CHAPTER ONE

 

PLAY DIRECTING

 

What is Directing?

 

Directing is the sum total of the artistic and technical operations which enable the play, as conceived by the author, to pass from the abstract, latent state, that of the written script, to concrete and actual life on stage.(Toby Cole and Helen K. Chinoy 1976:214).  Play directing has also been explained as the art of presenting a piece of drama on stage, using the art of arranging people on stage, involving them in purposeful movement through the appropriate timing of events  and the effective use of group interaction, to convey to the audience,   the intended meaning of production.

 

Directing is the harmonization and co-ordination of the entire resources of the theatre into one whole, which is the production before an audience.  The resources of the theatre here include the script, the voice, speech, physical appearance, psychological and mental attributes of the actor, the stage space, scenery, costume and make-up, music, sound effects, and lighting. These provide the means through which the director conveys to the audience the playwright’s intentions and messages as contained in the script. (Oscar Brockett 1979:507).

 

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History of Directing:

 

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Though the title “director” came into use very much later, the art of directing and its origin is as old as drama and theatre.  The function of the director, “directing”, had been present in one way or the other right from the Greek period but was performed by theatre staff or members who had deferent names or titles.  In Greek drama, the Choregus   or trainer of the chorus directed the members of the chorus  on what to do and how to act.  He taught them    dance steps and the techniques of dancing.  In addition, he taught them how to perfect the synchronization of movement with rhythm or music.  He directed their gestures and body movements to vividly explain or illustrate what they were singing.  He interpreted the subject matter of the strophe and antistrophe in terms of position, movement and rhythm.  In productions that involved themes of war, and in presentation of poems of woe, he had to contrive a pattern for his dancers that would arouse immense feeling of grief in the people even if they did not hear every word of the chant that the chorus delivered when dancing (Alexander Dean and Lawrence Carra 1980:20).  The choregus did exactly what   the present-day director does and was, therefore, a play director as we understand the word today.At the festival of Dionysius, he often regulated the dramatic performances while the choregus paid the bill. In such situations, the choregus was a wealthy citizen. (Toby Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy 1976:7). Of course, we know that the chorus for Greek  plays rehearsed for many weeks under the supervision of a leader prior to a performance. (Edwin Wilson 1976:280). Apart from people who bore the title choregus, others, working without such titles, did the job of directing others and co-ordinating the available resources of the theatre into one whole- the production.  It is on record that the Greek playwright, Aeschylus, directed his own plays and that at various points in theatre history, the leading actors or playwrights of theatre companies served as directors, though without answering the name “directors.”  Moliere, for instance, was not only the playwright and chief actor of his company, but also functioned as the director. Edwin Wilson observes that in England, from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries there was a long line of actor-managers who gave strong leadership to individual theatre companies and who performed many of the functions of the directors though they were not actually called by the name.  Among the most famous, he says, were Thomas Betterton (1635-1710), David Garrick (1717-1779), Charles Kemble (1775-1854), William Charles Macready   (1793-1893), and Henry Irving (1838-1905).  The role of the director as well as the title did not come into limelight until 1874 when a German nobleman, the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, began supervising every element of his theatrical productions-rehearsals, scenic elements and other aspects- co-ordinating   them into an integrated whole (Edwin Wilson 1976:281). 

 

As he was perfecting this system in which a single directing mind brought scenery, stage lighting, costumes and actors into artistic unity, he presented in Berlin, a company that stressed the “ensemble” method of playing (Alexander Dean and Lawrence Carra 1980:21). Saxe- Meiningen’s troupe, the Meiningen players, was composed of mostly unknown actors but the troupe gave performances of such high quality that eclipsed the work of the major theatres.  It became clear that the reason for the success of the Meiningen troupe was its director’s staging methods.  The most important elements of the Duke’s approach were his complete control over every aspect of production and his long and careful rehearsals.  Rather than utilising stars, as most theatres did, he subordinated all performers to the overall effect, insisted on absolute obedience and drilled his troupe in lengthy rehearsals (Oscar Brockett 1979:348). Constantine Stanislavski and the Moscow Art Players intensified their interest in ensemble. They discarded the star system and placed emphasis upon the group.  Many times Stanislavski himself played small roles, allowing others the major ones. No detail was too small, no role too menial to escape attention.  The unity of the whole was of paramount importance. In this situation, the director became a necessary addition to the dramatic scene (John E. Dietrich and Ralph Duckwall 1983:13).

