Drama 460: Intro to Directing
Professor Valerie Curtis-Newton
Fall 2011 This class laid the foundational principals of directing and forced me to think critically about the big picture and all aspects of putting on a play. A major focus of the class was communication with actors and finding the right parameters within which to let them play. Being too restrictive stifles creativity, but not having and articulating a clear directoral vision results in unclear and ineffective storytelling. Defining the box within which the actors can experiment starts with literally defining the space for them to play in. The groundplan I created for the scene I directed from David Rabe's Hurly Burly, was intended to allow for separate spaces from which Eddie and Darlene could face off, and lots of furniture for them to maneuver around while their conversation skirts around the edges of the topic Eddie actually wants to address. It had to facilitate effective staging and also make sense as the living room/kitchen of a house in the Hollywood Hills. Through my work in this class, I learned not only about directing or even theatre in general, but about how to be an effective leader in any situation. The ability to form and articulate a vision, create parameters for the project, and collaborate with others to achieve a final product are at the heart of directing, and applicable to any leadership position. |