Never directed a show before? Get “volunteered” into a bigger role than you expected? Pioneer Drama carries many good books to help even the most novice director. But before you can walk the walk, you have to be able to talk the talk, so let’s at least introduce the top ten terms (with a few bonus words thrown in!) every director must know.

1.      Upstage means away from the audience, closer to the back of the stage.  Downstage is towards the audience. A helpful way to remember this is to think about the origin of these terms:  older theatres had the audience sit on a flat surface and instead the stage was raked (slanted) to provide better visibility to the audience. The raised portion was toward the back of the stage and actors had to walk uphill or upstage. The lower elevation closer to the audience was downhill or downstage.

2.      Focus means two different things. First, focus is where the audience and actors are looking.  The audience will follow the actor’s eyes if they are focused on the person who is speaking.  Focus also refers to an actor’s internal focus: is he in character or is the actor just waiting to say his line?  If he’s not listening to what is being said onstage, he’s not focusing.

3.      Stage Right and Stage Left.  These directions are from the actor’s perspective, not the audience’s.  If you tell an actor to cross stage right, he should go to his right, not the audience’s. It takes some getting used to; as a director you have to call things backwards to your perspective.

4.      Blocking means to establish the places the actors move and position themselves.  A director can do this beforehand or choose to work with the actors on it after a few. Personally, I prefer to save rehearsal time and figure out the blocking myself before rehearsals start. If something doesn’t work, I can always change it in rehearsal. Of course, if an actor asks to try something different, I’m happy to try it. If the stage is on the same level as the audience, be careful with any blocking that has the actor lie or kneel down—make sure the person in the last row can see them.

5.       The Stage Picture, or Visual Composition, is what you create with your blocking. Have you placed the performers in a balanced way? Actors standing in a line does not often create an interesting stage picture. Use the whole stage.  Remember too the use of levels: some sitting, some standing, etc. Think about adding platforms or small steps. Watch rehearsals from all parts of your auditorium — front, back, sides — to see what your audience will see.

6.      Upstaging – when an actor grabs the focus for himself when the focus is supposed to be on someone else.  For instance, an actor might move upstage of another actor, forcing that actor to turn his back to the audience in order to address him. Don’t let him.

7.      Stage Business: This is what the actors are doing while they’re performing, whether or not they’re delivering lines.  You don’t want them just standing there. They could be drinking a soda, dusting, doing their nails, playing with their hair. Whatever the stage business, it should be consistent with their characters and not upstaging the other actors.

8.      Pacing: the speed at which the play moves forward. If it’s too fast, the audience will miss a lot of the dialogue and become frustrated. If it’s too slow and the actors have pauses between lines, your audience will be bored. Vary the pace of the show and make sure any pause is an intentional one.  Don’t let the actors pause before saying their lines if there’s no point to it. Tell them to listen to normal speech, in which we speak almost on top of one another.  This is called dovetailing, and done properly, the audience doesn’t miss a word.

9.      Stumble Through  The play is done beginning to end, but the actors are allowed to stop and call for a line if they forget.  Tell them no apologies are necessary—just stop, stay in character and call “Line.” Once they’ve been given the line, the play resumes.

10.  Run Through  The play is done beginning to end, and none of the actors may stop if they forget their lines. Somehow, it has to keep going. It’s a good way for the director to see what and who needs work.

For a complete dictionary of theatre terms, see the newly revised and updated Theatre Talk.

I. Thou shalt remember that you are the boss.

In the theater, the director sets the tone for both the rehearsals and the performances. It is up to you to create an atmosphere where not only are you respected, but all the actors respect each other as well. To help this happen, only you should give notes. Actors should not critique each other, ever. You should have the final say on what works and what doesn’t; after all, when someone’s onstage, they have no idea what the whole picture looks like. So while being open to ideas from the actors, learn how to say “no” in constructive ways. For example, “That’s a great idea, but it won’t work because it steals focus from the main action.” Always give credit to those who are thinking and trying.

