Chapter 7 The Director and the Producer

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Chapter 7The Director and the Producer

• The Theater Director
• Works most closely with the performers
• Also works with the playwright (if alive) and the
  design team
• To the audience, a directors work can be less
  obvious
• Directors train in many ways, either through
  experience as actors or by studying in academic
  institutions

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Evolution of the Director

• Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
• 1826-1914
• First director ????
• The function of the director has been around
  since the Greeks
• Aeschylus directed his own plays
• Moliere did too
• Actor-managers
• Thomas Betterton, David Garrick, Charles Kemble,
  William Charles Macready, Henry Irving

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The Director and the Script

• The Director Prepares . . .
• Choosing a script
• The Spine of the Play
• The Style of the Production
• The Directorial Concept and the Central Image
• Director and Dramaturg
• The Auteur Director

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The Director and the Production

• The Physical Production
• Casting
• Rehearsals and Blocking
• The Director as the Audiences Eyes
• Movement, Pace, and Rhythm
• Technical Rehearsal
• Dress Rehearsal
• Previews
• Opening Night

The Director is the great unifier. Under his or
her vision, all aspects of production must
come together to produce the final product.
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The Producer or Manager

• The behind-the-scenes counterpart to the
  director, the producer or manager is responsible
  for the business aspects of the production
• The Commercial Producer
• The Noncommercial Producer