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The Ten Commandments for Directing Student Actors

By Edith Weiss 

Edith Weiss is the author of several published children’s plays, including six with Pioneer Drama Service.  A lot of Edith’s writing time goes into her stand-up comedy routine, which has taken her all over the country and on three overseas military tours.  Besides writing, she also acts and directs in both children’s and adult theatre. 

Directing is hard.  Directing students is harder.  Hopefully following these “ten commandments” will make your job a little easier!

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 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 can 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 handwritten 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 they’re doing well and know it, feels superfluous and stops giving their 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.  And an audience will 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, they must respect the actors who are onstage.  This means no running around backstage, no talking on phones.  If actors are not off book, they should be studying lines.  If an actor has a small part with lots of downtime between scenes, give them 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 they should be watching the rehearsal or performance and learning 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.