Logbook Directing

In this logbook, I am going to share my experience and thoughts about directing. The difficulties I faced and the theory I used for the lessons.

14/01/2021

Today, I introduced to my classmates the play I want to direct. I picked that A Summer Night because it reflects the events in August 2011, when police shot Mark Duggan. It leads to riots in Tottenham, London, and Manchester.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-14427105

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-19145216

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-19665086

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/05/mark-duggan-shooting-report-challenged-by-human-rights-groups

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e12dQLUDuXY

https://theconversation.com/five-years-after-his-death-sparked-riots-we-must-not-forget-mark-duggan-62748

On the first rehearsal, we read the playthrough. It took us an hour, but I hope it would take 35-40 mins when we all know the script.

After the reading, I asked my classmates to share their thoughts about the play and characters. Overall, they liked the play, even though they found it a little bit sad and too many details about policeman shoes.

My first thoughts are to cast Keiran as Mark, Josh as Dianne, and Ed as Anthony. But I am open to surprises.

21/01/2021

Today I held auditions. I gave everyone about 20 mins to perform and make a schedule.

During the audition, I tried to make actors feel comfortable by asking them questions and giving them directions.

Kieran audition

Adam audition

Jamie audition

Ed audition

When I picked the actors, I thought about voice qualities and actors' abilities. But also, I considered the time-management, who learned the lines on time. I thought about who will be more useful for the project. Who will push it further, and who will be more stubborn.

After long consideration, I decided: Kieran will play Mark, Ed - Anthony and me, Dianne.

27/01/2021

After I cast the actors, I have decided to put the plan on paper before I announce it to my actors.

Rehearsals dates:

28th of Jan - 2 hours, presentation, workshop

4th of Feb - 2 hours, warm-up, go through the script together, given circumstances

11th of Feb - 2 hours, warm-up, go through the script together, given circumstances

25th of Feb - 2 hours, go through the script together, given circumstances

4th of March - 2 hours, work with the script, recording

11th of March - 2 hours, work with the script, recording

18th of March - 2 hours, work with the script, recording

25th of March - final recording

16 hours

1st April - deadline

Task 1 - cut scripts on units, then decide with actors about the order of the lines + movements + sound effects + songs.

Task 2 - work with given circumstances and the story, pronunciation of the words, intonation

Task 3 - Plan A recording at the college, Plan B recording from home (how to build home studio)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/art20130702112136267

https://www.ruyasonic.com/prd_dir_1.htm

Avoid noisy paper turns and other noises.

Don't worry if the sentence goes wrong; start over with that sentence. Later we can cut it out.

Important - the movements:

"You can have the most talented team on board, but if none of them have had any audio experience, no one will know exactly what to look out for along the way. In one of the scenes we recorded, a character had to stand up and move seats on the train. A movement as small as that sounds so simple, but it can be difficult for that to come across when you're not actually on a train.

You need to think about factors such as the distance you are to the mic, your breathing and how it changes when you move. What noises do you actually make when you stand up and sit down? Don’t overdo it and wheeze away like you’ve got a hernia but think about how you can still achieve an effect - it’s worth creating these subtle changes.

Having a director or somebody that is aware of such things is instrumental to creating a good audio play. Unfortunately, no one picked up on our ‘sitting down dilemma’ until we were editing, and we had to cut a chunk out of the story, as it didn’t make sense."

https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/tips-and-advice/an-actors-guide-to-producing-your-own-audio-play/

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2011/jul/28/radio-drama-natural-dialogue

https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/create-perform-radio-play/

Nerves - warm up and relaxation

Rehearsal

Part 1 - warm up 10-15 mins

Part 2 - work with the script 30 mins

Part 3 - staging the script, discussion up to an hour

Part 4 - warm down 10 mins

Exercises

https://artsonline.tki.org.nz/Teaching-and-Learning/Secondary-teaching-resources/Drama/Reviewed-resources/Key-Collection/Radio-Drama-Bow-Down-Shadrach/Acting-for-radio/Exercises-for-exploration-of-the-voice

https://artsonline.tki.org.nz/Teaching-and-Learning/Secondary-teaching-resources/Drama/Reviewed-resources/Key-Collection/Radio-Drama-Bow-Down-Shadrach/Acting-for-radio/Learning-activities-Actors

A Summer Night.pptx

Скачать PPTX • 3.70MB

30/01/2021

On Thursday, I had a technical rehearsal.

