Just got home from first tech rehearsal for Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang.
Let me preface this by saying – I am normally a fairly patient person.
Things I vow not to do as a director:
1) I will not say “I will do costumes” and then proceed to just tell everyone what to wear, instead of actually going out and getting it for them.
Because this happened, Jared and I made a mad dash for the mall after he got off of work. While there, desperately trying to find a decent shirt, it dawned on us that although the company would reimburse us, if for some reason the director at the last minute decided that she didn’t like the color/cut/pygmygoatfartinafrica then we would be stuck with a 20 – 30$ shirt that we didn’t want. More than that, that is 20 – 30$ that we would get back god knows when, and quite frankly, that money could be used for things like… food.
2) Once tech week arrives, I will not step in. It is my duty as a director to direct artistically. Tech, is for techies.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand wanting everything to be perfect – but there comes a time when you need to step back, and let people do their jobs. There is nothing more infuriating to both the actors, and the tech crew, than micro-managing them. Trust them. If you don’t trust them, don’t use them at all. I walked into the theatre tonight escorting a person who had never stepped foot in the place before, who was running sound for us. I was in the midst of giving her a tour of the facilities, when I was told that I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing, and that I should be following the orders of the stage manager. Since the stage manager had told me not 30 seconds previously “Please give this person a tour” I was pretty sure I was doing my job. Instead, I sat backstage for the next ten minutes, avoiding the director and repeating the mantra “Manslaughter is wrong.” This caused me to spend the rest of the night (and most likely the rest of the run of the show) spending precious time and effort actively avoiding said director.
By the end of the night, the entire cast and crew was making plans on how to slip Xanax into her soda.
3) Even if I think I know how to do everything, I will not underestimate my actors and crew.
Lengthy explanations are not needed if a crew member says “I know how to do it.” Nor are explanations every single time an actor says something in a way I don’t necessarily like. I may have done this a million times before, but that doesn’t mean that the person next to me doesn’t have just as much experience, or can do it in a way that is more efficient for them. There is absolutely no reason to be that rude to people.
I’m sure I’ll find more throughout the week.
