WARNING! PLEASE READ ABOUT THIRD PARTY ADS: Authorlink encourages writers to thoroughly investigate third-party ads on this or any other site offering free and easy publishing help. We subscribe to the highest standards of the traditional publishing industry, and do not necessarily endorse any advertiser on our site. Also, Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on our site enabling display of ads based on user visits to our site and to others on the Internet. Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy. Authorlink guidelines, #7 includes more on our own policies
Part 5: Productions – In Productions
The Playwright / Director Relationship
By Dale Griffiths Stamos
June 2012
"How your words and your vision are brought to life on stage is largely due to the director's art." —STAMOS
In this column I would like to explore in more depth the playwright / director relationship. I am leaving aside the times when your play is done long distance and your involvement is minimal, (though even here, as I mentioned in the last column, you must approve of the theatre's choice of director - and will hopefully have at least a few phone or Skype conversations about the play, and your mutual visions). I will concentrate on the relationship between you and a local director with whom you are working closely on a play, either for a single production, or for a number of productions. How your words and your vision are brought to life on stage is largely due to the director's art.
So choose wisely.
First, before committing to a director, make sure to have a sit down. Ask them how they see your play. Don't explain it first, hear what they have to say. If their vision is dramatically different than your own, I would suggest running, and fast. Years ago, I wrote a romantic drama about an illicit affair between a professor and her graduate student. A director I spoke to said "Oh, I just love this play. And I would like to really play up the fact that the young man is clearly a stalker." What?! Nothing could have been further from my intent. I can assure you I did not work with this woman, but found another director much more attuned to what I knew my play to be. Listen to your instincts on this one. A director may have new fresh ideas about how to present your work, and these can often infuse a wonderful energy you never even imagined. But know the different between this and someone who clearly does not understand what you wrote.
Once I have a director I like working with, I often like to do readings and workshops with them, as I am developing a piece. Then, if I am producing the play myself, they are the director I work with. If someone else is producing, I will, if possible, request this director. As I said in the last column, I don't always have control over this, but if a theatre is open, I put the director forward.
"Once in rehearsal with a director there is a very clear director - actor - playwright protocol." —STAMOS
Once in rehearsal with a director there is a very clear director - actor - playwright protocol. Actors go to the director with everything. They do not ask the playwright: "What did you mean when you wrote this line?" The director is now the interpreter of your work. You can be there to observe, to suggest line changes where you think they are needed, and if you feel the director has gone off course with something, you may have an "aside" with them later in which you express your concerns. If you have a good relationship with that director, they will, of course, listen to what you have to say and either argue for their approach in a way that you are able to understand and accept it, or change their approach. But you never contradict a director in front of the actors. It's simply bad form. This protocol works to the benefit of all. Too many voices in the mix, and it just gets confusing. In like manner, if an actor is uncomfortable saying a line, or has questions about a character, they ask the director and the director in turn explains the character to the actor, and discusses the possible line change with you. It is then your choice as to whether you will change the line. If you think it will improve the play, by all means change it, if you think the actor will eventually find your intent with that line, or if you know it to be important for your story, then hold firm.
"Bottom line is: It's all about the play. Ego should not enter here." —STAMOS
Bottom line is: It's all about the play. Ego should not enter here. When the playwright / director relationship is strong and the protocol is respected, rehearsals are a rich and satisfying creative experience.
About the Author
Dale Griffiths Stamos is an award-winning playwright whose work has been produced and published in the United States and abroad. She is on the faculty of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and has been a guest workshop instructor at Cal Arts. Her newest full length play, One White Crow, had its world premiere this year at Arena Players Repertory Theatre, Long Island, New York. An evening of her one acts entitled Thicker Than Water, starring Barbara Bain, was produced in May at Promenade Playhouse in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Dale’s work, go to her website at: www.dalegriffithsstamos.com. For information on Dale’s private consulting (all genres), go to: www.manuscriptconsultant.com.
