Directing is brilliant…

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It is…

I love lots and lots of things about my job…but directing is definitely up there as one of favourites and this week I’ve been able to do loads of it…

What is even better than directing, is directing people who are really responsive to direction…

For example…

You have 8 people in a room, 3 hours…ish and you need the result of this combination to be a piece of physical theatre worthy of performance at a major artistic event…at the end of the three hours that’s just what you have…and it’s due to the ability of the actors to trust in the ideas, challenges and suggestions they’re given…

Example 2…

A different set of 8 people in a different room and 8 hours…ish, this time the result of the combination needs to be some material that will end up performed at a National Conference…and this time we have the added challenge that some of the people have never done drama before…
They are however willing to take a risk and respond to what I as the director ask them to do…as a consequence we leave the day with a whole load of possibilities and ideas not to mention an immense sense of satisfaction…

Example number 3…

2 people this time and a script I’ve tipped quite a lot of my heart into…the two people are actors I’ve worked with lots and each has an entirely different process to the other…it’s the start of an intensive process and already everyone is more than invested…the result unlimited potential and the anticipation of some utterly personalised and genuine theatre…

All of these examples are directing situations I had the privilege to be involved with this week…and they’re not the only ones…for example I’ve missed out the mere 15 Shakesperean scenes I had an input into on Thursday…Incidentally I am aware of how ridiculously lucky I am…

The thing is that as a director I can only do so much…the actors have an equal responsibility…one of the things that made those three examples so enjoyable is the courage and openness of the performers, their desire to create something that is the best that it can be in that moment…equally there’s nothing more gratifying than an actor or cast that demonstrates their respect and trust in you as a director by seeking out your response and ideas to improve what they’re doing…

If there was a summarizing thought to this it would be that you as actors have access to a director who couldn’t be happier to answer your questions, talk about your concerns and fears and respond to your concerns and ideas…so if I haven’t got time in the moment don’t hesitate to contact me outside of the rehearsal…if there’s something you want to ask, the process and product of your creative endeavours will be better if you do just that…even if it’s just slightly better…so you know have the courage to do just that

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