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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 Chapter Summary • In collaboration with playwrights and other artists and assistants, directors interpret and shape performances as theatrical metaphors of our world. 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 Director as Artist • Director collaborates with playwright, actors, designers, and technicians: – Creates a carefully selected vision of life—a special mirror • Theatre’s role from a director’s viewpoint: – Presents “life not in its literal exactness but rather through some kind of poetic vision, metaphor, image” (Alan Schneider) 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” 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 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 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 Directors at Work (c) Barry Slobin /PlayMakers Repertory Company • Auditions and casting: – Matching actor to role • Design conferences: – Prior to casting, director selects design team – Confers with team to set production concept Pauline Flanagan and Brendan O’Malley in The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Directed by Nagle Jackson Directors at Work • Ground plan: – Defines shape and size of playing space 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 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 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” Staging: Approaches and Styles (c) Martine Franck/ Magnum Photos, Inc. • 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 Ariane Mnouchkine’s Staging of Richard II 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. 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 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 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.