Posts from — November 2009
New Directions for Theatre Directors Part I
I’m Sticking With the Union
By MARK BLANKENSHIP
What does it take to be a theatre director? The answer changes all the time. There’s always some new artistic trend or economic concern that requires directors to adjust their approach to their craft.
With that in mind, TDF presents a two-part series on where directors are and where they’re going. Today, we’re exploring a labor union’s role in the art and business of the job, and on Wednesday, we’ll speak with prominent directors about how their work has changed in the last ten years.
_______________________
It was 1959 when the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers was officially recognized as a labor union. At the time, the idea that directors and choreographers should be treated as a collective bargaining force angered many theatrical producers, and one of them even sued the union for conspiring to prevent free trade. Little by little, however, the SSDC—which recently rechristened itself the SDC (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society)—managed to secure standard contracts, benefits, and pension funds for members working in both New York and regional theatres.
The battles haven’t ended, however. The SDC recently has been involved in prominent lawsuits against theatre companies who were accused of plagiarizing direction and choreography. In 2007, for instance, theatres in Chicago and Akron were both required to pay royalties to the original director and choreographer of the musical Urinetown. It was decided these regional productions copied such a significant amount of the Broadway production’s staging that they constituted theft.
Thanks to this and similar cases, a universal standard may develop that lets a director’s staging be licensed for use by other theatres. That’s a controversial idea that divides many people in the theatre community.
It’s certainly an issue that impacts the SDC. “We’re really exploring that question of how we can make directing available for licensing,” says Laura Penn, who was named as SDC’s executive director last year. She adds, “When I was talking with folks about this job, I said, ‘If you want somebody who has the answer to this issue of directors and property rights, you should find somebody else.’ I’m interested in it, and I would love to help figure it out, but what the answer is, I don’t know.”
Another major issue is the increasing overlap between theatre and technology. The SDC stays in constant contact with its members, trying to determine the prevailing attitude about everything from filming rehearsals to incorporating technology into productions.
“In terms of media stuff, we’re making it up as it’s happening,” Penn says. “I have members who say, ‘Never. Never is a camera going to come in my rehearsal hall. The rehearsal process is sacred.’ And then there are directors who will say to me, ‘Whatever. Privacy? Thing of the past.’”
Despite these new issues, part of the union’s work has stayed the same for fifty years. Along with advocating for its members legal rights, the SDC also strives to create a sense of community.
That can be difficult. Directors live on a hinge: On one hand, they’re the bosses of the rehearsal room, but on the other, they’re employees of producers, boards, or artistic directors. That divided life can feel isolating. Plus, directors almost always work alone, whereas actors and stagehands usually have colleagues on a production that make them feel like part of a group.
“If we don’t keep a sense of community among our members, we won’t be viable,” Penn says. “And that sense of community doesn’t happen naturally. We don’t break from rehearsals and go have drinks with the rest of the directors at the end of the day. There’s no natural gathering, so our member services work is necessary to keep members feeling like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.”
To that end, the SDC has added more interactive features to its website and begun hosting informal discussions in New York City. Members have been eager to talk to each other about everything from collaborating with film directors to opportunities for minority artists.
For Penn, the future of the SDC relies on pushing these conversations further. “If we can speak about our needs, then maybe we can start to learn about where directing will be in five years or ten years,” she says. “I don’t know where it’s going to go, which is kind of cool, but we’ve got to be talking about it and thinking about it.”
For more information on the SDC, visit www.sdcweb.org
What does it take to be a theatre director? The answer changes all the time.
November 23, 2009 No Comments
TDF Exclusive Video: Backstage at Mamma Mia!
This TDF Exclusive Video answers your burning questions about Mamma Mia!, the long-running Broadway musical featuring the songs of ABBA.
How long did it take the cast to feel comfortable together? Do they have any backstage rituals?
And what happens when an actor accidentally spits on her co-stars?
To find out, we take you backstage at the Winter Garden Theatre to meet Beth Leavel, Allison Briner, and Judy McLane. They star as Donna and the Dynamos—a girl group that reunites when Donna’s daughter gets married—and they have plenty of stories to tell!
This TDF Exclusive Video answers your burning questions about Mamma Mia!, the long-running Broadway musical featuring the songs of ABBA. (see featured video at left)
November 20, 2009 No Comments
Two (or Three, or Six) Designers Are Better Than One
The Wingspace collective puts a new spin on design
Pop quiz: What connects Ordinary Days, the new musical playing in the Roundabout’s Underground Series, and Or, the inventive new comedy from Women’s Project (pictured above)?
