Wednesday, February 13, 2002
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Wednesday, February 13, 2002 |
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Mike the director By MICHAEL
BOYLAN I just finished directing my first real play and boy, am I tired. I directed Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park" for Fayette Community Theatre. I have directed sketch comedy shows before and student films at UGA but this was my first official three-act, regular play. I think it went well. People said they enjoyed it and some came to see it more than once. I had a good time and my cast didn't try to kill me, so I guess everything went OK. I was a little unprepared at the beginning. We had auditions and not enough people came out for them. Instead of just conducting auditions for two days, I spent the next week auditioning people who might be interested all over the county. I also had to persuade my friend, Brad, to do the play, knowing that he would be perfect for the role of Paul. Eventually, the principal roles were filled but we still needed someone to play the telephone man and someone to play the delivery man. Several people were asked to play the phone guy and they all couldn't do it for one reason or another. Three weeks before the show went up I gave the role to myself. I was reading the part in rehearsals anyway. I must say, though, that I have a newfound respect for Kevin Costner, who is always behind and in front of the camera. As for the deilvery guy, we didn't find him until a week and a half before opening night. An old member of my comedy troupe had returned home for a month and we snatched him up. It worked out beautifully and in the end our cast was phenomenal. Directing a play isn't just casting the show and making sure everyone memorizes their lines. There are also the hurdles of blocking the action, getting the set built, collecting the props, deciding on costuming, getting a crew together and making sure the show runs smoothly on a technical level. All of these things were done because I had a great crew backing me up and helping me along. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I was involved at almost every level and learned more in the last four months than I did in the past year. For instance, directors have to know the answer to every question. This takes some getting used to. Early on, I wanted to get everybody's input on decisions, but I soon realized that it was just a lot easier if I was the one with all the answers. To have the answers, though, I had to study. I must have read the script over 30 times and now I have seen it done close to 30 times as well. I think I know every line in the play now. I also learned that each director has a style and my style is very laid back, which is different from most of the directors I worked with in the past. I never flipped my lid, which surprises even me. I stayed cool, calm and collected and even my cast remarked how calm I was the week of the show. That's because I did all my panicking the week before. Ultimately, I think if a director has a love of the theater, a good cast and crew and a great script (Thanks, Neil), everything will go just fine. If the director shows that he is working hard and is the first one there and the last one out, the cast and crew will respond accordingly. They did and I love them for it. I will return to the director's chair again someday, but I am looking forward to reuniting with my comedy buddies and sharing some of my new knowledge with them for our next show. It should be produced sometime in late April or early May. Keep your eyes peeled for it.
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