Any serious student of directing should read, well, everything: dictionaries, literature, treatises, newspapers, cereal boxes... Get in the habit of mining the world for inspiration. Of course, don’t miss the standard texts, including Aristotle’s Poetics; Stanislavski’s trilogy, An Actor Prepares, Building a Character, and Creating a Role (note the clever “A, B, C” of the title sequence); and Richard Boleslavski’s Acting: The First Six Lessons.
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Here are some additional recommendations:
A Sense of Direction: Some Observations on the Art of Directing by William Ball
ISBN: 0-89676-082-0
Drama Book Publishers, New York, 1984 Lessons from a lifetime of directing. Authoritative and thoughtful, accessible and sensible.
Elia Kazan: A Life by Elia Kazan
ISBN: 0-385-26103-9
Anchor Books, Doubleday, New York, 1989
The inside story of a great director’s life and career. Filled with honest, valuable observations. Unsanitized for your inspection.
On Directing by Harold Clurman
ISBN: 0-02-013350-2
Collier Books, New York, 1972
One of the most respected American directors (and Kazan’s mentor) expounds on the craft and his practice of it. Includes helpful and articulate discussions of what is variously known as a play’s “spine,” “through-action,” “super problem,” or “main action” — an understanding of which is central to any director’s authority and responsibility.
Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 16th edition by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, Adrian Room, and Terry Pratchett
ISBN: 0-06019-653-X
HarperCollins, New York, 2000
A priceless reference tool. Mythological, religious, and literary references explained.
Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte ISBN: 0-9613921-1-8 Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut, 1990
Visual Explanations by Edward R. Tufte
ISBN: 0-9613921-2-6
Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut, 1997
The director’s craft is largely visual. These bibles of visual thinking, written by one of the world’s leading information designers, are not just about effective visual communication but are also outstanding exemplars of it.
Picture This: How Pictures Work by Molly Bang
ISBN 1-58717-030-2
SeaStar Books, New York, 1991, 2000
An artist’s entertaining and enlightening exploration of how shapes, colors, and pictures tell. Indispensable information for any director.
Mastering the Techniques of Teaching, 2nd edition by Joseph Lowman
ISBN: 0-7879-5568-X
Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1995
All good directors are, in large part, teachers. And all good teachers know the importance of dramatization. This excellent book understands the link, and more.
A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein, et al.
ISBN: 0-19-501919-9
Oxford University Press, New York, 1977
Not applicable to directing per se, but a must-read for anyone interested in the codification of objective standards within what are normally considered subjective realms — in this case, the built world of architectural design. One of the great books of the last century.
Stage Directors Handbook, 2nd edition, prepared by Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, edited by John P. Bruggen and Joe Miloscia.
ISBN 1-55936-150-6
Theatre Communications Group, New York, 2003
A comprehensive resource for anyone interested in a directing career. See also www.sdcfoundation.org
The Director’s Voice
Twenty-one interviews by Arthur Bartow
ISBN: 0-930452-74-7
Theatre Communications Group, Inc., New York, 1988
Directors on Directing: A Source Book of the Modern Theatre by Toby Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy
ISBN: 0-02-323300-1
Allyn & Bacon, Boston; revised reprint edition, 1963
Want more of what you found here? You’ll discover no better sources than these two titles, offering the teachings and tellings of many of the world’s great practitioners. Start with George Bernard Shaw’s four and a half pages in Cole & Chinoy; now that you’ve read this, you’ll feel right at home with him.