HOMEFRONT DIRECTING PROJECT

AIM:

- To create a directing methodology for my theatre practice

- To expand my knowledge and analysis of plays and directing technique

- To work with different actors, expanding my range of directing experience and apply my directing methodology.

OUTCOMES:

- I feel very clear about my approach to directing a work.
- I have read dozens of plays over a wide range of genres
- I have increased my critical analysis skills
- I have increased my knowledge of playwrights and plays
- I have worked with actors to apply my directing methodology
- I have discovered a beneficial process for writing my own work

WHAT'S NEXT:

The culumination of this process has led to the creation of The PlayWRITE Sessions play exchhange created with The Street Theatre. I run this program, which aims to expand theatre sector knowledge of contemporary character driven works and focuses on the mechanics of writing. This is an exciting progression of my grant - allowing me to use the knowledge I have gathered throughout this process and create a similar structured opportunity for other artists. A lot of people I spoke to, whilst working on my directing project, expressed an interest in reading more plays, being able to discuss them in a relaxed and supported environment with the intention of informing their own work. PlayWRITE provides this opportunity. https://www.thestreet.org.au/artists/playwrite

SO WHAT IS MY METHODOLOGY?

MINDFULLNESS

- Integration of mindfulness/meditation practices to ensure focus and presence in the room

MIRRORING (& MEISNER)

- Body language, mirroring and impulse for connection and rapport between actors

MEANING THROUGH MOVEMENT

- Body as meaning - exercises that use bodies in space to discover the meaning behind the text and between the characters.

OBJECTIVES AND ANALYSIS

- Using text analysis, objectives and behaviour psychology to interrogate the text (with a strong focus on active analysis) to find the meat of the work. Discover what's really going on and the number of different layers.

ORGANIC BLOCKING

- Finding and strengthening moments through the above movement exercises that create the core images of the work. Allowing the blocking to flow organically with specific touchstones

FINE TUNING & TEXTURES

- Fine tuning images and nuance of the work, finding moments of flow between motifs, and combing textures to tell the story.

OVERALL

I see my job as a sculptor. The actors are the clay. The words are the water. My job is to see how the water moves across the clay and sculpt it accordingly. Everything I do has relevance to the specific people in the room. To the text in this time and place. I don't tell the clay what it's going to be. I discover what it is each time, as the ingredients (actors&creatives) are always different. The words are applied and reapplied until the sculpture emerges.

INTERESTING READING/LISTENING

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/body-and-meaning/id1509271413?i=1000545735455

fulness-for-actors/

https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/forms-nonverbal-communication-actors-must-master-8173/

Letters to George by Max Stafford Clark

The Definitive Book fo Body Language - Allan and Barbara Pease

Then What Happens by Mike Alfreds

Different Every Night by Mike Alfreds

Checkov on Theatre compiled by Jutta Hercher and Peter Urban

The Principals of Movement by Keith Bane

Talking Theatre by Richard Eyre

In Good Company by Lynn Wallis