 

 

Beginning with Saxe-Meiningen, the director emerged as a full-fledged, indispensable member of the theatrical team, taking his place along side the playwright, the performers, and the designers. The activities of the Duke influenced Anton and his Theatre Libre in Paris. Stanislavski is reported to have borrowed directly from the Saxe- Meiningen when he founded his Moscow Art Theatre.  The contributions of Gordon Craig who also conceived dramatic production as a unity and looked upon scenery, lighting and costume not as a separate entity but as correlated and related parts of a whole enhanced the emergence of the director. Also of immense influence were the contributions of Max Reinhardt and the writings of Adolphe Appia who set down in printed analysis the principles of the new method in staging plays (Alexander Dean and Lawrence Carra1980:21).  It is good to note that the emergence of the director at the end of the nineteenth century coincided with some technological changes in communication which enhanced the advent of the telegraph, the telephone, photography, motion pictures, and finally television.  These broadened people’s minds and educated them on the cultures of other lands.  They increased social interaction and the desire to correlate and co-ordinate things.  Another factor that contributed immensely to the rise of the director was the death of the road and stock companies and the growth of community theatre movements.  These amateur groups were reported to have entered the play production field for enjoyment and social experience rather than for profit and they usually lacked experienced personnel. An experienced director was necessary to guide their experiments in play making (John E. Dietrich and Ralph W. Duckwall 1983:13).

 

 

The new system is believed to have reached America, first in the arts theatres of the early 1920, such as the Provincetown Players and later the Group Theatre, and to have spread to Broadway.  The director became an important force in the professional theatre and there emerged so fine a tradition in professional direction that today some professional players are better known as directors than as stars or even authors.  Among the popular directors whose efforts have consolidated the position and importance of the director are Antonin  Artaud (in Paris), Peter Brook, John Littlewood and Charles Marowitz (in London). Others are Jerzy Grotowski (founder of the Polish Laboratory Theatre), Judith Malina and Juliana Beck (who founded the Living Theatre), Ellen stewart (of La Mama Experimental Theatre Club), Joseph Chaiken (who founded the Open Theatre) and Café Cino’s Joe Cino. Because of their pioneering theories and practices, these early innovators changed the course of modern theatre, raising the status of the director to an unprecedented level (John E. Dietrich and Ralph W. Duckwall 1983:13).

 

 

The Director 

The director or the regisseur is the person in charge of, or responsible for, the artistic elements of a production.  He is the person who takes immediate charge of the work of actors, dancers, designers, musicians and technicians (John Russel Brown 1971:85).  The director is therefore the artiste who must creatively blend all of the dynamic elements of production into a single, meaningful whole. The director is the creative and interpretative artiste who co-ordinates and directs the story of human conflicts for the audience. Every director must understand the scope and limitations that the job entails. On this issue, Oscar Brockett (1979:496) observes that:

 

 

Just as the producer is the person most concerned with the financial aspects of play production, the director is the one most responsible for the artistic elements. He must decide how the script is to be interpreted, and he must co-ordinate the efforts of all the other theatre artists into a unified performance.

 

To Brockett, there are two basic conceptions of the director.  One sees him as an interpretative artiste whose purpose is to serve the playwright by translating the script as faithfully as possible into theatrical form.  The other views him as a creative artiste who uses all the elements of the theatre, of which the script is merely one, to fashion his own art work.  Exponents of the latter view argue that the director may alter a play in any way he sees fit, just as he is free to shape scenery, costumes, lighting and sound to suit his goal.

