Notes on Directing by Hauser, Frank -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Table of Contents Preface Notes on Notes on Directing More Notes on Notes on Directing Understanding the Script

The Director’s Role

15. You are the obstetrician. 16. Just tell the story... 17. Don’t always connect all the dots. 18. Keep the audience guessing. 19. Don’t try to please everybody. 20. You can’t have everything. 21. Don’t expect to have all the answers. 22. No actor likes a lazy director, or an ignorant one. 23. Assume that everyone is in a permanent state of catatonic terror. 24. Lighten up. 25. Don’t change the author’s words. 26. You perform most of the day. 27. It is not about you. 28. The best compliment for a director: “You seemed from the beginning to know exactly what you wanted.”

Casting

29. Directing is mostly casting. 30. Don’t expect the character to walk in the door. 31. Put actors at ease, but don’t befriend them. 32. Don’t act with auditioners.

First Read-Through

33. Don’t start with a great long brilliant speech. 34. Don’t let the actors mumble through the reading. 35. Talk it out after the reading. 36. Ask basic questions. 37. Mark the waves in a scene.

Rehearsal Rules

38. Work from your strength. 39. Rehearsals need discipline. 40. Plan the schedule a week at a time. 41. Don’t keep actors hanging about needlessly. 42. Don’t apologize when you don’t have to. 43. Make sure stage management get proper breaks. 44. Say thank you. 45. Include the crew. 46. Always read the scene by yourself just before rehearsing it with the cast. 47. Don’t bury your head in the script. 48. Treat difficult moments as discoveries. 49. Don’t work on new material when people are tired. 50. End rehearsals on an upbeat note. 51. Don’t be grim. 52. If you choose to allow outsiders to see a late rehearsal...

Building Blocks

53. Every scene is a chase scene. 54. The strength of the characters’ wants equals the strength of the play. 55. Ask: Is it nice or nasty? Big or little? 56. Every actor has a tell.

Talking to Actors

57. Discussion about character is best done piecemeal, as the work demands. 58. Start nice. 59. Make a strong entrance. 60. The actor’s first job is to be heard. 61. Sincerely praise actors early and often. 62. Talk to the character, not the actor. 63. Always sit and read a scene before blocking it. 64. Do not expect too much too soon. 65. Never, NEVER bully... 66. Keep actors on their task. 67. Never express actions in terms of feelings. 68. Tell actors: “Watch their eyes.” 69. Actors are notoriously inaccurate about the quality of their own performances. 70. Please, PLEASE be decisive. 71. Being direct is appropriate for a director, but not always. 72. Give actors corrective notes in private. 73. Know your actors. 74. Don’t give notes just prior to a performance or run-through. 75. Don’t assume people can take the harsh truth, even if they ask for it. 76. Introduce bad news with “and” not “but.” 77. Include every single member of the cast in your note sessions. 78. Always walk through changes. 79. Reverse the material. 80. Don’t play the end of scene at the beginning. 81. Play against the given condition. 82. Be gentle with actors just coming off book. 83. Frequently ask: “Who are you talking to?” 84. Anger is always preceded by pain. 85. Tell actors: “Localize abstract things.” 86. In later rehearsals, ask yourself: “Do I believe it?” 87. Consider late table work. VIII.

Getting a Laugh

88. Humor falls mostly into one of two categories. 89. Actors must never aim for the laugh. 90. Play peek-a-boo. 91. The best judge of humor is the audience. 92. Proper audience focus is key to an effective joke. 93. If a joke’s not working, try reversing positions. 94. Good humor requires a bad disposition.

Elements of Staging

95. If it moves, the eye will follow. 96. Every object tells. 97. Love triangles. 98. When few characters are on stage in a large space, keep them apart. 99. Imbalance adds interest. 100. Choose a facing angle. 101. Stand up. 102. Don’t stand still. 103. Sit down, if you’re up to it. 104. An audience’s interest in the action is only as high as the actors’ interest in it. 105. Listening is active. 106. Character reactions should be active and outward, not passive and inward. 107. Turn your back. 108. Give your actors face time. 109. Style has its reasons. 110. Consider if you’re missing a costume moment. 111. Respect the power of music. 112. Use sound to prompt the audience to imagine the unseen, off-stage world. 113. Acting solutions are always better than technical solutions. 114. Beware the naked truth.

Last Tips

Epilogue

APPENDIX I.

The What Game

APPENDIX II.

Friends & Enemies

The Invisible Audience Subjects and Objects APPENDIX III.

Simplicity, Variety, and Clarity

Simplicity Variety Clarity APPENDIX IV.

Meaning It

APPENDIX V.

Recommended Reading Acknowledgments Index

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