Here's a little something I learned during my first semester:
If you ever find yourself stuck while evaluating a movie or a play, keep the following in mind. There are only 5 things any one story can focus on:
1. Character - (Rain Man)
2. Plot - (And Then There Were None)
3. Spectacle - (Independence Day)
4. Music - (Obviously musicals, however, this category also includes words. Anything you hear.)
5. Message - (American Beauty)
While some stories contain pieces of all five elements, a good storyteller knows to focus only on one. Only great directors should allow a second element to present itself. Anymore than two however, and the story will appear sloppy, unfocused and unsatisfying for everyone because no one element will be fully explored.
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See this picture off to the left? That is the show I just directed. It's called The Palooka and it's a one-act written by Tennessee Williams. The show focuses on a former boxing champ and is about his faded glory and the American idea of success. The desire to be #1, all the time. Regardless of whether or not you can still "throw a good punch".
The first semester is over and I have learned a TON about directing. The program here at Temple is a great fit for me. I truly feel like I am becoming a better artist everyday.There are a number of things I have been working on to improve my directing this semester. But here are the basics:
Speak less during rehearsals. If I can't say it in 15 seconds or less - I don't say anything. Actors don't need to know the reasons why you are asking them to do things. They don't need to discuss the symbolism of where they are standing or what they are wearing.
Get results. Don't give them. This is huge. Explaining character or motivation to an actor limits their creativity and keeps them from personalizing the performance. The results are much more powerful if the actor decides how the character feels in the moment and plays actions of their choosing, instead of yours. This will keep the performance strong since the actor will intuitively understand the choices instead of just agreeing with a director.
The way to guide actors is to help them discover what the character wants. Because everyone always wants something - always. The only way to end wanting is to die. That is why the two following questions are the most important tools a director can have.
"What are you trying to get them to do?"
"How are you trying to make them feel?"
Asking one of these two questions never fails to get an actor thinking about who they are, what they want and why. And those are the first steps to personalizing a performance.
Is what you are doing ACTUALLY interesting? This is a question I have been asking myself at every rehearsal. If the answer is "no", then be honest about that and change what ever can be changed to make things interesting. This is also known as viewing your work with "fresh eyes" and it's essential to a show's success. This is something I definitly did not do enough in Cincinnati.