 

He is also seen as the creative and interpretative artiste who coordinates and dictates the story of human conflicts for the audience.  He is the artiste who must creatively blend all of the dynamic elements of production into a single, meaningful whole. In the opinion of Louis Jouvret,  

 

 

The director or metteur en scene has been called the gardener of sprits, the doctor of sensations, the midwife of the inarticulate, the cobbler of situations, cook of speech, steward of souls, king of the theatre and servant of the stage, juggler and magician, assayer and touchstone of the public, diplomat, economist, nurse, orchestra leader, interpreter, painter and costumier- a hundred definitions, but all of them useless. The director is indefinable because his functions are undeniable (Louis Jouvret 1996:226).

 

 

Vladimir Nemirovich Danchenko sees the director as a triple- faced creature and sums up his functions and qualities as follows:

1. the regisseur-interpreter, he instructs how to play; so that it is possible to call him the regisseur actor or the regisseur- pedagogue;
2. the regisseur-mirror reflecting the individual  qualities of the actor
3. the regisseur - organiser of the entire production .

 

 

The regisseur - organizer is the most popular amongst the three because he is easily seen working on the deferent segments and aspects of the theatre like lighting, costume, sound effects.  He brings together all the elements of the production giving first place to the creativeness of the actors and merges them with the whole setting into one harmonious whole (Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko 1976:120).

 

 

The regisseur-interpreter and the regisseur mirror are, however, invisible because they have sunk themselves in the actor. Much has,however, been said about the death of the regisseur in the actor’s creativeness. Most people have criticized the actor merely imitating the director and not being allowed to make use of his own ingenuity in his acting.

 

The Place of the Director

 

The director of a theatre harmonizes the creative efforts of the other production staff.  His work, though unique, cuts across all the other works.  He works with virtually all who contribute towards the creative process of a production paying more attention to the three main “job areas” in the theatre.  These three areas are the creative area of writing, the creative area of acting and technical works, and the  audience to which these creative elements are channelled and without which there can be no theatre. Technical works, here, refer to the contributions of the set designers, the lighting designers, the music and  sound effect man, the costume and make-up officer.  Being involved with the actors in the same creative process aimed at projecting the intention of the playwright, they are grouped together with the actors.  These three areas can be distinguished one from the other in terms of the nature of their contributions towards the general goal- the production.  The writer writes and leaves the acting for the actors. Though he suggests some stage movements, he leaves the actor and the director to interpret these movements and improve on them.  In other words, he does not work so much with the actor. To the designer too, he suggests the type of sets and locale and leaves the designer to interpret and design.  Nothing concerns him with the type of wood and the type of canvas or paint to be used.  The designer works on his own, assisted by the director.  This is also to say that the playwright does not work so much with the designer.  Even these little relationships between the playwright and the actor and between the playwright and the designer seem to be a one-way relationship as information is passed from only one direction. The playwright offers a little assistance or relationship to these two but none of them responds by assisting the playwright to do his own duty.  Theatre practice has not made it customary for either the actor or the designer to suggest facts and situations to the playwright before he writes.  They can, however, make some amendments and even corrections to a playwright’s suggestions on movements, business, dialogue or set design. They can even abandon the playwright’s suggestions and create their own movements, business and sets but this comes after the playwright has finished his work.  There are situations where these work together with the playwright and agree on changes to be made in the script but the point still remains that this is done after the playwright has finished doing his primary assignment of writing the script, without their contributions.  Not even the director helps the writer to write.

 

 

The audience has no assistance to offer the playwright as he writes.  It can, however, be of immense help to the playwright during the rehearsal stage of his work-before he writes. It has none to offer the designer and the actor as they prepare the play for presentation.  The audience only contributes to the entire system by their reactions during the performance for which its members are recognised as participants. It, however, can contribute further by makings its impressions or feelings about the production known to the production crew. 

