Direction
CHAPTER 1 / INTRODUCTION
The section “Make your own opera” is aimed at students within and without the school setting, the educational community, and all those who like opera and the performing arts in general and would like to dare to create and stage their own performance. It is not a guide containing concrete steps or methodologies you need to follow to make your own show; “Make your own opera” is rather a source of inspiration, a section offering information that can surely be useful to you throughout the process, a section that aspires to make you feel creative without being preoccupied with whether or not you have the appropriate space, human resources or means. It is an educational tool that you can use for prearranged school celebrations – by implementing specific chapters of the provided material –, a big final presentation at the end of the school year, a performance you want to stage with your class, or even for your classes as part of the curriculum, starting from just one chapter. The stage that is hidden in your class is waiting for you to reveal it.
So make your own opera performance, and don’t get scared off by the title. Remember that opera constantly transforms and has a lot to teach you!
In this chapter we will explore how a show is staged and brought to life. In collaboration with professionals from different artistic fields, the director or directing team responsible for a production will have to coordinate all the work that needs to be done, set the background, capture the show’s style and orchestrate its aesthetic, and, finally and most importantly, determine the work’s overall context, guide the performers in shaping their characters, and check all the details regarding the work’s presentation.
Arriving at the chapter about direction, we first need to understand the nature, role and powers of this profession in a work of the performing arts.
This field contains many different aspects, combining creativity with the supervision and “orchestration” of the processes of producing a work. A director, starting from their first contact with the work, strives to present it and find a way to communicate it to the audience, highlighting and enhancing its story, importance and possible insinuations. They are responsible for coordinating a team of different professionals, such as the set and costume designer, the lighting designer etc., as well as for guiding the performers through the study and interpretation of their roles. In a performing art genre like opera, which is based on the music that “moves” in parallel with the text, a director should take into consideration that the text they are called upon to transfer onto the stage is in a constant symbiotic relationship with the music.
So, starting from the score and not from the text, listening to a recording of the work, and reading the words accompanied by notes, an opera director – combining opera’s special goals with its characteristics as a theatre genre – is called upon to:
- Translate the music work into images
- Define its visual atmosphere and aesthetic
- Shape the characters of the opera’s protagonists
- Present the evolution of the events, the situations and the characters
All this should be done while always keeping in mind the work’s music, style, aesthetic, as well as the fluctuations and chromaticisms of the music and sound.
Based on these main pillars, you can adjust all of the above instructions to your performance. You, of course, don’t have to deal with a large-scale opera work, as we typically think of it. However, whether we are talking about a big classical opera work or an experimental music theatre work, here are some steps you can follow to direct your own performance:
- Reading the text & listening to the work’s music
- Developing the idea – research
- Co-creating – collaborating with other opera-related professionals
- Casting
- Creating a work plan until the start of the performances
- Rehearsals
CHAPTER 2 / POOL OF IDEAS
Whether you are in a group setting or a school classroom, you can choose the way you want to work, either collectively, or divided into sub-groups, or even individually, designating a member of the group or pupil for each specialty.
Reading the text & listening to the work’s music
The first step(s) you need to take is to read and re-read your text as many times as it takes for you to feel that you have understood the story you want to bring to life to a great extent. It is extremely important to know every aspect of your story, the way it develops, the characters, the time and place where it unfolds. You need to study the work to such an extent that there will be almost no questions left answered, until the story you want to tell becomes your own story, as if you yourselves were there when the events were taking place and as if you have the answers to everything that happened in this story. Having completed the analysis of the work and characters in this early stage, you will be ready to collaborate with the other professionals in the next stage, as well as to start the rehearsals.
Keep in mind that for an opera or music theatre work, apart from exploring the text, you also need to continuously study the music – whether that means studying the score itself, if possible, or studying the work in collaboration with the composer or the maestro – and listen to it non-stop.
Developing the idea – research
The second stage is actually the continuation of the research process that has started in the first stage. The research on the material, time, place, social background of your story is an extremely important process. With the help of the internet, articles, books, etc. try to find:
- What was going on in the time when your story is set?
