Thinking Like a Director A Practical Handbook

by Bloom, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780571199945
• ISBN10: 0571199941
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-10-17
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Summary

Bloom draws on nearly twenty years of directing and teaching experience to convey the full experience of directing for the stage, as well as the mindset that all successful directors possess. More than a mere set of guidelines,Thinking Like a Directordetails a technique that covers every facet of theatrical production, from first reading through final rehearsals. The key to directorial thinking, Bloom asserts, is a dual perspective--an ability to focus on both the internal lives of the play's characters and the external elements of the play's structure. In this illuminating, engaging, and accessible handbook, the art of dramatic interpretation and the craft of working with actors are integrated into a single, unified method.

Author Biography

In addition to directing throughout the United States and Japan, Michael Bloom is head of directing at the University of Texas at Austin. His writing on the stage has appeared in The New York Times and American Theatre magazine. Bloom directed the premiere of Donald Margulies's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Dinner with Friends at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and he also directed premieres by Don DeLillo, Ariel Dorfman, David Hare, and David Lodge. He won the Elliott Norton Award for Directing for his production of Gross Indecency, and was nominated for a Drama Desk for Sight Unseen at Manhattan Theatre Club and the Orpheum Theatre. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	3	(6)
I. PREPARATION	9	(58)
Thinking Like an Artist	11	(6)
Reading and Researching	17	(14)
Interpreting the Action	31	(15)
External Analysis: Structure	46	(21)
II. PRE-PRODUCTION	67	(50)
Developing the Approach	69	(12)
The Design Process	81	(14)
Style	95	(9)
Casting	104	(13)
III. REHEARSAL	117	(80)
The Early Rehearsals	119	(21)
Staging	140	(11)
The Middle Rehearsals: Problem Solving	151	(22)
The External Perspective in Rehearsals	173	(11)
The Final Stages	184	(13)
IV. RESOURCES	197	(8)
The Directorial Landscape	199	(6)
Appendix 1 The Next Project	205	(5)
Appendix 2 Sample Rehearsal Timeline	210	(3)
Appendix 3 Points of Reference: Scenes from The Glass Menagerie and Nora	213	(10)
Notes	223	(4)
Glossary	227	(4)
Recommended Reading	231	(2)
Index	233