There so many times during my teaching that I think and often say
out loud to my students, these are not just theatre skills – these are
not only directing, acting, playwriting skills – these are life skills.
Some of the skills that I teach are simple rules that apply to the
course and to life: Don't ask your professor for stapler; Don't explain
that you were confused by the guidelines when in reality you didn't read the
guidelines (or you didn't read the guidelines closely enough); Don't
use comic sans. But the bigger lessons are the ones that I find more
fascinating. For example, how are directing skills life skills? I
am interested in this question perhaps because I continue to learn the
lesson myself. I know that my "director's toolkit" is available to me in
my day-to-day life. I may not use it as often as I would like, but it
is always available to me.
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| An visual and textual approach to Neighborhood 3, a directorial unifying tool. |
A successful director unifies the group. They do so by balancing a
strong vision with incredibly active listening. They honor the creative
ideas around them and ultimately serve the project more than
themselves. They are, in short, effective leaders. An effective
leader/director asks lots of questions. The most important question is,
"why?" This is a question asked of oneself as well as one's fellow
artists. We make a choice on stage – an acting choice, a design choice, a
blocking choice. How is that choice serving the intent of the
playwright and the specific approach we are taking in this production?
How does this integrate with the other choices that we are making? Are
we excited about the choice or are we excited about the fact that got choice is right for this play and this production? An effective director must be a conscientious choice maker and lead others to be conscientious as well.
An effective director must integrate their heart into the work.
Theatre practitioners are, after all, human. Directors are humans,
leading other humans. As J. Donald Walters reminds us in The Art of Leadership,
"Genuine leadership is of only one type: supportive. It leads people:
It doesn't drive them. It involves them: It doesn't coerce them. It
never loses sight of the most important principle governing any project
involving human beings: namely, that people are more important than things."
We must be reminded that our stumblings as leaders are allowed and
expected. We too are human. We too are concerned that we do well. But
as a good director, and by extension, a good human, we concern ourselves
with the fears and insecurities before our own. "Assume that everyone
is in a permanent state of catatonic terror." says Frank Hauser in Notes on Directing.
This will help you approach the impossible state of infinite patience
and benevolence that actors and others expect from you." It's good to
think of the other point of view. That's a directing skill. That's a
life skill.
