Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair - by Frank Hauser & Russell Reich
Date read: 2018-08-25How strongly I recommend it: 6/10
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I found this via a recommendation in an Havard Business Review article on leadership. Although it's solely focused on theatrical directing, there are a few nuggets of advice that apply to business leaders.
My Notes
"It is necessary to learn from others’ mistakes. You will not live long enough to make them all yourself." -ADMIRAL HYMAN G. RICKOVER (1900–1986).
You are the obstetrician. You are not the parent of this child we call the play. You are present at its birth for clinical reasons, like a doctor or a midwife. Your job most of the time is simply to do no harm. When something does go wrong, however, your awareness that something is awry — and your clinical intervention to correct it — can determine whether the child will thrive or suffer, live or die.
Don’t try to please everybody. Bill Cosby said, “I don’t know the formula for success, but I do know the formula for failure: trying to please everybody.” With both the authority and the responsibility to stage the play well, you will inevitably have to make some unpopular decisions. Accept the grumbling. Be strong and calm in the face of opposition — and realize that normal conversation includes a good portion of complaint.
You can’t have everything. Harold Clurman said that if you get 60 percent of what you saw in your head onto the stage, you’re doing very well. There may be no way to close this deficit, but do expect it. Not everything is within your control.
Don’t expect to have all the answers. You’re the leader, but you’re not alone. The other artists are there to contribute as well. Use them. Elia Kazan’s concise directing advice was: “Before you do anything, see what talent does.”
Speak clearly. Speak briefly. Guard against the director’s first great vice—rabbiting on, making the same point again and again, getting laughs from your inimitable (and interminable) anecdotes, wasting time.
It is not about you. Yes, there is a component of ego reward involved in directing, but it is a built-in perk; no need to seek it out. Instead, serve the play by serving others, particularly the playwright, the actors, and the audience. Ask yourself: What do I have to give to this play? What right do I have to take this audience’s time and money? What am I giving to this audience that makes their investment in this work worthwhile to them?
Actors and others will follow you even if they disagree with your direction. But they will not follow if you are afraid to lead. A clear, confident presence and strong direction are highly reassuring to everyone.
Don’t apologize when you don’t have to. Humorous self-deprecation can be very weakening within a company. Once again: Don’t try to be everyone’s friend all the time.
Say thank you. Theatre manners dictate that cast and crew clearly and politely acknowledge an instruction or request from stage management. Enforce this sensible standard in your production. Never allow any member of the company to be grand or rude to the stage managers. That sort of behaviour should have been stamped on but wasn’t at drama school.
Set rules early for how people should offer creative contributions: privately, directly to you.
Treat difficult moments as discoveries. When you encounter an obstacle in rehearsal it is often helpful just to leave it alone. For many problems, solutions are best uncovered in a separate, later step. Many other difficulties, left unmolested, simply solve themselves.
Don’t work on new material when people are tired. Review what you have already done.
End rehearsals on an upbeat note. Consider thanking each person individually for his or her commitment and contribution.
Sincerely praise actors early and often. A very important note. Rather than correcting your actors all the time, get into the habit of frequently telling them what they are doing right.
Never, NEVER bully, either by shouting or sarcasm or, worst of all, imitation. It will get a laugh and make an enemy.
Please, PLEASE be decisive. As the director, you have three weapons: “Yes,” “No,” and “I don’t know.” Use them. Don’t dither; you can always change your mind later. Nobody minds that. What they do mind is the two-minute agonizing when all the actor has asked is, “Do I get up now?”
Being direct is appropriate for a director, but not always. Some actors will clearly already know the answers to the questions they ask you. In this case, they are really asking, “Am I okay?” In these situations, respond with additional questions of your own. Prompt them to understand and accept their own sense of what is right. Hearing a director ask, “What do you think works here?” or “How would you solve this?” is supportive, stimulating, and flattering to any good actor.
If you can’t give a critical note privately or skillfully, don’t give it.
Know your actors. Some like a lot of attention; others want to be left alone. Some like written notes, some spoken. Get to know them. It doesn’t have to take long. It’s a good investment that will pay enormous benefits later.
Don’t assume people can take the harsh truth, even if they ask for it. Temper bad news with three times as much good news (either order can work, but leave them off feeling good). When offering praise or criticism, be sincere and specific.
Introduce bad news with “and” not “but.” DO: “The costume looks great, and when you keep your hat up, we can see your gorgeous face.” DON’T: “The costume looks great, but you’re not keeping your hat up, and we can’t see your face.”
If an actor abuses you publicly, stay calm. It’s always unpleasant, but nine times out of ten it arises from mild hysteria that will cool down if you don’t try to confront it head-on. The tenth time you have a problem. Just hang on to one simple fact: You don’t have to be humiliated unless you want to be. The cast will be on your side. If need be, break the rehearsal for ten minutes and see what happens.
Don’t lose your cool. Expressing anger publicly may feel justified at times but it often just makes you look like a fool. The only time that getting visibly and audibly angry will help you is when you make the choice to display anger as a conscious tactic to motivate an individual who has not responded to logic, reason, kindness, charm, diplomacy, or bribery.
Rosemary Clooney’s advice to her nephew, George Clooney: “You’re never as good as they say you are when they say you’re good, but you’re never as bad as they say you are when they say you’re bad.”