Director's Cut: Where Play Becomes Magic

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Directing...

but were afraid to ask. This show is a show about how directors do their job and we witness it firsthand as Andrew works with thespians who've been given a fresh script -- chosen by the audience. We start by watching a cold read and then see Andrew do his magic of telling the performers to double down on their blocking intuition and build arcs of emotion in their vocalization. Background: Andrew offers community theater directors access to a bounty of training through his work. This "class" was an entertaining stroll through the process as we witness a mini play within a Fringe performance. Fun concept. Talent on display.

I enjoyed this dive into process

Andrew leads you through the directorial process in a very accessible way, point out little bits of technique and insight that you might never detect from the audience. If you like shows that give you a little peek into how things work, this one is for you.

Support an out-of-towner visiting w/a fab show!

CREATIVITY = 5: It isn't often that we get such an educational, but fun, experience at Fringe. I was mesmerized through the whole 60 minutes. PRESENTATION = 5: My sister commented that the acting wasn't great. YEAH, that was the whole point. Acting is hard and it was unbelievable to watch the three actors try to perfectly adapt to Andrew's direction and then try to put the 10 minute act together again. ACCESSIBILITY = 5: I'm not sure if they will use this material again (we saw it Fringe Day 1), so I won't say what it was. I was a little vague on the (well-known) play, but my sister wasn't. Andrew gave us enough of the backstory that we totally got what the actors were trying to communicate.

learn how the sausage is made (out of actors)

I thought this was a great hour, in part because I learned some useful bits for my own (performance/theatre) practice. Probably a really fun show for anyone who's in theatre (but not yet jaded) or attends a lot of theatre. Or curious and/or creative people (vast majority of Fringe attendees, I imagine). It's enjoyable to watch people who are good at their craft exercise their skills - in this case, director and both actors.

Oh, so that is what a director does!

I enjoyed this look at how a director facilitates actors working through a scene. Having only experienced theater as an audience member, I had assumed that a director was an authoritative voice in rehearsals, telling actors what his or her intentions for the piece were. (Like a conductor in an orchestral rehearsal.) This show was more of a learning experience than an aesthetic one for me, but that's fine. I'd recommend this show.

Watch it all come together!

I am not in the theatre professions; so I was fascinated to watch the director and two actors show us how they work together to make words from a text (a 500+ year-old text, for our show!) become compelling scenes that speak to events, feelings, motivations, behaviors that are timeless. It really was a step-by-step process that brought words to life, relevant and compelling life!

Honoring the Work!

As a newer director, I loved getting to see another director's process and advice. Attending the Shakespeare night felt especially rewarding, since there are some Shakespeare-specific tactics to explore. It was very satisfying to see the initial read-through versus the "final" product!

An industrial tour of theater

I like industrial tours, for instance visiting a brewery to see how the magic is made. This was an industrial tour of directing a play. It started with a first read through and ended with a performance of the scene. It was fascinating to me how the director drew out actions or phrasing from the actors, and encouraged them to go with their instincts.

Interesting for Curious Non Theater-Makers

If you're not a theater-maker, and are curious about how theater rehearsals may go, definitely check it out! I think that this it is very worthwhile from that perspective. If you've been in a rehearsal room before -- as an actor, stage manager, director, designer, this might not be for you, since you experience this every day. I will say that I appreciated the opportunity to see another director's process and the work they are doing to build up free and shared resources for directors. That being said, the presentation itself was too unstructured for me personally -- for example, it would be nice to have shorter scripts for more run-throughs, an actual table for the table read (so the actors are anchored and the audience experiences closer to what it's like), and to share the goals of a director for each kind of rehearsal ahead of doing the work. I also struggled to not "jump in" with my thoughts and questions for the actors -- so if you're used to actively participating in rehearsals, it's hard to hold back your own artistic thoughts in this setting.

A force multiplier

This was an awesome show. Watching two terrific actors start with a simple script, reading and end with a very dramatic and emotional scene was a treat. Watching this talented director support, encourage, and with meaningful questions and suggestions, occasionally redirect the actors to build up both their own individual performance as well as the way they worked together was truly amazing. Witty, and informative, and a joy to watch.

Educational and funny behind-the-scenes look

I learned a lot about what directors do from this show! I haven't done theater since middle school, so I hadn't realized how much of directing is/can be about asking actors questions about their characters' interiority and motives. I felt like the director did a great job of explaining what the show was about, and I also found the script and the actors hilarious.

Amazingly informative and interesting

Want to see a show in development? This is for you.

validating breath of fresh air

more a class than a show, this provided some really nice insight into the directorial process. also very validating to see my own experiences with directing and its lack of training / structured in-roads to the process reflected and sympathized with. perfect kind of experience for fringe. even better, the director provides a vibrant community and comprehensive resources on all kinds of elements of the process on their website, which I will definitely be frequenting into the future.

Nice presentation about the process.

As a director myself, I was enthralled watching someone else's process. He is correct about most directors learning by doing, which was my experience. I enjoyed watching the actors find their characters and the exploration the director included in that transition.