My first shot at directing (bossing people around)!

And it was probably the most interesting lesson so far! Not only was it just us grade 12 chicas (which frankly makes me more comfortable, although that's gradually starting to change), but directing? Always wanted to give that a try, but since everyone in our class has wanted to for ages, I had to hold back to give everyone a fair chance. Until today! We continued our theme of humanity (and were told that we couldn't escape it, as it was IB theatre art's official theme for a couple of years... ) and one by one, were asked to direct!

The first director was Farah, and it was unlucky for her, because she couldn't learn from anyone's mistakes. Her vision of it was one people, one tribe all joined together in a celebration which involved different levels, tones of voice, sounds and movements. From her method of directing, we learned that directing a whole group at once turns into chaos most of the time, and it's far better to split actors into two or three groups, so that they all focus on their task rather that try to tackle all of the beasties at once (applies typically, but not only, to children). We also learnt that it was important to have a fixed idea of what you wanted in your head, but also how to communicate it properly to your actors without them getting too confused. And another thing: although some actors cannot work unless they have been given strict orders, most actors love the chance to experiment and improvise. And it's also great for directors who have run out of ideas! That's why I used some improvisation when i directed. I had a clear idea of what I wanted the actors to do, I told them exactly when to enter and when to freeze, but however I only told them a continent that they had to portray, rather than telling them what they had to say and do, because I wanted to see what they would come up with. They surprised me (in a good way), especially Alyasia the Australasian, who declared that she liked koalas, kangaroos and SEX. I think that if I have another chance to direct, I would definitely let my actors improvise.

There are three types of directors, we learnt, the dictator, the compromising director and the free for all director. The first is Hitler on a stage; not the type of director that I appreciate, but that type is sometimes necessary, for example as with actors who love following instructions but don't have much imagination. The compromising is the type that knows what they want but allows their actors to give plenty of input, so that they work together as a team, rather than director v/s actor. And the last director flirts with disaster and utter chaos by letting his actors run around like maniacs. Because most actors are a little touched in the head, otherwise they couldn't be as passionate and dedicated about their art :)

Love & Sunshine

A COMPLETE MANIAC