An investigation into what is the role of the 'Theatre Director'

In every workshop I attend, in every production and rehearsal in which I work, focus is always eventually turned to the challenging question of exactly what is the role of the Director. In my career, both academically and professionally, I have been privileged to work with Director's who find themselves on a whole host of positions on the spectrum in relation to how they view the duties of the Director. These artists have come from across the industry from those who lead in devising practices, to those who only work with solo artists, to those who work in the forefront of the public sphere at the National or the Royal Court. They have all given different answers and none of them can be said to be an answer in totality, and always reflect the niche of the sector in which they work.

In this article, I will break down different approaches which I have witnessed or practiced myself and discuss the use or misuse of the rehearsal room which it provided. I will discuss the role of the director, as well as their responsibilities and aspects of best practice which I have witnessed and those which I choose to engage within my own directorial lens. However, from the outset, I wish to make clear that by no means is this an absolute answer to the way in which a Director could or should work and is only merely a reflection of the experiences and conversations which I have had across my early career.

60 Minutes of Mood Swings (OnTheNoseProductions, 2022)

Role of the Director

One position which I have always found useful to dissect a Director's approach from is where they reside in the spectrum from collaboration to absolutism. The Director's role, in my view, is to be the most senior authority on the text with which they are working and to have a deep and routed knowledge across the plot, text, characters, scenography, style and themes of the production - without this knowledge they cannot direct effectively because they do not know what it is they are directing. This is a mistake which I have made myself as a Director, and reflecting on that project in comparison to those either side of it, where I had committed to research, the difference in dynamic between myself and the company because of the lack of clarity and competency which my non-research showed was profound and totally undermined the performance product which we produced.

In the view of Stephen Unwin's 'So You Want To Be A Theatre Director' (2004), the role of the Director is to be able to 'read dialogue, hear different voices and sense the dramatic action within the text' (Unwin,2004:3), as well as 'understanding the business side...and ask the right questions about what the play requires' (Unwin,2004:4). His argument hinges on the Director as an arch-collaborator rather than an absolute authority, and I am minded to agree with the case which he makes. The Director works alongside a 'team of artists and technicians' (Unwin,2004:4) throughout a process, collaborating with their expertise to craft the ultimate vision. Therefore an argument can be made that the Director is that of a leader and facilitator through which a productions develops it's physical being. The role of the Director within this is to manage and co-ordinate the different aspects which combine to produce the production, they must keep a birds-eye view of the text, the acting, the costumes, the lighting and soundscape, all with a view to shaping the production towards their cohesive and functional vision for the audience. A successful Director will do this through finding a healthy space between a collaborative and absolute process, they will be the communicative epicentre through which all ideas are managed. If collaborative in disposition they will be able to work alongside and negotiate their ambitions with the realities of the budget, time restraints and capacity of venue with minimal tension, understanding that the ideas of their lighting and sound designers may be more conducive to the space, and know that they are able to trust in the experts they've surrounded themselves with - this collaboration will be routed in trust of skill, understanding and working towards an established common goal.

The Director cannot be everywhere all at once and therefore to be collaborative in nature can lighten the burden on the Director by steering vision through a course rather than micromanaging the outcome. On the other hand, a Director who is more of an absolutist will fasten their grip on this leadership and, through their research, will have a strong conviction towards the vision they are marching. This is not a negative position so long as the vision is clearly communicated and routed within what can be done rather than what the Director's most eager wishes are. As an Assistant Director, I have watched the relationships between the technicians and the Director breakdown due to unrealistic expectations and micromanaging where a Director is determined to "stick to their guns" (Unwin,2004:4) despite technicians having told the Director that they could not have a certain piece of set/sound/light/costume. This totality of their absolute vision meant that by the end of the production, the technicians had lost all good will with the production and were not willing to support beyond the core functions of their role. Therefore a Director's role is most certainly to be a leader and facilitator who organises the production towards it's goals, but that in that role they must also be a collaborative and responsive leader who manages and works around challenges with their company and accept that they may have to "abandon[ their] most cherished ideas" (Unwin,2004:5) when their team sets out the realistic expectations of their specialism.

