Directing Professionally: A Practical Guide to Developing a Successful Career in Today’s Theatre

✍ Scribed by Kent Thompson

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2019
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 233
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

How do you develop both the craft of directing as well as a professional career in freelance directing in today’s theatre industry? Drawing on his own extensive experience and that of other theatre professionals from the US and UK, Kent Thompson illuminates a pathway from training, apprenticeship and assistant directing to an established career as a director. Directing Professionally first lays out paths for aspirant directors to train, grow and succeed as directors, then advises freelance directors on how to establish and accelerate their professional careers. It also reveals the most significant ways those directors become artistic directors today. With a frank, thoughtful and often humorous examination of the job of professional direction and artistic direction, Thompson writes about the passion, commitment, artistic vision, directorial experience, leadership skills, and powerful persuasive gifts needed to succeed in this extraordinary field.
Featuring case studies and brief interviews with professional theatre directors, artistic directors, producers, critics, managing/executive directors, and theatre leaders currently working in the field in the UK and the US, this volume will equip you to develop your career as a professional director in today’s theatre.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover page
Halftitle page
Series page
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Art, craft, and business
To train or not to train
Part I Entering the Theatre Field
1 The Big Leap
Location, location, location
Money, money, money
Developing your aesthetic
Finding a pathway forward
Leverage your faculty and fellow alumni
Understanding professional expectations
Directing for the subsidized or not-for-profit theatres
Directing in the commercial theatre
Directing for conservatory or university programs
Finding a mentor
Finding collaborators and colleagues
2 Understanding the Business of Theatre
An agent or a manager
Staying alive
Part II Your First Professional Job
3 Interviewing for the Job
Script, design, and production analysis
Who are you working for?
The interview
Negotiations and arrangements
4 The Director’s Work in Pre-Production
Immersion in the script
Your artistic vision
The creative team
Director/designer conference
Casting and hiring
Working with casting directors
Auditions
Callbacks
Making decisions, making offers
5 Rehearsals in the Studio
Before rehearsals begin
The first rehearsal
The first read-through
Table work
Blocking rehearsals
Managing the room and setting expectations
Working with production staff
Scene work
Preparing to move
The stumble-through
First run-through
6 Moving to the Theatre through Final Dress
Practices and expectations
First day in the theatre
Testing your staging
Technical/dress rehearsals
Working with designers
Take care of the actors
The temptations of tech
Final dress rehearsal
7 Previews through Opening
Post-show production meetings
Notes with the artistic director or producer
Major changes in previews
Bringing the ship into port
Opening night
Part III Advancing Your Career
8 Finding Your Next Directing Job(s)
Finding agents and advocates
Next steps
Communications and networking
Knowing the field
Life on the road
9 Directing New Plays and Musicals
Understanding the rights of playwrights
Typical cycle of development
The director’s role
Working with the playwright
Directing workshops and readings
Directing the world premiere
Devotion to new work
10 Nurturing Your Art and Yourself
Part IV Becoming an Artistic Director
11 Leading a Theatre . . . or Not
The job
Understanding mission and vision
Organizational structure
Learning from artistic directors
Explore and research
From freelance directing to artistic direction
12 Getting the Artistic Director Job
Typical search process
Initial contacts
The job profile
Evaluating the job profile
Your application
The interviews
The shortlist
The final interview
The results
13 Preparing to Lead
Announcing your appointment
Understanding the transition
Take control of your calendar
Build relationships
Learn what you don’t know
Putting your vision into action
Selling your vision
An unpleasant surprise
Final thoughts
Conclusion
Notes
About the Author
Index