II. Thou shalt create a safe environment for actors to take risks.

Without breaking Commandment One, you can still let students know that you value their input and be very encouraging of actors trying things for their own characters. If they want to change your blocking, let them try it their way and then make the decision on which way works best. If you have a difficult actor who still challenges your final decision, “My character wouldn’t do that,” or “Why would I walk over there?” evoke Commandment One and use the tried and true:  “Because I said so.”

III. Thou shalt let your student actors know what they are doing right.

Laugh when something’s funny, they need to hear it.   If a rehearsal is going so badly that a good note doesn’t seem possible, have them stop and start over.  Point out what’s missing, such as energy level or focus, in a constructive way so they have the opportunity to do better.

IV. Thou shalt not let an actor feel ignored.

In the space of a couple of rehearsals, everyone in the cast should get a hand-written note from you. This does not have to be burdensome. Even something simple like “I like that” or “Good job” goes a long way. An ignored actor, even if he’s doing really well and knows it, feels superfluous and stops giving his all.

V. Thou shalt teach to hold for laughs.

Because of nerves and inexperience, almost all student actors don’t know how to stop and wait for the laughter to die down while staying in character.  An audience will actually stop laughing if they see the actors aren’t holding. Then the cast gets panicky because they aren’t getting any laughs, and you see how this cycle goes. So teach your cast to anticipate laughter and plan for it. Arrange for a small audience (even a couple of people are better than none) before the first performance to teach the actors to listen and hold for laughs while staying focused and in character onstage.

VI.  Thou shalt not make actors do anything that embarrasses them. 

If you have a kiss that’s vital to a scene, check while you’re casting which actors are comfortable with it. If no one is okay with it, find ways to work around it—bring on the next actor early or block them so they’re behind something and it just looks like they’re kissing. Remember too that actors loosen up during the course of rehearsals, and what seems impossible for them on the first day won’t seem so a month later. If they are resistant to the end, and you make them do it anyway, chances are it won’t work onstage because of their self-consciousness and embarrassment.

VII.  Thou shalt emphasize the importance of the actors’ voices.

Students need to be taught to enunciate and to project to the back of the room. Vocal warm-ups are a good idea. I’ve also found it effective to have them talk over loud music while they are rehearsing. Student actors often need to be reminded of the importance of diction, not talking too fast, and not slipping into the teenage “up speak” where every line sounds like a sentence. It’s hard, but you have to listen to them in rehearsal as if you don’t know the lines. If you have any problems understanding them, think how hard it will be for the audience!

VIII.  Thou shalt teach actors to stay in character no matter what.

Forgetting a line is the most common place for student actors to slip out of character. Don’t let them say “I’m sorry” if they goof up or can’t remember a line in rehearsal. Just have them call “line,” while staying in character. It saves a lot of time and keeps the rehearsal moving. Mistakes with wrong or missed lines will inevitably happen in the performance, but for the most part you shouldn't criticize unless it truly was detrimental to the show. If this is the case, add a rehearsal. Undermining an actor's confidence is never the way to go.

IX.  Thou shalt enforce the necessity for silence backstage.

The backstage area should be completely quiet during a rehearsal or a performance. When the actor is not onstage, he must respect the actors that are onstage. This means no running around backstage, no talking on cell phones. If actors are not off book, they could be studying lines. If an actor has a small part with lots of down time between scenes, give him things to do—set moving, helping another actor with a costume change, making sound effects, etc. If there is nothing for an actor to do, then he or she must learn the discipline of being quiet. Not easy for young people, but essential in the theatre.

X.  Thou shalt demand timeliness.

Actors must not be late. Unfortunately, if your students are too young to drive, then they are usually not in control of what time they arrive. If this is the case, don’t punish or embarrass them if the parents are the ones at fault. But one person being late wastes everyone’s time—yours, the cast’s and the crew’s. At the very least, teach them to call if they’re going to be late so you can rehearse around them instead of waiting for them. If it comes to having to call the parents to emphasize the importance of being on time, do it. You won’t regret it, I promise.