- What was the place, city where your story unfolds?
- How did people live in those times?
- What were the habits, values, traditions prevailing in the social background of your story?
If your story is set in the present or even in the future, you are lucky. If it is in the present, you may already have the answers to all these questions; if on the other hand it is set in the future, you may need to use your imagination or work together with the work’s author to have this information revealed to you!
In any case, by completing the first two stages, you need to have developed a vision, a concept. In other words, you need to have brought this show to life in your mind. You need to have decided how you want it to be visualized, to evolve and end, and, of course, to have answered why. Why do you want to stage this work? What does this work mean to you?
Co-creating – collaborating with other opera-related professionals
As mentioned above, the director of a show is the orchestrator of a result of many processes of different arts and professions. Therefore, in these early stages, but also throughout the preparation phase until the show is up and running, the members of the artistic team (indicatively: composer, librettist, director, set designer, lighting designer, choreographer, etc.) must constantly collaborate. In this step, the director can share their artistic vision, thoughts and ideas with the team, so as to set in motion the creative process of the other professionals, whose areas of expertise will also be explored below. Through brainstorming on the work, the creative team can move on with ideas and pertinent tasks regarding the construction of the sets, the lighting design, the costumes that will be worn by the performers, their movement in space, etc.
Casting
In this stage, the directing team or director must select the performers who will play the characters appearing in the text. Casting should be done based on criteria set by the director. Moreover, depending on the team available, we can add or remove roles, double-cast a certain role (the same role will be performed by two actors), or vice versa, have someone perform two or different parts.
Creating a work plan until the start of the performances
A very important step of the process is to create a work plan, a timeline from the start of the rehearsals until the start of the performances. A director must have a continually updated rehearsal schedule from the beginning to the end of the preparation stage, as well as a specific plan for each separate rehearsal during the rehearsal period. As a director has many powers and their work is intertwined with the work of almost all other professionals needed for an opera production, it is extremely important to develop a well-organized work plan and a specific strategy toward rehearsals. Work sheets can help you plan and break down the work that needs to be done into stages.
Rehearsals
The last long step before the start of the show is the rehearsals. The rehearsal period is extremely important not only for the director and the performers but also for the other collaborating professionals, as during this time the work comes to life through constant processes. The building blocks of the work (text-music) take shape, and in combination with the directorial concept, begin to turn into images. It is interesting how the initial concept can be shifted, enriched and developed, depending on the performers and in combination with the work of the other professionals of the creative team. Indicatively, we can divide the rehearsal process into 3 stages, more or less:
- Stage 1 > reading, analysis and mental representation of the work
- Stage 2 > active reading, defining the movement in space and building the performance in combination with the other professionals (movement, set-design etc.)
- Stage 3 > final rehearsals with costumes, lights, sets, technical equipment etc.
In Stage 1, through multiple readings of the text, performers must comprehend the work, be able to draw connections with its context and roles, and understand the director’s point of view and concept. In essence, the director must share as much information as possible from the research and analysis they did in the first two steps, and answer any related questions asked by the performers.
In Stage 2, the work starts getting structured and approaching step by step its final form. A question guide you can use to help performers understand and develop their roles is the following:
- Who – Who are they? How are they connected to each other? What is their relationship?
Two roles interconnected through a friendly relationship will behave differently than two roles related to each other through a different form of relationship. - When – When do the things happening to them occur? When is this scene unfolding?
We react differently to a situation, when we have just come back home tired from school, and differently on a Saturday afternoon when we’re at home, relaxing. - Where – Where are they? Where is the scene set? To whom does this place belong? How big is this place? How do the characters who are there feel? What do they see around them?
- What – What do the characters do? What were they doing before they met? Why do they do that?
- Why – Why are they in this place, at this moment, with this person? Why do they react in such a way? Why do they need to negotiate this issue? What preceded this incident and how did they end up to this point? Is it their choice to be here in this state?
