Directing for the Stage by Richard Williams

Author:Richard Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781785003806
Publisher: Crowood

• Who am I?

• When am I?

• Where am I?

• What do I want?

• Why do I want it?

• How will I achieve it?

• What will prevent me from achieving it?

He added thoughts about physical relaxation and circles of engagement.

His system was extended and formalized in the USA by Lee Strasberg who, in particular, concentrated on emotional recall.

THE FIRST MEETING AND READ THROUGH

Getting started is always a difficult moment. The usual, straightforward starting point is a meeting with the whole cast, the producer, the stage management, the other members of the creative team, the company’s administration team, or at least the marketing people and senior administrative person, the wardrobe – in fact as many interested parties as possible. It is important to get everyone together so that there can be a proper sense of a united purpose.

The aim of this meeting is to introduce everyone concerned to each other and to read though the play. Although this is the conventional start to rehearsals, it is very important to bear in mind that for the actors this is a very testing moment. The director has cast the actors; they have read the play and had some ideas about how their character journeys through the play. But now, in front of a group of strangers, they are going to give an initial version of their role. It is likely that some of the actors will think other people in the room will be making some sort of rough and ready judgement on their performance. The director must be very sensitive to the stress that some (not all) actors will experience – especially for a young actor in a room with a well-known, experienced actor for the first time. The director must announce to the whole room exactly what it is they are hearing; that this is a first attempt at the whole play, with the actors taking chances, having worked on the play by themselves. The result will almost certainly have some rough edges and wrong decisions, but that is the reason why rehearsals are necessary; this is only the first step on the journey.

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