Author Topic: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?  (Read 5088 times)

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ASM

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Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« on: Mar 03, 2013, 09:12 pm »
Hello everyone!

I just began working on a production, and I have found out that the director has cast himself as a major role, basically the lead (King Arthur in Spamalot). I was wondering what your tips are on dealing with this, seeing that he will be on stage during tech as opposed to being in the audience. Have any of you dealt with this before?

Thanks!!  :)
T
Life's a stage, and I'm constantly changing the scenery :D

JMagill

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #1 on: Mar 03, 2013, 11:12 pm »
I have had to do this before.  It isn't as bad as you think it might be depending.... what we did is record the rehearsal form the back of the house then he would watch the video the next day and give notes at the top of rehearsal.  The only issue I really had was knowing when to ask technical questions before he got into character and actually giving him time to get ready for the show.

On_Headset

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #2 on: Mar 04, 2013, 01:10 am »
Quote
Have any of you dealt with this before?
When it goes good, it goes very, very good.
And when it goes bad, it goes horrid.

Arthur actually isn't that important of a role: it's not like he's onstage the whole time, and if it's to your taste, you might even be able to get a few "traditional rehearsals" out of him, where he sits at the front of the room and the company works through the material in which he doesn't appear.

The other thing with Spamalot is that it's as much about energy and enthusiasm and willingness to make an idiot of yourself as anything else. So long as everyone's having fun, the quality of the show will hold up quite well even if it isn't as polished or thoroughly-directed as we might normally expect.

maximillionx

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #3 on: Mar 04, 2013, 09:15 am »
When it goes good, it goes very, very good.
And when it goes bad, it goes horrid.

Seconded. We did a production of a Moliere where the director cast himself as the main character/narrator.  It actually worked very well since the character (and I hear Moliere originally) essentially directs the actions around the stage.

You also might find that the director will continue to give notes and change things throughout the production since he's in the show and privy to mistakes and audience reactions.  I suggest keeping lines of communication VERY open so you don't get left out or miss a particular note.

SMAshlee

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #4 on: Mar 04, 2013, 01:06 pm »
You also might find that the director will continue to give notes and change things throughout the production since he's in the show and privy to mistakes and audience reactions.  I suggest keeping lines of communication VERY open so you don't get left out or miss a particular note.

Communication, communication, communication.

I had a director cast himself in a smaller role for Midsummer Night's Dream.  It worked alright during rehearsal because he wasn't one stage much so he'd sit in the house and go backstage when needed.  However, I did have to speak with him privately after the show opened because actors told me that he constantly gave notes in the dressing room.  I was positive about it and just asked that he give me all the notes to handle after curtain call because it was distracting people backstage.  He was apologetic and understood the request.  He enjoyed his role much more after giving up the reigns.  :)

It can be done, but you have to build the trust of your director and cast very early in the process.

missliz

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #5 on: Mar 04, 2013, 06:45 pm »
Quote
When it goes good, it goes very, very good.
And when it goes bad, it goes horrid.

Agreed. You might suggest getting a stand-in for tech, who can walk and talk Arthur for cueing so the director can sit out and watch.
I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least. -Ionesco

ASM

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #6 on: Mar 04, 2013, 09:47 pm »
Thank you all so much for your ideas and help! I had my first rehearsal tonight, and our directors brother is planning to modify our video monitor system to be able to record the performances, instead of just having a live feed to backstage. In addition, we have found out that during tech, one of our co-producers will be acting as the director, taking notes while running. The director will then watch back the video, and give notes based on that.

Again, thank you very much!  ;)

T
Life's a stage, and I'm constantly changing the scenery :D

MatthewShiner

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #7 on: Mar 04, 2013, 10:12 pm »
better the director/actor/writer/producer combo.

that happens a lot - vanity projects galore in NYC
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

NomieRae

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #8 on: Mar 07, 2013, 11:05 pm »
Quote
better the director/actor/writer/producer combo.

yes. be glad you don't have this combo to deal with. The amount of projects I have done like this... my temples start to throb. The only upside is sometimes they're such vanity projects that budget isn't an issue, and they just throw money at it. That can be nice.

As people said before, communication is key. I'd set a protocol from day one about notes that was transparent to everyone in the room. Also here is hoping you have a director/actor who is privy enough to understand when to compartmentalize their roles in the production (i.e. things that appear in the rehearsal reports or production meetings are not things that need to be rehashed with other performers in a casual setting)

--Naomi
"First, I honor life, and with it my life in theatre." -- Jacques Burdick

leastlikely

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #9 on: Mar 08, 2013, 01:11 am »
Sure, there's a company I've done a handful of productions with and on two of them, the director was also the lead (first he was Ligurio in the Mandrake, next he went all-out and played Hamlet) (same director in both of these cases, btw).

It was... tricky, but it never really posed a problem. I would record runs on video and put them on a private youtube channel. He would go home and watch it and either email notes or give notes at the top of the next rehearsal.

He's super professional about not crossing lines, so he never shared things peer-to-peer with other actors if they weren't meant to be shared. He was definitely seen more as a director than an actor.

As opposed to the show I'm doing right now, which is a two-hander and one of the actors is also the director and producer. He's way more of an actor than a director... Tonight was the final dress rehearsal and it was the first time we've had a cohesive notes session. Normally it's specific action notes like "this is how you should use that prop" but no real acting/emoting notes. It was very strange. He's used to acting-directing one-man shows so he's had a hard time translating his vision to the other actor, I think. So most of the time they feel like two actors on stage with no director, rather than a director in the audience watching a scene missing an actor (himself)

kiwitechgirl

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Re: Thoughts on Director Acting in Show?
« Reply #10 on: Mar 12, 2013, 08:43 pm »
I did a production of Cabaret with the director playing Fräulein Kost.  One of the Kit Kat girls understudied her and in fact did most of the rehearsals.  Because Kost isn't a huge part, even when the director was playing the role she could still be out the front for a lot of the show.  Once we got into the run, she'd step out once a week or so and the understudy went on, so she could watch the whole show.  It worked for us, but with a bigger role I think it would have been pretty tricky.

 

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