 

 

 

 

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While these three work mostly independent of each other, at least at the early stage of their duties, all of them work jointly with the director ever before the production comes on stage.  Though the director does not suggest to the playwright what to write, he analyses and interprets the playwright’s script and projects the playwright’s intentions as conveyed in the script. The playwright’s main duty is to convey his intentions to the public.  He does this on paper but it is the director who helps him-before the presentation-to transform the lines on the script into meaningful actions.  He helps to convey the playwright’s ideas to the public thereby doing part of the playwright’s work.  Since he does this before the play is put on stage, one can say that the duty of conveying information, impressions and intentions to the audience is normally done jointly by the director and the playwright.  In some cases, there have been an actual or physical working together.  Most directors locate the writer of the play they want to produce and discuss with him on the production of the play.  Agreements are reached on the additions and subtractions to be made as well as the production rights.  The director also works with the actors and the designers before the production comes on stage. There are a lot of physical contact as the director supervises and also directs the play.  The case of the audience is a little bit different in that the director never discusses with the “physical” audience before the production. This, notwithstanding, the director has a lot to do for the audience as long as his main aim is to satisfy the audience.  So he makes enough contacts with both the physical and the “non-physical” audience during his research and feasibility study. He talks to the people to find out their tastes, their economic, social, cultural and political conditions.  This early contact helps the director a lot because the feedback he gets from the community enables him to even know the type of play to choose.  This is to say that there are contacts between the director and the actor, the designer and even the audience.  Being so related to these, and in view of the fact that non of these other three (playwright, actor, audience) has this kind of intimate and physical relationship with the other, the director maintains a unique place in the drama triangle.  His function of co-ordinating the creative efforts of these other ones into one whole justifies his occupying the central   position and the “heart” of the drama triangle.

 

 

 

 

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PLAYWRIGHT

 

ACTORS AND DESIGNERS

AUDIENCE

DIRECTOR

 

 

By virtue of his position in the drama triangle the director relates very cordially with the playwright, the audience, the actors and the designers. He owes the obligation of a good interpretation to the playwright.

 

 

Functions of a director

The director has many functions and qualifications which make him quite unique in the theatre industry. His position in the drama triangle supports these functions and qualifications which distinguish him from the other theatre staff.

(1) He carries out research on the necessity of the production and helps in selecting the script after a research

(2) He secures the production right

(3) He analyses or interprets the script selected.

(4) He edits the script, if necessary, with the playwright

(5) He prepares the budget for the production

(6) He determines the style of production to adopt

(7) He decides the type of stage to produce on and also organises tryout and casting.

(8) He directs the rehearsals and does the blockings

 

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(9) He works with the set designer with whom he plans the ground plan and designs the sets

(10) He works with the lighting designer to achieve the best lighting for the production

(11) He helps the costume designer to select, borrow or buy the necessary costumes

(12) He works with the music and sound effect staff to determine the background music, bridge music and sound effects.

(13) He works with the stage manager to maintain discipline on stage and backstage during rehearsals and productions.

(14) He works with both the production manager and the business manager to see that all items needed for the production are provided.

(15) He advises the house manager on the up-keep of the auditorium

(16)He relates with the theatre manager and helps in decision-making. 

(17)He relates with all who are involved in the production of the play. (I.C. Ohiri 2004:111)

 

The duties of a director at each stage of a production have also been comprehensively analyzed by John Clifford (1972:28) as follows:

           Pre-tryout:

1. He selects a particular play that has enough relevance and potentials.
2. He interprets it further and costs it.
3.  

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He convenes a meeting where he discloses the play of his choice. As already stated, such meetings can also be convened by the theatre manager with whom he may choose the play. Here, the director defends his choice and presents his production budget.

4. He starts working on the stage with the scenic director. This stage may be used for tryout.
5. He decides on the tryout date and communicates the dates to the publicity director for dissemination.
6.  He prepares the excerpts for the tryout.

