Chapter 10 – Image Maker: The Director

1. Chapter 10 – Image Maker: The Director The theatre of the future, if it is to hold us, will have to shake off . . . the belief that it is showing us “a real room with real people.” For the theatre’s role is to present life . . . through some kind of poetic vision, metaphor, image—the mirror held up as ’twere to nature. —Alan Schneider

2. Chapter Summary • In collaboration with playwrights and other artists and assistants, directors interpret and shape performances as theatrical metaphors of our world.

3. Forerunners • Concept of director evolved in 1860s Europe. • Prior to that time, “staging” determined by actors, theatre managers, and/or playwrights: • David Garrick (English actor-manager) • First “modern” directors: • Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (Germany) • André Antoine (France) • Konstantin Stanislavski (Russia) • Director: • Understood all theatrical arts • Shaped production into unified whole

4. Director as Artist • Director collaborates with playwright, actors, designers, and technicians: • Creates a carefully selected vision of life—a special mirror • Theatre’srole from a director’s viewpoint: • Presents “life not in its literal exactness but rather through some kind of poetic vision, metaphor, image” (Alan Schneider)

5. Director as Artist • Director is controlling artist: • Responsible for unifying production elements • Three types of director: • Dictator—treats actors and designers as “servants” • Creative coordinator—accepts creative input • Guide—provokes and stimulates cast and crew • Director’s job is to discover the potential of a play: • Search for the “spine” or “through-line”

6. Director as Artist:Peter Brook and The Mahabarata • Cycle of three plays: • The Game of Dice • The Exile in the Forest • The War • Adapted from Sanskrit poem (400 BC) • Brook makes minimal yet spectacular choices: • Dramatic use of elements (fire, earth, water) • Symbolic properties: • Wooden wheel = Krishna’s chariot • Billowing cloth = newborn children • Battles conveyed via Eastern martial arts

7. Director as Artist:Peter Brook and The Mahabarata • Brook’s intention not to make older texts appear modern or relevant • Wants to connect the stage and the world around him A theatrical act cannot influence the political world. But theater allows us to open up to something beyond the daily horrors; it allows us to reinforce something positive inside each of us. —Peter Brook

8. Directors at Work • Director’s responsibilities: • Selecting or creating a script • Deciding on interpretation and “look” • Auditioning and casting actors for each role • Working with crew to stage production • Rehearsing the company • Coordinating design and production elements into unified performance

9. Directors at Work • Auditions and casting: • Matching actor to role • Design conferences: • Prior to casting, director selects design team • Confers with team to set production concept (c) Barry Slobin /PlayMakers Repertory Company Pauline Flanagan and Brendan O’Malley in The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Directed by Nagle Jackson

10. Directors at Work • Ground plan: • Defines shape and size of playing space

11. Directors at Work: Assistants • Assistant director: • Attends production meetings • Coaches actors • Rehearses special or problem scenes • Stage manager: • Compiles promptbook • Prepares rehearsal schedule • Records blocking, cues, etc. • Voice (dialects) coach: • Works with actors to ensure audibility and clarity of meaning

12. Directors at Work: Assistants • Movement coach (fight coordinator): • Works with actors for safety and expressive physical work • Musicals: • Musical director • Choreographer • Nonprofit theatre: • Production dramaturg

13. Directors at Work: Production Dramaturg • Gotthold Ephraim Lessing: • Playwright • Joined Hamburg National Theatre (1767) as house critic • Advised on play selection and production • Responsibilities of dramaturg: • Select version of text to perform • Prepare translation or adaptation • Do background research on play, playwright • Serve as critical “eye”

14. Staging: Approaches and Styles • Elia Kazan: • Wanted to be faithful to playwright’s intentions • Mike Nichols: • Sought controlling idea or event—truthful moment(s) that illuminate playwright’s meaning • Anne Bogart: • Bases approach on mystery and danger in text (c) Martine Franck/ Magnum Photos, Inc. Ariane Mnouchkine’s Staging of Richard II

15. Staging: Approaches and Styles • Preplanned approach: • Rehearsals used to “block” the play: • Determine entrances, exits, where and when to stand, sit, etc. • Collaborative approach: • Director and actors work together to develop movement, gestures, character relationships, stage images, and line interpretations.

16. Director as Auteur: Julie Taymor • Approach: • Blend of Eastern and Western theatre • Studied and worked in Paris, Eastern Europe, Japan, Indonesia • Incorporates masks, puppets, dance, tai chi, singing • Juan Darién: • Features puppets, masks, movement, and a musical score sung in Latin and Spanish • Production reflects cultural influences from Europe, Japan, and Indonesia

17. Director as Auteur: Martha Clarke • Dance theatre: • Trained as dancer at Juilliard School • Chief creator (auteur) of her theatre pieces • Works are expressions of her subconscious, not narrative: • “If you watched a rehearsal of mine, you would see that nine-tenths of it is in such disarray. I flounder. . . . I’m foggy a lot of the time. And the actors and dancers have to search as much as I do.” • The Garden of Earthly Delights: • Interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch painting

18. Core Concepts • Before the emergence of the director in the 19th century, leading actors, managers, and playwrights ran the theatres, dictated production elements, and took care of financial matters. • A coordinating specialist—the director—became necessary with advancing technology and changing subject matter brought about by new currents in social, aesthetic, and political thought. • Today’s audiences experience theatrical works through the director’s imagination and intellect, often to such a degree that the modern director has become almost as distinct a creative force as the playwright.