By Ann Marie Byrd, Feature Writer
Theatre directing, as an art form, is rather mysterious. It’s smoke and mirrors—an elusive pursuit of a craft that is ethereal and ephemeral.
Poof: we seek talent and rehearse. Poof: it’s gorgeous and we revel in the limelight. Poof: it’s gone.
Other forms of art provide permanence: the novel, the painting, the sculpture. In contrast, theatre exists and disappears.
The joy we have and the joy we provide is momentary, fleeting.
And then poof: gone. Just like life.
Theatre people are an extraordinary pack of creative minds: talented, empathic, wonderfully skilled. We come together like an island of misfit toys and we sing, we dance, we design, we build, and we stretch our imaginations to the limit.
And every step of the way, productions are guided by the vision of the director.
So who is the director and what exactly do they do? How do they approach a rather unmanageable task and stage a production? And do they typically do it the same way?
Perhaps the best way we can talk about the art of directing is to look at it from a variety of perspectives, from different directors who have experience leading a number of productions in various theatres, and who understand the value of community theatre—such as Rivertowne Players and the New Bern Civic Theatre—in their communities.
Currently, as the director of The Wedding Singer: The Musical, at Rivertowne Players—which opens February 25th and runs for three weekends—my process is both creative and methodical. My background is in both academic theatre and professional acting, teaching at Notre Dame, California State, and the University of Pittsburg, and holding a Ph.D. in Theatre from the University of Colorado, as well as working on television as a SAG actor.
I rely on my training as a theatre and acting professional to choose an appropriate production for my audience and talent pool, audition and cast the show, create a master rehearsal calendar in collaboration with my music director and choreographers, stage the blocking, and work on character development individually with my actors.
This probably sounds very logistical. And it is. A theatre director spends a substantial amount of time organizing, managing, communicating, and making timely decisions in collaboration with all members of the production team.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the process is creating a vision or concept for the production, and telling the story visually. This begins with a careful study of the libretto, analyzing the text, understanding the build within the dramatic structure, identifying key moments in the script, and beginning to imagine visual stage pictures.
Working with designers is also a critical part of the process, and again, it begins by understanding the demands of the plot and identifying the necessities of the story in terms of set, costumes, light, props, and sound design. I like to share my vision with my design team and then give them a wide berth of freedom to play, explore, and be brilliant without micromanaging their creative process. Trust and team-building is paramount.
Tyler Griffin, who is the Musical Director for the Rivertowne Players production of The Wedding Singer: The Musical was trained at East Carolina University’s musical theatre program. He says, “One thing I strive for when music directing or directing a show, is giving our community members tools to make themselves better as actors and performers. It’s great to be theatre passionate (as you should be) but it is something else to be theatre knowledgeable. So, I try to pass on skills whether it be how to place your voice while singing, or teaching musical mapping, that our community members can use in the performance we’re working on as well as shows in the future. Musical theatre is truly a skill set that can be taught, rather than just raw talent. It’s taking the insincere and making it sincere, you can learn so many things and create something really unique in the process.”
Tyler, who is also currently the Executive Director of New Bern Civic Theatre, recently directed the tremendously well-received Rock of Ages under a very limited time frame—only five weeks. Typically community theatre productions rehearse for about three months. “We had zero prep time for the show. Under these kinds of circumstances it’s best to just rely on your training, block as you go, and analyze each of the numbers in the scope of the whole play. I focus on important moments, start with the bare bones, then go back in and layer in the fun stuff,” says Tyler. “Sometimes analyzing a script is easy: when directing Sondheim, it’s pretty much all included on the page. But for shows like Rock of Ages, there is open space in the libretto to add or enhance what is already there.” Tyler adds that it is important to “work with designers you trust because you can’t do everything, you can’t know everything, and you must let people work in ways that they need to work.”
Neil Oliver, who recently directed at the New Bern Civic Theatre for My Fair Lady and Miss Evers’ Boys, was also trained at East Carolina University in Theatre. In our discussion, he focused on the importance of the goals and values of the community theatre environment. “In community theatre we are paid in smiles and enjoyment, and if the engagement of the volunteers fails, the production doesn’t work. We strive to be close to being professional with the tools at our disposal, but unlike professional theatre where you can build whatever you want, in community theatre you never know who or what is going to be available for the production,” says Neil. “We are limited by our talent and we honor people by casting them in appropriate roles, so we don’t set them up for failure. In general, musicals are easier to direct in community theatre than straight plays. The path is straightforward: working through a script, building characters, and making strong, meaningful choices. I don’t give line readings to actors. If I feel I need to do that, I’ve failed to help the actor understand the character; similarly, if an actor understands their character, then they inherently know how to move on stage and the blocking feels right.”
Neil likes to begin his conversation with designers with an “unvarnished approach, before I share my concept. But I have to find people that are willing to collaborate on a concept that is both beautiful and practical. Light design can be gorgeous, but we will also have to see what’s going on.”
Keith Boyd, who has recently directed Spamalot, Mary Poppins, and Sweeney Todd at the New Bern Civic Theatre, focuses his directing on people management. “I surround myself with people who are far more knowledgeable at the things that I don’t know. In community theatre, as directors, we can push to do better, but the tone and voice is everything when we are communicating. We can motivate actors to strive for more, but we need to remember in this realm that acting is people management. We need to select shows based on the limitations in our space, produce based on recognition, and block based on musical mapping, which is something I learned from Tyler Griffin. First and foremost, directors need to deliver a product by a certain date. We must be consistent in our collaboration with designers, and we have to hit the mark on time.”
John Van Dyke, who has been directing shows here in New Bern for quite a few years, including In the Heights for the Civic Theatre and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for Rivertowne Players, is a performer turned director. He is currently directing Oliver! which will open the last week in April 2022 at Rivertowne Players. He credits his directorial skill to the many accomplished mentors he has worked with through the years. “I think that my experience in acting has helped me to understand the actor’s needs. I also continue to learn with each show from my collaborators and from the actors themselves. I spend time studying the script, understanding the characters and the setting. If it’s a musical, I’m always listening to the soundtrack. I immerse myself in the story until interesting examples and situations start showing up in my real life in parallel ways and the characters start appearing in my dreams,” says John. “In terms of blocking, most scenes grow from a very rough walk through and are never ‘set’ until a little later in the process. I want to see what the actors will bring to it. There are exceptions: huge ensemble scenes and those are almost always choreographed. Editing is my favorite part of the process. The show that hits the stage is never exactly as I imagined it because it’s important to leave room for the magic.”
In his collaboration with designers, John feels that “in community theatre it is especially important to make each person feel proud of their contribution. This goes for everyone involved. That said, I usually know what I want to see technically from the very beginning, but I just like to remain flexible and go with the flow.”
And so it seems that within this pool of local community theatre directors, there is both commonality and diversity in directing style. What is absolutely certain is that we have a thriving, energetic, passionate group of thespians in New Bern and due to their efforts, our community benefits from a steady stream of entertaining performances.
Poof: enjoy the show.