Directing
To be creative. To share. To educate. To inform. To evoke thought. To make a difference. These are just a few of the active verbs that I use when scoring my script. As a director, I hope to clear my own path and use the proper tactics to reach these objectives. I know there will be obstacles to overcome, but my intentions are real and I will tell the story. Teaching is my calling in life, but directing is my passion.
As a relatively young director, I am still finding my way. I did not come from a theatre background where I was constantly exposed to theatre of any type, much less good theatre. In my early days of acting, my high school director took the ground plan and the blocking from the script and we staged the play. It wasn’t much but it was enough. Enough to spark and interest. I had never taken a theatre class and didn’t know common theatre terms when I took my first course in college. I was starting from scratch, completely ignorant of the vast and wonderful world of theatre that was awaiting me. I attended every rehearsal that I could, if only to observe and I learned quickly. I gained a lot of knowledge and a lot of practical experience through this, to complete my education in my undergraduate work. In my first teaching/directing job, I simply copied shows that I had been in before and staged them with my students. In my second position, as a high school assistant director, I worked under a director that I consider to be one of the best staging directors I have ever seen but was not allowed to venture off on my own. This in itself was a learning experience. Upon taking over the program after her departure, I have had to do a lot of self-teaching. Reading up on directors and trying to get as much information from fellow directors as possible. Stealing, begging, and borrowing. My shows have grown in strength and artistic works over the years and I feel that I am on the right path to continue to improve my craft.
In the past I have approached directing as an actor. That is where my training was. I knew how to teach character development and started there. Blocking happened from there. I say happened because that is what it did. I didn’t block shows. I would adjust pictures after the actors would organically move as they felt compelled to do so. My productions were full of rich, wonderful characters that didn’t know where to go. Drifters in a foreign land. But I am now armed with an arsenal of weapons to battle these past demons. And I am so excited by this! I am so excited for my first show this year to see the difference that this course has made in my directing.
I prefer to direct in the style of realism. It is my favorite style to watch, as well. I tend to choose material that I feel a connection to. It must interest me first. And excite me! I love to deal with the psychology behind the actions of characters and I feel that realism is the best form of theatre to allow me to explore this further. I love to get to the meat of things. I want my actors to fully understand why their character does what they do in the course of a show. I start with Stanislavski and the “Magic If” and then move into Shurtleff and his Twelve Guideposts. I incorporate Laban into the rehearsal process to develop the physical character. I tend to play things very comfortably. I do like to venture out of the comfort zone when it comes to my concept for a show. I love to play with symbolism and play with actions and stage business that are symbolic of the character and their goals. I love to hide things in the set and in the actions of the play that can inform the audience about what is going on and why or what is about to happen.
As a director, I have expectations for my company, my audience, and myself. Coincidentally, the expectations are the same for each of us. With maybe a few twists and tweaks here and there. I feel that as a director, it is my job to clear the path for each person involved in the production to gain knowledge. This knowledge can be gained from any and every thing . I feel that if I have done my job properly, each person in the theatre for the production should learn a lesson. About the art, the world around them, the creative process, themselves. Something. Anything. I am a teacher before I am a director and I see it as my duty to use every opportunity that I can to educate. I do hold myself to a higher standard than I do the others. If I don’t learn something new, I don’t feel it was worth my time.
I do feel that I have struggled as a director, but I feel the struggle will lessen from this point forward. I will trudge forward and continue to raise the stakes and fight for what my character needs. I can fight or choose death. I choose to fight.
The following files are examples of my work on a script prior to casting the show.
epdirectorconcept.pdf | |
File Size: | 29 kb |
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epic_proportions_analysis.pdf | |
File Size: | 108 kb |
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eppropplot.pdf | |
File Size: | 44 kb |
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master_blocking_plan.pdf | |
File Size: | 1930 kb |
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Costuming
The following files show examples of some of the work that I include when designing costumes for a production.
grease_concept_statement.docx | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
File Type: | docx |
grease_script_analysis.doc | |
File Size: | 49 kb |
File Type: | doc |
greasecostumecharactersheet.doc | |
File Size: | 375 kb |
File Type: | doc |
scan0003.pdf | |
File Size: | 1076 kb |
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