I also use Backwards and Forwards by David Ball. I begin by reading Hamlet with the students so that they will understand the examples in Backwards and Forwards, otherwise some of the book goes over their heads. We even do the dominoes game (we call it haminoes) and it always has a huge impact and a big aha moment!
I have 14 in my class and I take the Tricks of the Trade section and jigsaw it. The students create banners (more like a pennant) with the title of each small chapter and a brief explanation. They present these and we create a word wall that is always reminding them what to look for as they direct. It has been a big memetic devise for them.
Five Truths
To introduce them to different theorists we study the 5 Truths which is from the National Theater and uses the same monologue of Ophelia as directed using Stanislavsky, Brecht, Artaud, and Brook, Grotowski. Five Truths Five Truths
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| Five Truths |
| What are the differences between five of the most influential European theatre practitioners of the 20th century? How would these five directors work with the actress playing Ophelia in the famous mad scene in Shakespeare's Hamlet? What would they ask the actress to do and how would they ask the actress to behave? |
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-Students direct each other in monologues and scenes using Stanislavsky (we use The Cherry Orchard because of the detailed given circumstances).
- directing one act plays - I have a unit on finding a play for a target audience- this requires having one act plays or ten minute plays available. I use Dramatics Magazine and the complications from the Humana play festival from the Actor's Studio of Louisville. Each student choses a play, is given $25 for a budget (I produce the play and provide the royalties). They create a director's notebook which contains; play analysis, character breakdown, technical needs- including a floor plan, set design, costume design, sound plot, lighting design, make-up/hair designs, and props. The director's book needs to contain inspiration boards as well. The students cast from the Drama 3 and 4 classes and create rehearsal schedules. The rehearse at lunch,tutorial or after school (some rehearse at their homes and set up in the backyard--we are in Southern California). All of the one acts are on a trust stage.
The director's are assessed by the actor's and the actor's are assessed by the director's via series of components which include preparedness, ability to work with others, communication, etc...
The director's also meet with the tech director and producer in production meetings. We have a Stage Technology/Stagecraft class that builds the sets, hangs the lights etc... However, the learning experience for the director is having to be prepared to communicate what they want and following through with the tech director.
The director's are responsible for creating the prompt book with the cues for stage management and transferring over to the stage manager for tech rehearsal. The plays are performed in rotation for 4 nights so each one is given 2 performances in front of an audience.
The director's reflect and critic their own work and the work of their peers. It is a very complete experience for them and they come out with new eyes and a respect for directing. (We do this project at the first semester)
Second semester we continue with scenes from contemporary plays and study styles--Brecht, Grotowski, Artaud/Brook, and explore devised theater.
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Kathy Cannnarozzi Harris
Theater Director - Mission Viejo HS
VAPA Coordinator K-12
Saddleback Valley USD
Mission Viejo, CA
Original Message:
Sent: 01-23-2016 12:24
From: Victoria Kesling Councill
Subject: Directing Class- Project Ideas
Hi, I have some seriously detailed plans for directing. But, all in all- like some others here I have them read some books on directing. I have them read Sense of Direction by William Ball and Backwards and Forwards by Alan Ball. I like to call it directing by the Balls, but only to myself. Anyhow, Sense of Direction is very comprehensive and gives them a great foundation for what their process should be like. Backwards and Forwards is great for helping them analyze and dissect a play. I do a series of scene directing exercises where they have to prepare a scene with a different goal:
Open Scene- they have to create the subtext for the lines, the blocking, and the only objectives they can use for the character are Advance and Retreat. They direct the scene.
Scene Score- I use a play they have to read in English (I have used Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman, R&J, etc.) so we can skip the analysis part and get straight to a scene. They have to select a scene and Break the scene into Units, then Break the Units into Beats, then For each Beat write down the Subtext of the lines, the objective of the Beat, and the Blocking. All of this info is in Hodges' 7th Edition. It's a pricey book but worth it. Buy one and use it forever! They direct the scene.
Finding the Events- they have to find the "events" in the script we're working with. This can be a show they are going to direct, a show you want to read as a class and direct scenes from, or it can be one of the shows they've read in English. Sometimes I do Trigger and Heaping from Backwards and Forwards for a show we are interested in doing next year and they use the information from Trigger and Heaping to cut the show into 45 minutes or shorter. Then we use that cut show for all of these exercises. No direction here, just discussion.
Score and Stage an Event- Using their Scene Score Skills and their Finding the Events skills they stage an event from the show. They direct the scene.
Directing and Coaching Narration- They find or you give them a scene that contains narration. They develop a coaching plan. This usually focuses on finding the right words to emphasize or elaborate on. Essentially to get them to do anything other than just narrating. The objective is to help them figure out how to make it active. They use all the same processes from the scene score but add in a warm-up component just focused on word delivery. They go through the scene and identify all of the words they would want their actor to hit or play with a bit and develop a plan for them to say those words in a variety of ways in order to identify how they feel best to be said. Then they add in the scene where the actor says those words within context, then they add blocking and movement, etc.
Final Scene/ Play Direction- using everything we've done in the exercises they direct a final scene or a final show.
With only 5 students they would have to use one another and you'd have to focus on scenes with 4 or less people in it.
I have 2 levels of directing; my second year class reads Ann Bogart's A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art and Theatre which is very advanced and not for students who are not big thinkers. If this seems like too much you can always have them read anything Jory.
Other activities: teach them about Dramaturgy and have them do a study of a play and develop a packet. I also like to have them do something called a Critical Declaration- a paper where they explain how they define "good" vs. "bad" theatre. They often can tell you what's good or bad in their mind but not why. This makes them examine what they're using as a measure, helps them identify and reflect upon what standards they have. If they're a strong class have them read some of Aristotle's Poetics. It's the foundation of artistic judgment, so it's a great starting point. You can similarly have them write a paper and have an awesome discussion regarding what kind of actor they are. How do they approach work, what is their preferred process? What kind of roles/ plays speak to them and why? Do they have a preferred acting method? Where would they like to take their acting? In their second level acting class they study different acting styles with me so they have a place to start from.
I highly recommend using the 5 Step Character Analysis that was in Dramatics Magazine last year and the Hodge Analysis.
Okay, I've blabbered a lot. Hope some of this helps.
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Victoria Kesling Councill
Chapter Director - VA EdTA/ Virginia Thespians
Theatre Director- Fine & Performing Arts Department NKHS
Artistic Director - NKHS Trojan Theatre
Artistic Director - Kent England Exchange Production
Virginia Commonwealth University BFA Theatre Education, BFA Art Education '08
University of Houston - MA in Theatre Candidate '16
"Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art." - Konstantin Stanislavski