In my own directorial practice, I always attempt to position myself within the middle of collaboration and absolute. In my preparation for a production I prefer to be absolute, working through the script and crafting the initial stimuli from which investigation as collaborators will begin. This will include character synopsis, drafts of a stage plan, notes on particular themes and how they might relate to the lighting or soundscape (colour, instrument, mood, genre, etc.) but these, especially when relating to the technical aspects of the production, are only drafted ideas to begin a process of collaboration. In my view, those whose field it is are the experts, that is their job, and it is my job to be a generalist who knows enough to begin and come with informed choices and questions but not to curate the whole idea for them - I would never ask them to direct a scene for me, so why should I ask to sit behind their lighting desk and plot their lights. My position ultimately is about engaging their technical skills and capacity to produce the highest quality and therefore I am more of a collaborator through the process than an absolutist in relation to technical aspects.

In working with Actors I am aware, as one myself, of the habit of the Actor to commit to focusing on their character and not being as sensitive to the wider text. This is not the fault of the Actor, nor is there anything wrong with it, it is why they are in the room after all - to deliver the best performance of their role. Therefore, my collaboration with Actors is different to that of a technical team, and I am more insistent on my knowledge because that is the reason that I am there - I have knowledge that they likely will not. My style with Actor's is therefore somewhat more authoritarian, I am there to guide them towards a vision of the wider play but nonetheless I respect and admire their craft, and I am willing to listen to their position as a character analysist, to understand the motivations and preparation behind what they view in their character. This is useful, it is the creative spirit of the character that will eventually come onto the stage but nonetheless must be trimmed, shaped and focused into the wider context of the play.

Our House - A Staged Experimental Reading (James Graham, Kitchen Sink Productions, 2022)

Responsibilities of the Director

Through their role as a leader and facilitator, the Director inherits a position which comes with extensive responsibilities both for the company and to the experience of the audience. The Director because of their leadership position is ultimately responsible to the company which they lead, they are responsible for and to both the company and themselves to undertake a healthy working environment which is positive, inclusive and respectful of all in the production. It is the responsibility of the Director to set-up the social contract between each member of the company, including themselves, regarding expectations, behaviours and processes to ensure they are protecting the personal welfare of each member. This is most imperative early on in the production process, before even the first moment where everyone is in the room, through communications prior to that beginning rehearsal where the Director can take the opportunity to set out the first day, what members of the company should bring, what they can expect and how they should prepare. Through clear communication of this contract, beginning in earnest and carrying this through with conviction, a Director can develop a complex and cohesive social contract. This contract could and should include things such as the expectations of time management and needs, boundaries to maintain a healthy work-life balance, discussion frameworks for consent and intimacy, the functions of showing and practicing respect within the rehearsal space such as reasonable adjustments and the use of correct names and gender pronouns. If a Director can fulfil their responsibility for and to their company to engage a healthy working environment and be the pillar which maintains and checks this both within the company and themselves, then they fulfil their ultimate responsibility of welfare and safeguarding.

Establishing a rigorous framework early on, one which embraces clear communication and respect between and for each other, the Director is then able to undertake another responsibility which is to allow the company to make mistakes through their journey together. There is not a rehearsal room in history in which no mistake was made, it is a natural part of our art, the inherent nature of failure and alteration. If a Director cannot allow mistakes and to support the learning journey of their company, and to shape those valuable contributions from those learning moments, then they are undermining the social contract but also not taking responsibility for being a leader - part of which is to support your company through their journey.

There is a responsibility from the Director to the audience. The extent to which this is a priority for each Director is different but ultimately the Director is responsible to the audience and is there to service them through ensuring clarity of production and to ensure truthfulness is what is delivered to them. In this regard, the Director is responsible to the audience through ensuring they have taken steps to make the production clear, accessible and that they have built something which can be watched. This varies based on the production and intention of the Director. Some Directors are intent on challenging or provoking an audience, some are intent of making an audience work to understand the performance and some have little concern for a 'regular' audience and are instead focused on the pursuit of purity in their art form. All of these are valid and I do not wish to pass comment for I have felt all of them at different times in my career, all of them resulting from unique desires or circumstances influencing my work at the time. Nevertheless, we cannot pretend that every audience member is going to understand everything and to consume the efforts of the Director with doing so would be futile; not everyone is going to get Pinter, and not everyone is going to like Grotowski.

