ABSTRACT

Directing always requires you to operate from a place of informed intuition. Your ability to rehearse, stage or collaborate with your artistic colleagues is closely tied to your early preparation and analysis. This section of the book leads you through an investigation of the script and score to get ready for the road ahead.

Your first step in preparing is to gain a strong sense of the text and story, and to gather first impressions. Interestingly, what this book refers to as a first impression may well be a renewed acquaintance, since so many popular and frequently produced shows are familiar to readers. But, we aren’t seeking to recreate someone else’s production. Rather, the approach this book advocates is one where you begin with a clean slate, creating your own original production from the ground up. We’ll talk about incorporating tradition and influence later. But, for now, we’re going to make a fresh start.