The answer is Wingspace, an ambitious collective of theatre artists that’s trying to change the way we think about design. The group includes designers of all stripes—costume, sound, lighting, and set—as well as other artists who are passionate about the way design works. Since forming in 2005, Wingspace has expanded at a remarkable rate, developing an extensive website, hosting regular public discussions, and even renting a permanent studio in Brooklyn.
Most importantly, the Wingspacers have been working. A lot. The group’s fifteen current members are continuously represented Off Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, and regionally.
But do they need each other to thrive? Why create a design collective in the first place? On a recent Wednesday morning, several Wingspace members gathered around a conference table in their Brooklyn studio to discuss their mission.
“It was borne out of the idea that the best theatre work happens through collaboration,” says Lee Savage, a set designer who conceived the collective while studying at Yale School of Drama. “Everyone tosses the word ‘collaboration’ around, but personally, I felt like my best experiences came out of working in the same physical space as other designers.”
Outside of graduate school, however, designers rarely have colleagues on hand. “You spend so much time in front of your desk in your apartment, just working on your little thing,” says lighting designer Scott Bolman. “It’s hard to have a larger conversation.”
When they’re in their studio, whose open-air floor plan is crammed with work stations, art books, and cases of wine, Wingspacers have easy access to each other, and group feedback has undeniable impact. Take Savage, who’s designing the set for an upcoming regional production of Shakespeare’s Henry V: When he got stuck on a detail, he simply turned to a fellow set designer. Together, they discussed whether a brick wall that’s just hanging in the air seems too insubstantial, like it’s made of Styrofoam. They decided it did, and Savage added additional elements to make the wall feel solidly connected to the rest of his set.
“Having to talk about your work like that is really valuable,” says lighting designer Miriam Nilofa Crowe. “It prevents you from making sloppy decisions. It’s very easy when you’re working in isolation just to do something because it’s expedient, and having to talk about it makes you accountable.”
But designers can’t just talk to each other. “I feel like a group of designers can be intimidating,” Savage says. “Design is a very powerful thing, and in the wrong hands, it can ruin a production. We need to make people aware that we’re not trying to take over the world with our designs.”
In order to reach other artists (as well as regular audience members), Wingspace hosts a series of salons. Free and open to the public, they are casual conversations with everyone from directors to playwrights to major professional designers. The hope is they’ll make laypeople feel more connected to design and give designers fresh perspective on how the rest of the world sees their work.
Plus, Wingspace has opened its ranks to non-designers like the director Dylan McCullough. “I’m a recovering intimidated-by-design director,” he says. “I primarily work Off-Off Broadway, where resources are very light, and I got used to not always having the advantages of a designer. The sense of community that Wingspace gives me is a huge advantage. I have other people to bounce ideas off of when we can’t afford a budget for a production, and I learn more about the design process in general.”
Susanna Gellert, also a director, adds, “I feel like these conversations make us something of an anachronism. As resources get more constrained, and as people have less time and less money to do the work, here we come, and we want to spend time. We try to say, ‘Slow down. Let’s actually talk.’ Of course, we all have jobs, and we all want to get them done as our employers require us to, but this place gives us the opportunity to sometimes work in a different way and pretend that resources aren’t as limited as they are.”
For more on Wingspace, visit www.wingspace.com
Mark Blankenship is TDF’s online content editor
Pop quiz: What connects Ordinary Days, the new musical playing in the Roundabout’s Underground Series, and Or, the inventive new comedy from Women’s Project (pictured above)?
November 18, 2009 No Comments
Marisa Wegrzyn named 2009 Wasserstein Prize Winner
Marisa Wegryzn named 2009
Wasserstein Prize winner
for her play, HickoryDickory.
The Wasserstein Prize is given to encourage the work of a young, woman playwright by the Educational Foundation of America (EFA) in honor of the late Pulitzer and Tony Award- winning playwright, Wendy Wasserstein.
[Read more →]
November 17, 2009 No Comments
“Wonderette” of the World
Lowe Taylor is the biggest trouper in Off Broadway’s hit musical The Marvelous Wonderettes
Lowe Taylor is the biggest trouper in Off Broadway’s hit musical
The Marvelous Wonderettes
November 12, 2009 No Comments