Our Fellow (Kitchen Sink Productions, 2023)

Best Practice

As Director's we are often the most senior figure in the space and as such the 'buck' stops with us. The company will route and take behaviour based upon how we approach the rehearsal space and how we act wit them, as such it is important that we take opportunities to discuss with other Director's around how we should or could handle ourselves and our relationships with the company to promote a positive working culture.

During my career, I have encountered Director's who take all different styles of approach into how they interact with ideas of best practice for a Director in the workplace. I have seen many Director's fall foul of their own ideas around maintaining a certain standard, some of which has led to some moments of teeth clenching from the tech-box as I make a note to quietly mention something to them later. Perhaps the most interesting position in the Actor-Director or Company-Director relationship I have come across was from a workshop with Katie Mitchell at ClodEnsemble. As a room of Director's we were discussing ideas of best practice when Katie Mitchell informed us all that her boundaries were to absolutely not socialise with her cast in any form; no lunches, no coffees, no social interactions (with the minor exception of one drink at the end of a run). Indeed, in her books 'The Director's Craft' (2009), she follows up this position stating that "mixing with actors socially" (Mitchell,2009:123) should be only done so where a Director also 'keep[s] the boundaries clear' (Mitchell,2008:123). She implores Director's to "Be consistent with [their] use of language...goals...behaviour...and how you conduct you relationships" (Mitchell,2009:117) with both Actors and the wider creative team. I had never seen someone adopt such stringent measures around those they were working with daily but for her it made sense. She was clear that in her view Director's are not a friend of the company, it is not our job to be an Actor's "pal" or the Lighting Designer's "mate" but it is not about unkindness, you should still be kind but you are not there to be friends, you are there to work and you, especially as Director, have to be working very hard to make the whole ship run smoothly.

Over time I have come to understand Mitchell's perspective as I move away from working with friends from University and into the wider industry. It does not however mean that I completely subscribe to it; I enjoy my lunch alone, predominantly because I am thinking about the afternoon, but I am always happy to get a morning coffee or quick break with the technical team. Again, perhaps my position is different with an Actor who I am working with intimately, repeatedly and doing something which could be very traumatic or harrowing if not done with consideration and seriousness compared to those who are supporting the fabric and body of the work from an outside lens. Perhaps it is also because I want my Actor's to trust and respect me more than like me, another thing which Mitchell marshalled in our workshop and her book. I am not interested in making friends with my cast but in the task of getting the most out of them and that I prefer to be judged on my craft rather than my social skills - for that is what will help me get another job after the current one concludes.

Another aspect of best practice which links into this style of working, with its clear boundaries and professionalism, is that the Director is better able to enforce a healthy work-life balance for themselves and their company. If the Director is clear that their rest time is for them, and extends this same value to the cast, it can aid in avoiding burnout and extends to ensuring that the whole company has the right to shut off from the project when they go home and are not interrupted in the evening by several email chains of WhatsApp messages asking for things to be completed for tomorrow. In the Director setting a commitment to a healthy work-life balance, it further maintains that level of professionalism which Director's like Mitchell believe is paramount to a good working culture. Indeed, Mitchell notes that it is vital the Director "must take care of [them]selves" (Mitchell,2009:189) and this extends to the Company with the example set by the Director. This idea also ensures the Director does not to rush their process or give ineffective responses to notes and questions which they may have, or be given, at the end of a rehearsal and instead take the time to process them for the most impact at the beginning of the next day's rehearsal. In removing oneself from the activity and business which comes with the constant decisions which a Director must make by ensuring restfulness outside of the rehearsal space, the Director is able to better support their cast and crew by ensuring that they are able to do the same.

References

Mitchell, K. (2009) 'The Director's Craft A Handbook for the Theatre'. Oxon: Routledge.

Unwin, S. (2004) 'So You Want To Be A Theatre Director'. London: Nick Hern Books Ltd.