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Help for the First-Time Virtual Director
By Kevin Stone
Kevin Stone has been writing and directing plays for over 20 years. He has experience as an actor and as a director of community theatre, church plays, high school productions and touring collegiate groups. Besides teaching drama classes, Kevin is the pastor of a church and the managing editor of a ministry website. Kevin’s play After Hours won the Shubert Fendrich Memorial Playwriting Contest.
Editor’s note: No matter how experienced a director you are, the upcoming production season is bound to be a year like no other, with so many new guidelines, restrictions, and rules in place. Directing within these limitations will be a new experience for everyone and will no doubt be incredibly challenging. And yet, it still can be a period of intense growth and vivid discovery for you and your actors, to create a final production of which you can all be proud, despite all the obstacles.
Several years ago we published an article by Kevin Stone full of tips for new directors. We have taken the liberty of modifying Kevin’s advice to fit this new world in which we all find ourselves. Whether your performance will be traditional, livestreamed, or virtual, we hope you find inspiration and courage within these suggestions.
Don’t Panic.
There may be moments of panic in putting together a production, but don’t let panic become your default setting. One of the many benefits of directing a play is the honing of problem-solving skills, so meet those difficulties with a clear-headed, can-do attitude. Let your actors see your coolness under pressure. You can do it!
Get Organized.
A director is, in many ways, a coordinator and facilitator. Bringing together the many different strands of a play production requires a fair amount of pre-planning and organization. A rehearsal schedule is very helpful. Set deadlines for being off-book, collecting props, and promoting the play. Reserve the first few practices for blocking out the scenes, and make sure to include a tech practice or two. You don’t have to keep the schedule with a grim rigidity, but the actors and their parents should have a good idea of what is expected and when. Communicate to everyone that rehearsal time is precious and that, during rehearsal, the focus needs to be on the play.
Visualize the Play.
As Carl Sandburg said, “Nothing happens unless first a dream.” Imagine the action of the play. Have an idea of how each scene should look and sound. What lines have a potential for a laugh (or for a gasp)? What sections of the play should move more rapidly than others? What lines should be slowed down? Where are the climatic points? As you develop the “dream” in your mind, directing simply becomes a matter of communicating your vision to your actors.
Focus on the Basics.
You might have a high-tech stage, a phenomenal set, jaw-dropping special effects, and costumes by Versace, but if the acting is flat, your production will suffer. On the other hand, with good acting, you can have a bare stage (or screen, if virtual), with no effects and only thrift-store costumes and still absolutely dazzle the audience. The best productions start with a solid foundation of acting basics.
Vocal projection and articulation are key, especially in a virtual theatre format, where something as small as being slightly off-center can cause audio distortion or diminished volume. If the audience cannot hear the dialogue, they will be disappointed, and no one wants a disappointed audience. Plus, all that work on memorization will have gone for naught! Projection involves proper breathing, common-sense phrasing, and clear enunciation. Usually, an inexperienced actor can “turn up the volume” simply by opening his mouth more widely when he speaks and over-enunciating. The audience will perceive clarity as an increase in volume.
Positioning is also important. Many student actors tend to face any which way as they speak, hiding their faces or closing themselves off from the audience. With a little training, any actor can learn to “play to the audience” (or the camera) and let everyone see their wonderful face and the fantastic expressions it holds.
Pay Attention to Detail.
The stage is a magnifier, and that’s never been more true than when your show is being livestreamed and watched on somebody’s 72” TV. Or when each actor has an individual onscreen frame. Little things can become big things, particularly if there’s only one or two actors onscreen at a time. Even the tiniest distraction can wreak havoc in a big scene. View your production from the vantage point of an audience seeing it for the first time by actually sitting out in the house for a rehearsal or watching video rehearsals closely. Move actors around. Try different angles. Watch carefully. Listen closely. And then communicate to your cast and crew what you saw and heard.
Value Your Actors.
Remember that actors are not chess pieces to be moved around a board. They are thinking, feeling people with complexities and a life outside of rehearsals. Encourage their creativity on stage and/or screen. Help them relax and have fun. (Which means you need to relax and have fun, too!) Be positive and let your actors know that you appreciate their work.
Don’t Forget the Support Roles.
A play needs more than just actors. It needs a stage manager, a house manager, a property mistress, technicians, stage hands, set painters, publicity people, etc. This is truer than ever with a virtual or livestreamed show, which can benefit greatly from supporting roles such as a dedicated technical director.
And Finally.
Have fun. The storytelling you oversee will be full of creativity, inspiration and joy, no matter the format.