The day before I spoke to Sam (audio technician), he gave me advice on editing programs and sound-recording tips at home.

07/02/2021

Before the rehearsal, I split the script into 13 units (the technique I borrowed from Stanislavskiy). I tried to separate them using the logic of different times or crucial moments in the play. Using this technique would help split the whole script into numerous chapters and work on them independently, concentrating on one at a time.

On Thursday, the first thing I held was a short warm-up to relax our chords and prepare for the work.

After that, we went through the first two units and tried to collect all given circumstances (Stanislavsky technique), including the time, character's job, and surroundings.

Overall, we achieved a lot for day one. We studied 18 pages out of 54, which means that if we continue with the same speed, we could start recording in 2 rehearsals from now.

In the 2nd Unit, I rearranged the script a little bit so that it would flow better.

During the rehearsal, I had a problem directing an actor to perform particular emotion. I showed it myself, but it did not help. In the end, I felt that the actor was uncomfortable. Therefore I am thinking of introducing short exercises at the rehearsal after we went through the script that challenges actors' ability.

The other thought to think about in a free time is picking music and thinking about reaching the audience better.

12/02/2021

On Thursday, we went further with our rehearsal.

I decided to rearrange Dianne's part of the script a little bit to go better with the script rhythm. What I mean is Dianne finishing safely at home, the earliest among other characters. So if her story stops on the moment when she sees a girl, it might add more tension.

15/03/21

I've been working on the script this month, I tried to split the script into the parts and rearrange the lines, but it did not work out. I have noticed that without the audience, my motivation to perform the play started to vanish. So I thought, how could we perform the play for the real audience?

The solution came quickly; we need to perform it on teams.

During the performance, we will be in 3 different rooms. In each room will be a technician and an actor. The person who is a technician will play other parts of the performance too.

22/03/21

Unfortunately, the previous plan did not work out because it seemed unlikely to perform the play through Teams. It is impossible to share the sound of the Teams without sharing the screen. Therefore it would be challenging to share the high quality of the sound.

The style we are recording is very Stanislavsky. The actors need to be as natural as they can, and in the background, I will put real noises, so it would feel like something happening at the moment.

I decided to get back to the previous plan and prerecord the play.

On Thursday, I worked with Ed on his character, and we completed recording his part, as well as recording other characters.

I really enjoyed the process. Ed was suggesting the mood of the character and followed the directions when needed.

Also, it was fascinating to work with different actors and see the different approaches to acting. For example, with Jamie and Josh, I felt that I need to be supportive and encouraging. While with Catherine, Ed, and Sonia, I will be more relaxed.

Because of Covid, I wore the mask during the recording, but it was up to actors to have a cover on or off. I disinfected the microphone after each one to prevent the spread of the virus.

26/03/21

Today I finished the recordings. In the video below is an extract from our rehearsal with Kieran.

For some scenes, I used the Meisner technique, where you repeat the exact phrase repeatedly till you reach the emotion you need.

I enjoyed working with Kieran. As an actor, he is ready to experiment and open to directions and has his personal view on the character.

It took more time to record his part than I expected, and I did not pay that much attention to the last section of the play than to the first. But to my surprise, Kieran was putting 100%of his ability to perform this character the best.

01/04/2021

After having all material recorded, the next step is to edit it. I did not expect how much time it takes to edit 18 mins of audio. For me, it takes about an hour for every 4-5 mins.

I think this is where any director needs a crew. I feel that I prepared the cast and material. But in the next step, when I need someone to help me with editing, I do not have this person; therefore, I need to do it myself. It made me realize; it isn't easy without people who are good with programs and the technical side of the job.

Because of the lack of time, I decided to split the play into five episodes and publish them one after the other when they are ready on my page.

To sum up my experience, as a director - I enjoyed it. It is a pretty lonely job with a lot of planning and thinking in the free time. Also, I feel a lot of responsibility for the result because other actors put in their time and talent.

My favorite part of the job is to try to recreate the image is in my head on the stage or film or audio. It is so satisfying to observe that you made something that you've planned. But also, you made something from a piece of paper or absolutely nothing.

My area for growth is to become more experimentative and try to find a crew who will help me achieve my artistic vision.