still the start of the play.

As a director, you have to be aware of this. That is why you need to be a

creative director so that the audience prediction will be stopped. Do not give it to
them. You think like a member of the audience and think of how audience
ends the story. In that case, you can create more surprising ending.

To do this, you have to develop the characters very well so that the
audience will sympathize with them. Another way is use the technique of
foreshadowing but not to overdo it. Overdoing it is giving away the ending. We
foreshadow something but change the idea in the end. It will be a great surprise
for the audience and they will think a lot on the why's.

The stage map

As a director, you need to know the terms so that actors will follow directions
according to theater terms. To begin, here are the terms used for the stage parts.
This is from the perspective of the actor and not of the audience. The actor's
right is the audience's left.

Upstage Upstage Upstage

Right Center Left

Center Stage Center

Rights Center Stage Left
Stage

Downstage Downstage Downstage

Right Center Left

The stage is divided into 9 parts as shown. The director will have an easy
way of directing using these stage sectioning. We have to note that some parts of
the stage are the strongest and some are the weakest.

Then the actor transfer in the direction of the center stage, he is going
into a stronger part of the stage. Consequently, as he travels towards the
downstage center, he goes into the strongest part of the stage. It is always a
fact that the right side of the stage is stronger than the left side of the stage. If you
sill put the actor on the upstage left, he is staying on the weakest part of the
stage where most of the depressing acts are done.

Another things a director should know are the techniques so that the actor
rules the stage. He should know that:
A. Actors facing the front in full position, suggests strongest spot.
B. The height of the actor counts.
C. If you want a character shine let the others actors look at that particular actor
because the audience will always look at the one whom the actors are looking at
on stage.
D. A door-frame can emphasize a character.
E. Bright or colorful costumes can bring the character "out".
F. If a pool of light bathes the actor, there is a great possibility that everyone will
look at him because he is the one being illuminated.
G. If a character is transferring from one place to another and the rest is on halt,
the actor rules the stage at that time.

Other info to know:

1. Remember that the director is the one who handle the rehearsals.
The rehearsals shall be always begin with the actors reading their lines
from the script given to them but this is not done for long. The director will tell
the actors to go off book usually 2 to 3 weeks before the opening night.
Normally, in the first week of off book, if an actor forgets a line or two, he
can ask the prompter for LINE and the stage manager gives him the line. This is
called PROMPTING in THEATER.
This prompting will become off prompt a week of two before the opening
night. If an actor "goes up on lines", meaning forgets the line, this is now his
responsibility to go back on track.

2. Directors should understand the distinction between running a scene

and working it during rehearsals.
When we say that the scene is run that would mean that the director will
not interrupt the performance from beginning to end but will wait to give his
comments at the end of the performance. This is usually done when the whole
play is done from the first scene to the last. This also done so that the director
will be given some realizations on what to change, what to improve and what to
take out.
Working the scene is when the director interrupts as the rehearsal is
going on. This is done to strengthen mostly the actors' characterizations and
scene corrections. If the director can see a problem during the act, he can correct
it right away. Unlike running the scene, where you may forget the issue because
it takes a long time to give the comment, working the scene provides a solution
to a problem immediately.

3. Lights are an integral part of the production. Directors must know that
the integration of lights should be done during technical rehearsals.
 There are two kinds of technical rehearsal; (1) a dry technical rehearsal
and the (2) wet technical rehearsal. If you say dry tech, it is when there are no
actors on stage. Everything is done from the lights director's plan on how the
light should go in every scene. Sometimes this will be changed.
A wet tech involves the actors on it. This rehearsal is for the light
designer or director to fine-tune everything based on what transpired during the
dry tech and this is done longer that the dry tech because there are already
people or actors on the stage. The first wet tech rehearsal is done four or five days
prior to the opening night.

4. Another important work of the director is to see to it that costumes fit

the characters in terms of colors, styles, etc.
So, the costumes should be worn by the actors a month before the
opening of the play. All the fitting should be done during that time. This is done
because if there are still major alterations to be done, there will still be time to do
them. The minor alterations that will happen during the opening nights are just
easy to deal with.
The director after the first fitting should remind the actors that the next
fitting is during the opening night and if they will lose or gain weight, it will be a
major problem during that day. So, actors are now responsible for their weight
until the show is over.

5. Directors should inform the actors of the difference between a set prop, a
hand prop and a set dressing.
These are technical terms in theater that the actors have to know and it is
the director's responsibility to tell them.
(1) A set prop consists of big objects that can be moved in the set.
For example, a chair, a table, a sofa set or a lamp shade.
The actors maybe during the act will move the chair in front of a table or turn on
the lamp shade and transfer it on the table.
(2) A hand prop, as it suggests, are things that the actors are holding.
This might be a cup, a hand fan, a handkerchief, a stick, etc.
These objects are needed to enhance a character or to add glamour to the actor.
(3) A set dressing are things that are permanently placed on the set that the
actors do not have to use or interact with. They are not movable.
Examples are the cabinets, the picture frames on the wall, the curtains or
the books on display.
The set dressing is the enhancer of the set. It will give reality to the set.

As you see, directing a play or being a director is not an easy job. There
are a lot of things to do. One might think that directing the actors is the only thing
to do but it is only part of it. You need to go further to be able to make the
production successful. You need to be collaborating with a lot a people and ask
different opinions about anything. As a director, you have to be open to all the
opinions, suggestions and critics for the improvement and success of the play
that you are directing.