I'm in an acting class Jr College and our class is doing a full production show. Our director is a bit of a flake. Most of us in class had him last semester and were used to him being a tad flakey, but he really wasn't "directing" so much.

Here's his backstory. He did a lot of shows in college...mosly bit parts or "age" (old men). He did repetoire theatre and a lot of Shakespeare festivals. I feel he's got a lot of experience and knowledge, but he's really "into" himself. He's a name dropper too. He rarely speaks in complete sentances (much like I am now). When he's directing it's kind of like this..."Okay, now just think you're like...New York! Yeah! And you do your nails...chew gum and just be like......ya know just be like...BAMM! There, now show me that!"

We started blocking our show yesterday and...well...we didn't really block much. It was like a reading...but we were standing up and walking in all different directions as we thought we might. Of course we'd end up somewhere we shouldn't have and then realize it and jump to that area of the set and pick up the phone or whatever we were supposed to do. I felt like a dying fish on a pier. Now I haven't done a full show since high school (in my late 20's now) but I remember blocking was very specific and I wrote it down in my script. This was nothing like I'm used to. Is it normal? I understand that directors work differently than others, but it just didn't feel very productive. We did scenes last semester which he was supposed to direct (each groups) and he did as far as acting, but my scene partnet and I pretty much directed ourselves and did our own blocking and it was leagues better than the others. I'm not bragging, it just was. He even admitted it

How do you bring something like this up to a director? Do you just smile and do your own thing to get the show done (since that's what I did last time)?

I suppose you're right. I feel completely capable in blocking myself out. I also trust a couple other of the major charactors 100%. It's the people who've never done anything before that scare me. Plus this is a fast paced farce where the blocking needs to be dead on.

I guess the stress comes from the director laying a good deal of negativity right from the get go. Basically we have class twice a week for 2.5 hours each day. We're responsible for being in the show as well as being costumes, make-up, prop masters AD & SM and everything else including set construction although we will have a couple people from the set shop helping/supervising. The main negativity comes in when our director told us we can't start building the set untill march 1st and we go up april 22nd. I don't see a problem with this, but he's under some thought that it'll take us 300 hours to build the set. I think I could do it in a saturday or two minus set dressing and such, ya know, just getting the flats, doors, window and main painting done.

Just all in all he's really disorganized...he doesn't even have rock solid dates for the shows or even how many we're doing. I guess I just wonder when we should just take care of ourselves and take the attitude of "well that's the just way he is". When he was really stressing a few days ago he let us out of class an hour early. I nearly went to the Dean. I mean we had to really convince him that we could tape out the set in a classroom (smaller than actual set) just so we could get started with rehearsal.

Originally posted by Topper You sound like a very confident young person!    You're capable of creating your own blocking, responsible for overseeing the tiniest aspects of the production ... and now it seems you're going to take charge of building the set as well!

Dude! What the hell is your problem?!?! No need for the sarcasm here. I think at 27 I should be perfectly capable of blocking a show. I think between the 10 people in the show...together we can block it fine. I don't know if I said I was taking over the tiniest aspect, but when everyone just wanted to tape the set down, he wasn't moving so someone had to go to the scene shop and grab some tape. Only AFTER that did the director decide that yeah, maybe we should just rehearse with what we've got till we can move into our space. And YES! We are taking charge of buildig the set because that's in the CLASS DESCRIPTION. We're supposed too. It's already been established that if you're not on stage rehearsing you're running lines or painting/building.

How noble and industrious you are! I can see why you've waited so long to restart your theatrical career -- you've must've burned out from all that energy in high school.

Hold up, you don't know me or my life story. A week after finishing Little Shop in high school I was shipped off to boot camp. Four years later after my discharge a friend and I coordinated a youth theatre group in my city and did twoshows atthe same time, a teen show and a younger kids show. Dan and I did everything for that show including writing it. Well recieved in the community and got great reviews, especially the teen show. Later that year my girlfriend was pregnant with our child and I don't know if you have kids, but they certainly take a LARGE chunk of your time. We've JUST RECENTLY had the time to try and get involved again by taking these classes.

How silly of that director wanting to maintain some kind of schedule! I guess you must know more about the availability of theater than he does. Just barge in there and build your set when the whim strikes you!

Hmmm...maybe you weren't paying attention...but he doesn't maintain ANY sort of schedule. Someone from the class had to find out when the show before ours was doing strike so that we could inform our director that we'd have plenty of time to do the show. I don't think you have ANY idea what you're talking about here.

I compliment you on your enormous restraint in not reporting this has-been to the dean because he obviously doesn't live up to your standards. The guy is not worthy of someone like you who speaks so eloquently in full sentences.

Hmmm..after a full semester of him ramming down our throats that you NEVER throw a rehearsal or class time away and then him freaking out about time for an hour and then letting us out of class an hour early when we could have been taping a set down or reading it again, excuse me for questioning just how well this guy directs. See this isn't a community theater, it's a comminity college which means we have to PAY for this experience. I'd like to get something out of it.

He should just turn the reigns of the production over to someone who's so much more prepared, more in control -- hmm, somebody like you, maybe?

I think maybe you have you're own issues here. What crawled up your butt?

What do you even need a director for? Apparently, this pedestrian college is stifling your enormous creativity. Why not just get out now and start your own theater? Then you can make up your own schedules, select your own shows, direct yourself, tell others exactly how they should do their jobs, build all your sets, sew all the costumes, paint all the posters and sell the popcorn -- all precisely to your liking.

Wow, everything you've mentioned here is exactly what the class entails(with the exception of the schedule and starting our own theatre)...We WILL have to be doing all of those things. I guess that shows you.

If the other students in your class are as driven and as knowledgeable as you, it's no wonder the director let you go an hour early -- there's absolutely nothing more he could possibly teach you. [/QUOTE You make it sound like he DIDN'T let us out early...I assure you he did. [QUOTE] I wish you all the best of luck in your fabulous career. And please remember all the "little people" once you've arrived.

I really don't know what your problem is. Maybe you have this really awesome "together" director in your life...or maybe you are one. I came here with a problem and this is what I get? I certainly don't appreciate it and I expected better from this board. Let's hope you're not in charge here, your biting sarcasm might cause the servers to shut down.

I sincerely apologize if my remarks were out of line. I
will certainly be more mindful in the future. You're
right, I was operating under incomplete information.
All I saw was a college freshman with limited
experience trying to dismiss a director for being
inadequate on only the second day of rehearsal.
Perhaps we both jumped the gun a little bit.

The blocking I come up with in my early work with the script is rarely 100% correct once the actors are actually doing it and the set is designed.  (I would say I'm closer to 69%.)  I also will allow actors to do things that feel "organic" or "when it feels right".   The needs of the script, the flow, the characters and the actor will change the movements onstage.  Working with adults, (no matter their experience) you can allow some freedom.  When I work with teens or children I find I must block out more.

More important is the trust issue.  If you are so disheartened by this director that you have considered going to the Dean of the college to assumably have the man removed, perhaps you need to re-consider if you should be in this production/class?  While I pride myself on being able to work with anyone; I don't choose to work with people I know to be difficult. 

Good luck!