Working on every scene and trying to portray the situations described therein by answering to the above questions, performers will be able to understand their role, the work’s place and time, and use speech, possibly music, and their body too, to deliver their best performance. In this way the work will be able to take form, performers will be able to connect and communicate its message, while the audience will also understand what they are watching.
One more process you need to follow during this stage is to define the movement in space. That is important as onstage movement needs to serve a certain purpose, be believable, and be done for a certain reason, so that it can seem natural and convincing to the audience. You can make a plan for every scene or add notes that will help you, so that the movement and the “paths” that will be created on stage are specific and it is easier for performers to understand.
When scenes and roles begin to be “built”, then you can start using other elements from other artistic fields (e.g. objects, masks, dance props, lighting sources etc.). It is extremely important during this stage that constant feedback, directions and alternative ideas are provided to facilitate performers and help them evolve. Do not forget that the role of the director is multi-faceted, leading, and decisive for a production team, so make sure that you facilitate your collaborators and blaze trails for them!
With stage 3 we enter the final stretch towards the premiere of your performance! At this point all the pieces of the puzzle start falling into place. Rehearsals on stage, with the orchestra, lights, sets, costumes and anything else you have chosen to add to your performance. The closer to the premiere you get, the more your rehearsals will feel like an actual performance with audience!
ACTIVITY 1 / DIRECTION
Introduction
This activity is an exercise for your group of performers based on directions about their movement in space. As mentioned above, it is very important for performers to be able to follow the director’s instructions about onstage movement, as well as for the director to be able to map the moves of the performers on stage.
Step 1
For the following activity you will need the stage you are going to use in your performance or a space of similar dimensions.
Divide the stage/space, mentally or using masking tape, to mark the floor according to the following picture.
After finishing the marking process, you can label each separate part and inform your group about it (Center, Right, Left, Downstage Right, Downstage Center, Downstage Left, Upstage Right, Upstage Center, Upstage Left)
ATTENTION! Stage directions are always given from the actor’s point of view to the audience.
Step 2
The activity can start with a volunteer at the center of the stage and a volunteer in the director’s place. The director gives instructions about the actor’s movement based on the delineated areas. They can start giving the instructions at a slow pace and speed it up over the course of the exercise. After completing a first round, the roles can be reversed.
Step 3
Try to change the pace and density of your instructions over the course of the exercises.
You can try the same activity with the whole group of the performers on stage. Try to place the whole group at center stage. The whole group must follow the directions like one body, one mass that must move as one on the stage, without any of its parts getting detached.
After conducting this exercise in different combinations, as a group or individually, you can enrich it with further stage directions dictating the performer’s way and pace of movement and the characters’ state.
ACTIVITY 2 / DIRECTION
Introduction
In this activity we will try to study a scene from Anton Chekhov’s short story The Ninny (also translated as The Nincompoop or The Pushover), which you can find in the textbook of Modern Greek Literature for the Second Grade of Junior High School, and work on the stage convention of this particular scene through some questions.
The activity can be conducted individually or collectively, as one directing team.
Step 1
To begin with, you should read again and again your text, which is the most important material you have in order to stage a work of the performing arts. The text you will find by clicking on the link is a short story by A. Chekhov titled The Ninny.
Just a few days ago I invited Yulia Vasilyevna, the governess of my children, to come to my study. I wanted to settle my account with her.
“Sit down, Yulia Vasilyevna,” I said to her. “Let’s get our accounts settled. I’m sure you need some money, but you keep standing on ceremony and never ask for it. Let me see. We agreed to give you thirty rubles a month, didn’t we?”؟
“Forty”.
“No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay the governess thirty. Now, let me see. You have been with us for two months?”
“Two months and five days”.
“Two months exactly. I made a note of it. So you have sixty rubles coming to you. Subtract nine Sundays. You know you don’t tutor Kolya on Sundays, you just go out for a walk. And then the three holidays”…
Yulia Vasilyevna blushed and picked at the trimmings of her dress, but [she] said not a word.
