Theatre director

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A theatre director is a principal in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a play by unifying various endeavors and aspects of production. The director's function is to ensure the quality and completeness of a theatrical product. The director works with the key individuals and other staff, coordinating research, stagecraft, costume design, props, lighting design, acting, set design and sound design for the production. The director may also work with the playwright on works in progress. In contemporary theatre, the director is generally the primary visionary, making decisions on the artistic concept and interpretation of the text. Different directors occupy different places of authority and responsibility, depending on the structure and philosophy of individual theatre companies. Directors utilize a wide variety of techniques, philosophies, and levels of collaboration.

The external director is a relatively new innovation in the history of theatre, the first examples appearing in the late 1800s with the invention of the Incandescent light bulb by Edison. In 1879, he demonstrated how electric light can be used, and in the same year the first electric arc light was used in a California theatre. In the early 1890s dimmers were being used, an invention of Granville Woods. It can be seen that electric lights, or "instruments", had to be positioned and focused on actors, and so the first lighting operators also had to "direct" the actors where to move, and thus may well have unwittingly created the position of an outside director. It was in the early part of the new century that they gained widespread popularity. Prior to that, the leading actor or actress would dictate the shape of stage arrangements, usually for their own benefit. The eighteenth century actress Sarah Siddons was famous for this, even once ending Macbeth at the sleepwalking scene.

Once a show has opened (premiered before a regular audience), theatre directors are generally considered to have fulfilled their function. From that point forward the stage manager is left in charge of all essential concerns.

The French regisseur is also sometimes used to mean a stage director. This is most common in ballet.

A cautionary note was introduced by famed director Sir Tyrone Guthrie who said "the only way to learn how to direct a play, is ... to get a group of actors simple enough to allow you to let you direct them, and direct."

[edit] Styles of directing

Directing is an artform that has grown with the development of theatre theory and theatre practice. With the emergence of new trends in theatre, so too have directors adopted new methodologies and engaged in new practices. Generally speaking, directors adopt a style of directing that falls into one or more of the following categories:

The dictator: In this style of directing, the director has a strongly assertive role and is very dominant in the process of creating a theatrical work. Rehearsals are more or less fully controlled and predictable, with the actors having little or no say.

The negotiator: 'The negotiator' is a style of direction in which the director focuses on a more improvised and mediated form of rehearsal and creation, using the ideas of the production team and actors to shape a theatrical work in quite a democratic style.

The creative artist: The director sees himself or herself as a creative artist working with the 'materials' of dramatic creativity, be they the actors, designers and production team. The "creative artist" wants input from the actors but, as artist, has final say over what is included and how ideas are incorporated.

The confrontationalist: In this style of directing, the director is in constant dialogue and debate with the cast and the production team about creative decisions and interpretations. The director seeks out and actively engages in such exchanges. Out of these exchanges, which can sometimes be heated or risky, comes a final contested product.

Many contemporary directors use a creative amalgam of styles, depending on the genre of the theatrical work, the nature of the project and the type of cast.