Allyn & Bacon

Communication, Film & Theatre

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The Director as Collaborator
Robert Knopf, University of Buffalo

ISBN-10: 0205397093
ISBN-13: 9780205397099

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
Copyright: 2006
Format: Paper; 192 pp
Published: 09/12/2005

Suggested retail price: $76.40
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Supported by active learning exercises, this text offers a collaborative approach to directing designed to help students work well in student and professional theatre groups.

 

The Director as Collaborator teaches essential directing skills while emphasizing how directors and theatre productions benefit from collaboration. Good collaboration occurs when the director shares responsibility for the artistic creation with the entire production, including actors, designers, stage managers and technical staff.  Leadership does not preclude collaboration; in theatre, these concepts can and should be complimentary. Students will develop their abilities by directing short scenes and plays and by participating in group exercises.

  • Active learning exercises throughout the text encourage students to learn through firsthand experience.
  • A chapter on directing elements, organized into textual and visceral elements, introduces students to the fundamental building blocks that help directors achieve their unique artistic interpretations.
  • Notes on collaboration by designers, playwrights, actors, and music directors provide students with real-world feedback on the importance of collaboration for a theatre production.
  • A full chapter on working with designers, with case studies and photos, helps students develop the skills necessary to form collaborative relationships with designers on future productions (Ch. 5).
  • In-class writing exercises help students explore their ideas and develop communication skills.
  • Discussion questions and key terms after each exercise help students solidify their knowledge and acquire the terminology that professionals use.
  • Appendices with forms for auditions, rehearsals, and productions; a glossary; and a comprehensive list of one-act play anthologies, provide additional resources for assignments, projects, and productions.

Introduction

What Is Collaboration?

The Core Action

The Responsibilities of Collaboration

Fundamental Techniques

Supplemental Reading

 

1. Collaboration and Leadership

                Balancing Leadership and Collaboration

Supplemental Reading

 

2. Core Action

                Story and Plot

Action Analysis

Supplemental Reading

 

3. Collaboration in Rehearsal

                The First Scene Collaboration

Preparation

Rehearsal Observations

Videotaping Rehearsals

Supplemental Reading

 

4. Directing Elements

                Textual Elements

Visceral Elements

Chapter Summary: Integrating Directing Elements

Dramaturgy Checklist

 

5. Design Collaboration

                Core Action Statements

Design Timetable

Supplemental Reading

 

6. Other Collaborators

                Playwrights

Dramaturgs

Music Directors and Choreographers

 

7. Auditions and Casting

                Casting the One-Act Plays

Audition Goals

Supplemental Reading

 

Appendix A: Forms

                Project Proposal Form

Sample Audition Notice

Audition Form

Sample Callback Form

Sample Cast List

Rehearsal Observation Form

Producing Checklist

Program Information

Poster Information

Course Outline

 

Appendix B: Glossary of Key Terms

 

Appendix C: Bibliography of One-Act Plays

 

Appendix D: Selected Bibliography

                Directing

Acting

Design

Playwrighting

Dramaturgy

Ensembles

Theater History and Theory

Management

Publicity

 

The Director as Collaborator teaches essential directing skills while emphasizing how directors and theatre productions benefit from collaboration. Good collaboration occurs when the director shares responsibility for the artistic creation with the entire production, including actors, designers, stage managers and technical staff. Leadership does not preclude collaboration; in theatre, these concepts can and should be complementary. Students will develop their abilities by directing short scenes and plays and by participating in group exercises.

Features

  • Active learning exercises throughout the text encourage students to learn through firsthand experience.
  • A chapter on directing elements, organized into textual and visceral elements, introduces students to the fundamental building blocks that help directors achieve their unique artistic interpretations.
  • Notes on collaboration by designers, playwrights, actors, and music directors provide students with real-world feedback on the importance of collaboration for a theatre production.
  • A full chapter on working with designers, with case studies and photos, helps students develop the skills necessary to form collaborative relationships with designers on future productions (Chapter 5).
  • In-class writing exercises help students explore their ideas and develop communication skills.
  • Discussion questions and key terms after each exercise help students solidify their knowledge and acquire the terminology that professionals use.
  • Appendices with forms for auditions, rehearsals, and productions; a glossary; and a comprehensive list of one-act play anthologies provide additional resources for assignments, projects, and productions.
Praise for The Director as Collaborator

“This is a well-thought-out book that has a new and exciting approach to the field of theater directing. The concept of collaboration is an important (and oft-ignored) part of the directing process. There are stunning nuggets of wisdom within this text that drive the text forward — it’s the director’s job to be an idealist, and this work chooses to show how this idealism can be fore-grounded and made a significant part of the process.”
—Christopher Berchild, Indiana State University

“This is a very readable book, written in an easy, conversational style using personal experiences and well-defined examples. I think that this is an excellent text for beginning directors of any age. Because of his teaching and directing style, one feels that the author is sitting across the production table having a conversation with a group of friends.”
—Margaret Brennan, Harrisburg Area Community College

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