The Director as Collaborator


Book Description

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.




The Director as Collaborator


Book Description

The Director as Collaborator teaches essential directing skills while emphasizing how directors and theater productions benefit from collaboration. Good collaboration occurs when the director shares responsibility for the artistic creation with the entire production team, including actors, designers, stage managers, and technical staff. Leadership does not preclude collaboration; in theater, these concepts can and should be complementary. Students will develop their abilities by directing short scenes and plays and by participating in group exercises. New to the second edition: updated interviews, exercises, forms, and appendices new chapter on technology including digital research, previsualization and drafting programs, and web-sharing sites new chapter on devised and ensemble-based works new chapter on immersive theater, including material and exercises on environmental staging and audience–performer interaction




Between Director and Actor


Book Description

Mandy Rees and John Staniunas offer a set of strategies to help directors and actors work together more effectively, from starting the first rehearsals to maintaining a long-running show.




Conversations with Contemporary Cinematographers


Book Description

Packed with gems of wisdom from the current 'masters of light’, this collection of conversations with twenty leading contemporary cinematographers provides invaluable insight into the art and craft of cinematography. Jacqueline Frost’s interviews provide unprecedented insight into the role as cinematographers discuss selecting projects, the conceptual and creative thinking that goes into devising a visual strategy, working with the script, collaborating with leading directors such as Martin Scorcese, Spike Lee, and Ava DuVernay, the impact of changing technology, and offer advice for aspiring cinematographers. Interviews include Maryse Alberti, John Bailey, Robert Elswit, Kirsten Johnson, Kira Kelly, Ellen Kuras, Edward Lachman, Matthew Libatique, John Lindley, Seamus McGarvey, Reed Morano, Polly Morgan, Rachel Morrison, Rodrigo Prieto, Cynthia Pusheck, Harris Savides, Nancy Schrieber, John Seale, Sandi Sissel, Dante Spinotti, Salvatore Totino, Amy Vincent and Mandy Walker. Filled with valuable information and advice for aspiring cinematographers, directors, and filmmakers, this is essential reading for anyone interested in the art and craft of cinematography.




Mis-directing the Play


Book Description

Terry McCabe, himself an accomplished stage director and teacher of theatre arts, here attacks what he calls the growing decadence that plagues contemporary stage directing. He argues for a radical reorganization of the director’s view of his role. It has become an article of faith in the theatre, Mr. McCabe observes, that a play is about what the director chooses to have it be about. But what right does a director have to treat a play as a found object, to be reshaped to express the director’s concerns? None whatsoever, Mr. McCabe replies. He examines anecdotally a range of work by different directors by way of offering a substantial critique of today’s leading theory of stage directing, and he offers an alternate approach. He challenges the notion that a play is the director’s vehicle for self-expression, arguing that the idea of the director as centerpiece of the theatre tends to distort plays and oppress actors. He explores what it means to direct a play when directing is properly understood as a process of self-effacement. Mis-directing the Play examines the role of the director as collaborator with actors, designers, dramaturges, and playwrights. Throughout, the book’s focus is on shedding the counterproductive myth of the director as creative auteur and urging in its place a return to first principles: the idea of the director as the interpretive artist in charge of putting the playwright’s play onstage.




The Complete Collaborator


Book Description

Martin Katz puts his long career as partner to celebrated soloists to good use in order to provide the knowledge and tools for any pianist to accompany beautifully. Every subject relating to collaboration is discussed, with recorded examples by the author to serve as audible demonstrations of his ideas. For the interested beginner as well as the working professional, everything to promote artistic and practical collaboration is here.




Collaboration in Theatre


Book Description

Finally, a book that addresses one of the most important elements of theatrical production, the collaboration between director and designer. This accessible and helpful guide addresses the crucial relationship between theatrical production team members. Experienced director Rob Roznowski and designer Kirk Domer offer prescriptive and proactive tips to create the ideal production environment. This three part book combines theory, practice, and exercises and will help anyone involved in the theatre to develop appropriate and healthy collaborative skills. Topics Covered Include: * The Vocabulary of Collaboration * Script Analysis * Responses to Criticism * Research Methods




Production Collaboration in the Theatre


Book Description

Production Collaboration in the Theatre reveals the ingredients of proven successful collaborations in academic and professional theatre training, where respect, trust, and inclusivity are encouraged and roles are defined with a clear and unified vision. Garnering research from conversations with over 100 theatre professionals on Broadway and in regional and educational theatre, the authors provide multiple approaches to working together that are designed to help students and teachers of theatre discover and develop the collaborative tools that work best for them. Each chapter offers practical application with discussion prompts from real-life scenarios to practice and develop the critical problem-solving skills necessary for theatre artists to navigate common collaboration challenges. Compelling topical case studies and insightful interviews invite readers to explore the principles of collaboration and inspire them to build joyful, equitable, and collaborative relationships in academic and professional settings. Production Collaboration for the Theatre offers theatre faculty and students a practical approach to developing the interpersonal skills necessary for a lifetime career in collaboration in the theatre. An ideal resource for actors, directors, designers, and production teams, this book provides theatre artists in training with an opportunity to develop their collaborative style in a way that will guide and support the longevity of a successful career.




The Collaborative Director


Book Description

The Collaborative Director: A Department-by-Department Guide to Filmmaking explores the directorial process in a way that allows the director to gather the best ideas from the departments that make up a film crew, while making sure that it is the director’s vision being shown on screen. It goes beyond the core concepts of vision, aesthetic taste, and storytelling to teach how to effectively collaborate with each team and fully tap into their creative potential. The structure of the book follows a budget top sheet, with each chapter describing the workflow and responsibilities of a different department and giving insights into the methods and techniques a director can use to understand the roles and dynamics. Each chapter is divided into four sections. Section one provides an overview of the department, section two focuses on directors who have used that department in notably effective ways, section three looks at collaboration from the reverse perspective with interviews from department members, and section four concludes each chapter with a set of tasks directors can use to prepare. Ideal for beginner and intermediate filmmaking students, as well as aspiring filmmakers and early career professionals, this book provides invaluable insight into the different departments, and how a director can utilize the skills and experience of a crew to lead with knowledge and confidence.




On Directing


Book Description

The profession of directing is barely a century old. On Directing considers the position of the director in theater and performance today. What is a director? How do they begin work on a play or performance? What methods are used in rehearsal? Is the director an enabler, a collaborator or dictator? As we enter the new millennium, is the very concept of directing under increasing threat from changes in thinking and practice? The full diversity of today's approaches to directing are explored through a series of interviews with leading contemporary practitioners. On Directing is a landmark book about the director's craft.