“Three holidays. So we take off twelve rubles. Kolya was sick for four days – those days you didn’t look after him. You looked after Vanya, only Vanya.
Then there were the three days you had toothache, when my wife gave you permission to stay away from the children after dinner. Twelve and seven makes nineteen. Subtract… That leaves… hm… forty-one rubles. Correct?”
Yulia Vasilyevna’s left eye reddened and filled with tears. Her chin trembled. She began to cough nervously, [she] blew her nose, and [she] said nothing.
“Then around New Year’s Day you broke a cup and a saucer. Subtract two rubles. The cup cost more than that – it was an heirloom, but we won’t bother about that. We’re the ones who pay. Another matter. Due to your carelessness Kolya climbed a tree and tore his coat. Subtract ten. Also, due to your carelessness, the chambermaid ran off with Vanya’s boots. You ought to have kept your eyes open. You get a good salary. So we dock off five more… On the tenth of January you took ten rubles from me”.
“I didn’t,” Yulia Vasilyevna whispered.
“But I made a note of it”.
“Well, yes – perhaps”…
“From forty-one we take twenty-seven. That leaves fourteen”.
Her eyes filled with tears, and her thin, pretty little nose was shining with perspiration. Poor little child!
“I only took money once,” she said in a trembling voice. “I took three rubles from your wife… never anything more”.
“Did you [take some] now? You see, I never made a note of it. Take three from fourteen. That leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three… one and one. Take it, my dear”.
I gave her the eleven rubles. With trembling fingers she took them and slipped them into her pocket.
“Merci,” she whispered.
I jumped up, and began pacing up and down the room. I was in a furious temper.
“Why did you say ‘merci?” I asked.
“For the money”.
“Don’t you realize I’ve been cheating you? I steal your money, and all you can say is ‘merci”!’
“In my other places they gave me nothing”.
“ They gave you nothing! Well, no wonder! I was playing a trick on you – a dirty trick… I’ll give you your eighty rubles, they are all here in an envelope made out for you. Is it possible for anyone to be such a nitwit? Why didn’t you protest? Why did you keep your mouth shut? It is possible that there is anyone in this world who is so spineless? Why are you such a ninny”?
She gave me a bitter little smile. On her face I read the words: “Yes, it is possible”.
I apologized for having played this cruel trick on her, and to her great surprise gave her the eighty rubles. And then she said “merci” again several times, always timidly, and went out. I gazed after her, thinking how very easy it is in this world to be strong.
By Anton Chekhov
Translated by Robert Payne
Step 2
After carefully and thoroughly studying the above text, and before asking the actors that will perform it to read it, answer the following questions that will help you set up this particular scene.
Remember that there are no right or wrong answers. How you will render this text is up to you. What’s most important is to know exactly what you want, so that you will be able to communicate it to your actors.
- Who – Who are the characters encountered in the text? How are they related to each other? What connects them? Is this the first time they see each other? Will this relationship continue?
- When – When is this meeting set? At what time of day? Does it last long?
- Where – Where are the heroes? Where did they come from, before getting here? Does this particular place belong to any of these two? How do they feel in this place? Is it an indoor or outdoor space? Is it big or small? How would you describe the place they are at? What do the heroes see?
- What – What are the heroes doing? What were they doing before they met? Why are they doing this?
- Why – Have they come here by choice? How did they end up in this state? How do they behave? What could they be feeling? Why do they react in this way? What past event may have led them to the state they are in right now?
Step 3
After finding the answers to these questions and crafting your stage convention, you can move on to a reading rehearsal. Once you guide the actors through concrete answers, they will be able to shape their characters and perform their part.
VIDEO
While exploring the above ideas, suggestions and steps, try to breathe life into a text/libretto. To get more ideas, you can watch Alexandros Efklidis in the video below sharing with you relevant information, as well as his experience as an opera and music theatre director.
Alexandros Efklidis talks about his experience as an opera and music theatre director. Video Produced by Odd Bleat.