 

Tryout and Casting:

1. He conducts the tryout to discover the suitable actors and actresses.
2. He casts the play based on the performances of actors/actresses.
3. He gives the date for the commencement of the rehearsals.

 

Early Rehearsal

1. He presents a rehearsal schedule.
2. He conducts reading rehearsals.
3. He helps the actors and actresses to take in their lines.
4. He blocks the scenes of the play.
5. He briefs the technical crew on their involvements.
6. He submits the names of the actors, the actresses and the production crew to the publicity director.
7. He continues to convene production meetings with the designers and other theatre staff.

Late Rehearsal – Dress and technical: He helps the actors and actresses to perfect their roles.

1.  

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He makes the actors and actresses act in their costumes and to start getting used to them.

2. He makes the technical staff perform their duties during the rehearsals. Lighting, sound effects, background music and other theatre effects are put into work to see what the total package-the final production-will look like.
3. He polishes the acts and scenes.
4. He liaises with the theatre  manager to make sure that the theatre building or performance venue is ready.
5. He watches the play critically and identifies areas of it that require some changes. He makes the necessary changes.

Post Production

1. He thanks all who participated in the production. This can be done immediately after the curtain call.
2. He ensures that the set is dismantled and kept safe. He also makes sure that other theatre equipment are secured. The stage manager often helps him in ensuring that the things are safe.
3. He evaluates the production to gain more experience that will guide and enhance future productions. (John Clifford 1972:28).

The Role of the Director in the Management of a Production.

 

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The blocking of the scenes and the harmonisation of the stage directions with lighting cues, sound effects and even the appropriate costumes are among the artistic duties that a director performs. He does not stop at these duties but goes on to perform some administrative functions that enhance the smooth running of both the production and the theatre. He works with both the human and material resources of the theatre. With these, he puts the components of theatre management into work. Such components like controlling, communicating, planning, forecasting, assessing, analyzing, coordinating, implementing and evaluating are constantly involved in his work.

Right from the pre-production or research stage, the director assists in such commercial duties as securing the production right from the playwright. In some cases, he does this alone and in some others he does it jointly with the theatre manager or the production manager.

He convenes production meetings held before the tryout. Through such meetings, which often become more regular after he has selected and analyzed the play material to be used, he contributes towards the management of the production. He “forecasts” the right play and chooses it. At tryouts, he “forecasts” the best artistes and casts then into the play. Forecasting, as a component or function of theatre management adds “management flavour” to his artistic functions thereby making him one of the earlier planners of the production.

 

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Part of this early planning involves determining when the play will be presented. From his analysis of the production materials, he can say how long the materials will be rehearsed before the actions of the play will be fully realized. Questions directed at him like, “how long will your rehearsals last?”, lead to answers that can help in fixing the presentation date. In other words, the director analyses both the script and the situation. Making use of the “magic if”, he comes out with, sometimes, a tentative date for the performance before the audience. Such dates are confirmed as he watches the progress of the rehearsals. In an unfavourable situation, he can ask for extension of the already fixed date. Assessing the situation, planning the production and fixing the date for the production are purely commercial or management functions.

In addition to these management functions is the director’s control and supervision of the actors and actresses. He does not only direct them on stage but also supervises their conduct at rehearsals. His management functions, as he executes the artistic duty of blocking the scenes of the play, include maintenance of discipline. He checks noise-making, distracting movements and actions, unnecessary jokes and the obnoxious habit of eating inside the rehearsal hall. He guards against quarrelling, fighting and unnecessary conversations inside the rehearsal room and on the stage.

He enforces theatre ethics as they concern the actors and other theatre staff who work with him. His control of the actors when they are not on stage as well as his supervision of other staff like the costumier, the set designers, the technical director and even the stage manager is often tantamount to his playing a managerial role. These staff work according to his orders during the rehearsals and even outside rehearsal periods. He is their “manager” and “boss”.

