Directors notebooks

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This week in drama we learnt all about directing and directors notebooks. On Friday a director called Helen Leblique came into school to talk to us about what being a director means and her steps on how to successfully direct. I really found her visit interesting and learnt a lot from it. I think it will help me a lot when I come to do my own directors notebook, I will definitely be looking back at what she said and using her steps.

The steps: 

 Read the play in a quiet place and all in one go: 

  • Focuses your mind on the play without distractions to get the most out of it. 
  • Uses your imagination fully
Make notes on first impressions: 
  • Be honest about what questions you have 
  • What stood out to you? 
  • What is promising about the play? 
  • Create a problems list
  • Design challenges and what works
  • Gut instincts
Research the play: 
  • Sparks ideas
  • Links to other plays and stories 
  • To understand parts of the play 
  • Research the title 
  • Question your research 
  • Research particular characters 
  • Context what time was the play written at/in. (helping the actors connect to their roles)
  • Themes 
  • Author 
  • Other productions eof the same play (no copying)
Think about design:
  • Strong images that stick in your mind
  • Can it be visualized? 
  • Use ideas from the research 
  • It is day time/night time?
  • What kind of play is it? (romantic?)
  • Artists Colours/shapes/objects
  • What stage space?
  • What effect on the audience do you want and how does it benefit the play?
  • How will it work?
Writing a blurb for the play:
  • Focusing your mind on the important parts
  • Tempting your audience 
  • Sense of what it's all about
  • Cliffhanger/interacting with the audience
  • Helping everything become clear to yourself
Scene by scene summary of the play: 
  • Leads to more questions 
  • Give each scene a title 
  • Summarising each scene with one sentence 
  • Helps find your way 
List of scene settings: 
  • Specifics 
  • Timings between each scene 
  • Use a timeline (back story)
  • Current cultural references 
  • Scene by scene 
  • Diagrams of set (lighting and furniture?)
  • If not given
After rehearsals - scene changes: 
  • Ideas for rehearsals 
  • Improv with different characters 
  • Use of objects for improv 
Character Plots: 
  • What character is in what scene
  • Right actor for each character 
  • Clear on characters 
  • Character wants 
  • Facts about character 
  • Super objective 
  • What characters say about other characters
  • impressions 
  • Helps for auditions
"Questioning is a key part of being a director"
"A director is like a detective"
"A director has lots of extra material" 
Pitching a play:
Why produce this play now?
Why am I the best person to produce this play?
Why is the environment the right place?
Who is the audience?

Lighting:

  • Aspects of the set 
  • Night/day 
  • Seasons 
  • Specific characters 
  • Time of day 
  • Indoor/outdoors
  • Specific moments 
A director has to be curious about everything:
  • Lighting
  • Sound 
  • Set 
  • Broaden your mind 
  • Dance 
  • Space 
  • Music 
Directors and theatre practices (for exercises and games): 
  • Told by an idiot 
  • Complicity 
  • Comedia del Arte 
  • Boal 
  • Michael Boyd 
  • Nancy Meckler 
  • Anthony Neilson 
  • Polly Tiel 
We ended the session by playing a game where each person was given a role in the script 'The outside' and as they read their lines they had to pick someone and touch their shoulder and say their line directly to that person. It made me realise that it's very important to know who you're talking to and what each line actually means. By getting it wrong it made me understand who I was meant to say it to. 



 
 


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