Allyn & Bacon

Communication, Film & Theatre

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Play Directing: Analysis, Communication, and Style, 6/E
Francis Hodge, Emeritus, University of Texas, Austin
Michael McLain, University of California, Los Angeles

ISBN-10: 0205419232
ISBN-13: 9780205419234

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
Copyright: 2005
Format: Cloth; 416 pp
Published: 10/20/2004

Suggested retail price: $116.40
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Play Directing describes the various roles a director plays, from selection and analysis of the play to working with actors and designers to bring it to life.

The authors emphasize that the role of the director is not as a dictator, but as a leader of artists working in collaboration who look to the director for ideas that will give impetus to their fullest, most creative expressions.The text emphasizes that directing is not a finite and specific “system” of production, but rather is a means for providing an intensive look at the structure of plays, of acting and actor-ownership, and of all the other crafts that together make a produced play.

Students are guided through the whole process of working on a play from style to analysis, including its relationship to film and television. They are encouraged to use this foundation as a basis from which to set their own goals as creative and dedicated leaders.

  • Focuses on plays as central to the ongoing continuum of live theatre from its origin to the present. An Appendix contains a brief discussion of doing musical theatre and opera.
  • Provides a smooth and logical progression of information from one dimension of play directing to another as it explores the director at work with actors, designers, and many other aspects of a production.
  • Emphasizes the importance of style in both playscripts and production.
  • Describes how effective direction is essential at all levels of production, from the beginner, to the advanced director, to the professional.
  • Helps students build a solid foundation that will assist them in devising intimate and creative approaches to directing.

  • Features new author Michael McLain, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and founding Artistic Associate and Literary Director of the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, who brings a fresh new voice to the text while retaining the point of view and fundamentals that have made the text a success.
  • Adds new chapter on working with actors (Ch. 16) and the director and the dramaturg (Appendix 2), and new material on the director in opera, offering a wealth of new information on the director's role.
  • Includes an expanded and updated bibliography with an updated survey of a diverse range of works related to directing, providing students with valuable guidelines to further study.
  • Revises many exercises for increased focus on points discussed in the text, expanding the opportunities for practical application.



Dedication and Credits for Photographs.


Preface.


 1. Why the Director?


 2. What Is a Play? Analysis and Improvisation.

I. TAKING A PLAY APART: PLAY-ANALYSIS: THE DIRECTOR'S PRIMARY STUDY.

 3. The Foundation and Facade of the Playscript: Given Circumstances and Dialogue.

 4. The Hard Core of the Playscript: Dramatic Action and Characters.

 5. Idea and Rhythmic Beats.

 6. The Director's Preparation.

II. COMMUNICATION.

Communication 1: The Director-Actor Relationship and Stage Blocking.

 7. Directing Is Working with Actors 1.

 8. Learning to See: The Games of Visual Perception.

 9. Helping Actors Communicate through Groundplans.

10. Composition: Helping Actors Discover and Project Basic Relationships.

11. Helping Each Actor Intensify: Gesture and Improvisation with Properties.

12. Picturization: Helping a Group Intensify.

13. The Dynamic Tool of Movement.

14. Coordinating the Blocking Tools in Director-Actor Communication.

Communication 2: Helping Actors “Speak” a Play.

15. Finding Oral and Visual Balance.

16. Directing is Working with Actors 2.

Major Project 1A: Scene Practice.

Major Project 1B: Diagnostic Criticism.

Communication 3: The Director's Design Function and Communicating through Staging.

17. Directing Is Designing.

18. The Director and the Stage Machine: Symbolization and Synthesis.

19. Director's Options 1: Choice of the Stage.

20. Director's Options 2: Scenery, Properties, and Lighting.

21. Director's Options 3: Costume, Makeup, and Sound Effects.

Communication 4: Helping Audiences Receive a Play.

22. Responsibility to Audiences.

Major Project 2: Designing and Directing Your Own Production.

III. INTERPRETATION: A MATTER OF STYLE.

23. Style Is Individual Expression.

24. Style in Playwriting and Playwrights.

25. The Director's Analysis of Style in a Playscript.

26. Style in Production: Making Decisions.

27. Style in Production: Modern Plays.

28. Style in Production: New Plays.

29. Style in Production: Plays of Past Ages.

Major Project 3: Directing with Designers.

Appendix 1. Directing Musical Theatre and Opera.

Appendix 2. The Director and the Dramaturgy.

Appendix 3. Your Future as a Director.

Bibliography.

Index.

Play Directing, Sixth Edition describes the various roles a director plays, from selection and analysis of the play to working with actors and designers to bring it to life. The authors emphasize that the role of the director is not as a dictator, but as a leader of artists working in collaboration who look to the director for ideas that will give impetus to their fullest, most creative expressions. The text emphasizes that directing is not a finite and specific “system” of production, but rather is a means for providing an intensive look at the structure of plays, of acting and actor-ownership, and of all the other crafts that together make a produced play.

New to This Edition

  • Features new author Michael McLain, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and founding Artistic Associate and Literary Director of the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, who brings a fresh new voice to Play Directing, Sixth Edition while retaining the point of view and fundamentals that have made the text a success in its earlier editions.
  • Adds new chapters on working with actors (Chapter 16) and on the director and the dramaturg (Appendix 2), as well as new material on the director in opera, offering a wealth of new information on the director's role.
  • Revises many exercises for increased focus on points discussed in the text, expanding the opportunities for practical application.
  • Includes an expanded bibliography with an updated survey of a diverse range of works related to directing, providing students with valuable guidelines to further study.

View a Sample Chapter PDF:

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Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students contact your Pearson Higher Education representative.


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