 

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This management of the human resources of the theatre often involves communicating instructions (both stage and administrative) to these staff. It involves his coordinating and harmonizing their activities towards the achievement of the threatre’s goal. In moments of controversy, he calls his veto power into play by commanding the staff into submission and obedience. He implements the goal of the theatre which is the production and presentation of plays. He finally evaluates the production to gain more experience. Such evaluations are documented in his production report the preparation of which forms part of his post production duties.

His management of the human resources available to him is complemented by the control of the material resources at his disposal. The director, right from the research (pre-production) stage, identifies the materials he needs to direct a play.

 

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These include the type of set, props, accessories, costumes, stage equipment, technical and electronic materials. He lists these out and later discusses with the theatre staff that are directly responsible for each area. He discusses the type of lighting equipment needed for the production with the lighting designer. He discusses the identified theatre equipment and props with the property manager. He does not stop at discussing these items. He goes further to facilitate their procurement. Procurement of theatre equipment is a managerial function. He endorses the budget for their purchase or hire and also supervises their handling. For instance, while the costumier makes, buys or rents the costumes, the director supervises the costumier. He makes sure that the costumes are well utilized and stored by the costumier after the production. Any actor who refuses to submit his costumes to the costumier after production is reported to the director who calls the actor to order and insists on the proper practice of returning the costumes to the costumier after each production.

The director insists on proper use or handling of theatre property. Even after rehearsals, he still has his eyes on the drums, chairs and electronics. His supervision of these material resources and the staff who are directly responsible for their storage adds some managerial responsibilities to his artistic functions and makes him a “manager” of not only the human resources but also the material resources of the theatre.

To enhance this enlarged role, the director abides by some stage and theatre ethics. The director is advised to try and lead by example. Good conduct is also required of the director. If the director is disciplined, the actors and other theatre staff who work with him copy his good virtues. As part of his contributions towards the articulation of stage and theatre ethics, Stanislavsky is of the opinion that:

The best way for those in authority in a theatre to enforce their will on the actors..., was by following the old precept, ‘physician, heal thyself’ and trying to convince the actors by their own example. (Stanislavsky as cited in Magarshach 1980:289).

 

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Magarshach quotes Stanislavsky as maintaining that a healthy atmosphere in the theatre can never be created by rules and regulations, nor can it be imposed, as it were ‘wholesale’. He quotes him as observing that here only the personal ‘touch’ will be found to be of any practical use. Patience, self control, firmness and composure are the qualities a man who wishes to exercise any authority in the theatre must have. He must have faith in people and trust them. He must believe that in his heart of hearts every man is striving to do good, and that once he has learned to distinguish between good and bad, he will always choose the first, because in the end good always gives more satisfaction than bad.     

 

In summary, therefore, one would say that the primary functions of the director are to pattern, coordinate and put into effective use, all the works of his associates and by so doing achieve an exact theatrical effect. 

 

In summary, therefore, one would say that the primary function of the director is to pattern, coordinate and put into effective use, all the works of his associates and by so doing achieve an exact theatrical effect. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER TWO

 

THE DIRECTOR’S RELATIONSHIP

WITH OTHER THEATRE STAFF

 

By virtue of the position the director occupies in the drama triangle, he has a very important relationship with other theatre staff. This relationship involves both the staff on the commercial side and those on the artistic side of the theatre. A cordial relationship is very much required for the ensemble spirit to strive and for the theatre crew to achieve that singular goal of producing a play that would entertain, educate, inform and maximize profit.

The Director’s Relationship with the playwright

The relationship between these two should be cordial and complementary because the two work together to achieve the same goal-that of communicating intentions or lessons to the audience.  It is a material relationship which accords respect to each person’s feelings.  It is a fact that the script used for the production of a play is not necessarily the original draft supplied by the playwright. It may be altered by the director, deliberately or by accident of misinterpretation. The adaptation made in the process becomes an integral part of the script used for the production and it is this adopted script instead of the original that the director gives expression. (Albright et al 1968:442).

 

 

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Because of the cordial relationship and the mutual respect that exists between the director and the playwright, whatever