| Choosing a Play |
| There are a number of factors which need to be considered in this decision. The first being, is it available for amateurs to perform. If it is you need to decide whether it is likely to be popular, with your potential audience and potential cast. There is no point choosing to do a play where, not only does the public have no interest in seeing it - no actors turn up to audition either. Contrary to that however, you need to pick something suitable to the ability of your potential actors, they may all want to play Danny in Grease, but if you have no one who is the right age then there is no point considering it. |
| Pre Production |
| It is essential that during the period before rehearsals everything is planned - excessively. This becomes more important the larger the scale of the production, as once the ball starts rolling a director could find time passing and the reigns slipping from their grasp very quickly. With the help of a producer this should take a lot of the weight off the director's shoulders and it is sometimes advisable to have an assistant director, especially if the director plans to be absent from rehearsals at any time, say for a summer holiday. |
It is important for any director to read the script thoroughly, to be familiar with the nuances and be confident in their own interpretation as to what they want the final production to look like. At this stage it is best to chat with those people who are to design the set and do the lighting as they have a large input into the aesthetic of the production and any problems with the set design need to be sorted before blocking begins. |
Blocking can be taken to different degrees of detail, someone with a good memory completely entrenched in their production may know their ideas as well as a film running through their head, others may prefer to write everything down in a detailed fashion like a chess board, plotting where each character moves and will be at any one time. The right method for you is dependant on the results, which until you have directed you will not know. Once rehearsals begin there is no reason to stick with the original blocking - the key is being able to solve any problem which arises when the cast have followed their own instincts and ended up in one long straight line. |
 |
| Casting |
| Different directors have different approaches to casting. Usually auditions are open using material from the script. Sometimes the director advises what this will be so actors can prepare and sometimes they prefer actors to literally ‘act’ the passage as opposed to just reading it. With a musical there will be separate singing auditions and dancing auditions depending on the demands of the particular production. |
Casting is based on choosing the right person for the rôle and that is not just based on how well the person reads the part on that particular night, there needs to be some background insight as well. All the following factors need to be weighed in to any decision: reliability (do they usually turn up to most rehearsal), memory (will they be able to remember all the lines), physical ability (does the particular rôle require any lifting or falling etc). One would hope the actor would not audition, were any of these likely to be an issue. The last factor is of course amiability, (are they a right Prima-Donna who never takes direction, will just make rehearsals hell and upset the other actors to the point of leaving). |
| Rehearsals |
| It is here that the productiveness of the planning is revealed. All the former stages prepared alone now need to be conveyed to the actors, who will for their part adapt and mould them further. |
| |
Some actors need little guidance and will do exactly what’s wanted without being told and it is the sign of a confident director who lets the actor continue without making pointless changes, merely to be seen to be directing. Other actors will need to be coached with greater strength. These are not necessarily just the less experienced actors - the amount of direction is based on how much need the director feels there is in order to mould the actors to their interpretation of the play. Some directors are happy to go away from their initial conception and let the production develop with the actors. Others prefer to stick more rigidly to their own vision and may direct the actors down to the smallest gesture or vocal inflection. Neither is right nor wrong and varieties of each method can produce brilliant results. |
| Delegating |
| This is one of the hardest but most important things for any director to learn. The production is essentially their child, they nurse it from infancy through to adulthood and find it hard to trust anyone else with any part of its fate. In the long run the more a director can delegate to others the more time they can devote to the key elements of the production. They may feel they are the best person to accomplish any task but if it is at the expense of other things then they are not the best person. The hardest part of all is on the dress rehearsal handing over to the stage manager and being relegated to the role of spectator, no longer being able to intervene. |
| Interview with a Director |
| "I joined the group nearly 8 years ago when my daughter (already a member) was 12. Like many amateur groups the Chandeliers needed men on stage and I was ‘persuaded’ to join the chorus for their autumn musical ‘Hello, Dolly!’. Although I'd belonged to other groups in the past I had no burning desire to spend my spare time as a ‘luvvie’!! Of course, as we all know, once you get the bug it is difficult to shake it off and after a good number of performances on the stage I have now tasted life from the Directors chair in the group’s production of ‘Billy Liar’. |
| The Chandeliers encourage members to take on this challenge by a tried and tested route. I was given the task of directing a short one act play/sketch at the group’s Christmas party in 2005 before shadowing one of the Chandeliers’ most experienced Directors, Marie Quarman, during the production of ‘Blood Brothers’ in February 2007. The knowledge and understanding gained from this together with an invaluable day’s formal training in ‘Directing’ provided me with confidence to undertake the rôle on my own. |
 |
| The scope of the task should not be under estimated, but with a strong supportive team around you in a friendly group such as the Chandeliers it is a challenge that can be as fulfilling as the many others open to any member of the group." Mike Cooper. |
