Stage directing : a director's itinerary

Cover; Title page; Copyright page; Table of Contents; Acknowledgments and Photo Credits; Preface; PART I: FIRST THINGS FIRST; Chapter 1: The Director: Past and Present; What Is a Director?; Final Thoughts; Suggested Reading; Chapter 2: Choosing a Play and Securing a Performance License; What Play Will I Direct?; Making It Legal; Theatrical Publishing Houses; Chapter 3: Budgeting; Understanding a Budget; Final Thoughts; Chapter 4: Reading the Play; First Reading: Read for Pleasure; Second Reading: Read for Vision; Third Reading: Read for Analysis; Final Thoughts; Suggested Reading.;Stage Directing: A Director's Itinerary is a practical guidebook that provides instruction on how to organize the work of the director throughout the entire production process. Designed for the undergraduate student director, this book covers everything from choosing the play to opening night. Cover Title page Copyright page Table of Contents Acknowledgments and Photo Credits Preface PART I: FIRST THINGS FIRST Chapter 1: The Director: Past and Present What Is a Director? Final Thoughts Suggested Reading Chapter 2: Choosing a Play and Securing a Performance License What Play Will I Direct? Making It Legal Theatrical Publishing Houses Chapter 3: Budgeting Understanding a Budget Final Thoughts Chapter 4: Reading the Play First Reading: Read for Pleasure Second Reading: Read for Vision Third Reading: Read for Analysis Final Thoughts Suggested Reading. Chapter 5: Interpreting the ScriptThe Importance of Analysis I. Spectacle II. Character III. Plot IV. Ideas V. Rhythm VI. Dialogue Final Thoughts Suggested Reading Chapter 6: Research Why Research? Assembling Research Categories of Research Chapter 7: Concept Developing the Psychological Concept Developing the Visual Concept Final Thoughts In Your DPN Suggested Reading PART II: WRITTEN WORD TO THREE-DIMENSIONAL WORLD Chapter 8: The Visual Collaboration Working With Designers Meeting with Designers From Design to Tech Final Thoughts In Your DPN Chapter 9: Casting. Identifying Your NeedsCasting Notices The Audition Casting Musicals Final Thoughts PART III: REHEARSALS Chapter 10: Preparing for Rehearsals Rehearsal Schedules Preparing the Rehearsal Room Final Thoughts In Your DPN Chapter 11: The First Rehearsal and Table Work The First Rehearsal Table Work Table Work Exercises Other Table Reading Work In Your DPN Suggested Reading Chapter 12: Staging Rehearsals Elements of Staging Stage Pictures Blocking: Discovery or Planned? Classroom Exercises Chapter 13: Blocking in Different Stage Configurations Proscenium In the Round. Three-Quarter Thrust, ArenaFinal Thoughts PART IV: REHEARSING A MUSICAL Chapter 14: Initial Rehearsals of a Musical Working With a Musical Director Working with a Choreographer Initial Rehearsals of a Musical Chapter 15: Staging Musical Scenes The Technique Elements Staging the Opening Number Staging a Scene Without Music Staging a Scene With Music Staging Solos Buttons Act One Finale The Eleven O'clock Number The Finale Chorus Numbers PART V: REHEARSALS CONTINUE Chapter 16: Listen to your Inner Voice and Direct the Moments Listen to Your Inner Voice Direct the Moments. Chapter 17: Working with ActorsAbout Actors Dealing With Actors Final Thoughts Chapter 18: Solving Problems Exercises for Rehearsal Suggested Reading Chapter 19: Stumble-throughs, Work-throughs, and Run-throughs Work-throughs The Stumble-through Running with Notes Designer Runs or "Crew Views" Final Thoughts In Your DPN Chapter 20: Technical Rehearsals and Adding Elements Technical Rehearsals Adding in the Elements PART VI: OPENING THE SHOW Chapter 21: Final Dress to Opening Night The Lead-up to Opening Night Opening Night Final Thoughts Appendix 1Genre and Playing Style. This handbook of stage directing was created by Michael Wainstein (performing arts, Savannah College of Art and Design). It is very clearly designed for a single use: an introductory textbook for beginning college, community college, and high school students preparing to direct their first production. Some aspects of the book are elementary: the student director is instructed on how to evaluate the musicianship of auditioning players: "Do they make music or just noise?" Exercises in directing actors include asking the actor to imagine the event is actually happening to them. However, Wainstein is a veteran workhorse director. The book's structure is carefully, logically designed to take a person with no experience start-to-finish through the process of directing a standard American stage production. The book goes step-by-step through the itinerary: choosing the play, securing rights, budgeting, reading and interpreting the script, visual design, casting, table work, staging and blocking, working with actors in rehearsal, run-throughs, tech, and opening. A separate chapter looks at the rehearsal and staging of musical theatre. Appendices include a script analysis, sample schedules, and contracts. The book is a highly functional do-it-yourself guide for getting a traditional production onstage. Wainstein finds the most depth in his advice on juggling diverse personalities: establish control and then relax, never correct a diva in public, give a resistant actor a victory right before you need them to do as you say, and so on. At its best, the book's advice is clear, economical, won from years of practical production experience, and will save students much time and stress. Inexperienced directors and their teachers and assistants would do very well to keep this book close; it is built to include all the things people assume directors already know. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com). With Stage Directing: A Director's Itinerary, the student of theatrical directing now has a step-by-step guide to directing a production, from choosing a play to opening night. Unlike other directing textbooks, this practical guidebook provides instruction on how to organize the work of the director through the practical challenges of the directorial process (e.g., organizing a budget spreadsheet, writing casting notices, setting up an audition space, etc.). In Stage Directing, the process of directing a production takes the form of twenty-one chapters, which contain helpful examples and tried-and-true exercises, as well as information on how to organize the director s documents into a director s production notebook. (Publisher)