Theatre: Art in Action

Chapter 5: Directing & Producing

Overview

The director and producer have much to prepare to get a play to the stage. Usually the director picks a play with budget and time in mind. When picking a play, the director must consider its genre, or type, and style, realistic or nonrealistic. Then the director must analyze the play on emotional, structural, thematic, and symbolic levels. Besides making notes on these analyses, the director must create a production concept, to describe what he or she wants to the designers and technicians, and a ground plan. The director must also consider the staging of the play and make a promptbook. The promptbook describes how the play will be blocked; how the levels, or heights of actors' heads onstage, and the planes, or depths of actors' positions onstage, will work out; who will be the focus; and how they will be the focus.

While the director is busy with these duties, the producer is concerned with making sure that the theatre will be filled when opening night arrives. The producer must attain permission, perhaps paying a royalty for copyrighted material; promote the play; and coordinate the design of programs, posters, and advertisements.