|
| HOME |
WRITING |
TIPS for Directors |
PLAYS |
BIO | BLOG |
| Novels: Winter's Past Harmony's Call Plays: Trouble Junction Aunt Polly's Demise A Christmas Calamity   |
Know Your Strengths
When I direct a play, I like to know my strengths. How many actors do I have who can carry a strong lead? Who will be natural leaders for the rest of the team? Often in auditions, you will notice these strengths right away. (See How to Spot a Great Actor) For those who work with the same group for several years, you will get the feel for which actors are your strengths. Especially in the case of a small school, you'll want to know how many leads you can count on even before you purchase or write a play. In a larger school or youth group, there will be many actors auditioning, and there should be no worries about not having enough leads. In a smaller group you may be limited by how many are available to participate. If you choose a play with three strong male roles, do you have three boys to try out for those roles? You will be teaching and training new talent all the time, and next year your list of who-could-be-a-lead will grow, but for this year's production, you need to have an idea of how many you can cast as leads and secondary-leads. If you aren't already familiar with the actors you'll be casting, you could have an after-school meeting for those interested in participating in a future production. Ask questions. Listen to them talk. (Who's a natural entertainer? Who smiles a lot?) Find out how many students have previous experience and how many want to be involved. Be sure to double-check the number of characters for the play you're looking into and compare that with how many students you think may audition. If you're writing a play, you also need to know those numbers up front. If you find you don't have enough actors, you might consider allowing homeschoolers to join your drama group--or kids from another youth group. At one school, we opened auditions to homeschoolers, and it worked out very well. |
Once you're certain of the strengths and
abilities in your actors--like five boys did
great in last year's performance and three of the girls did
exceptionally well, even though one was quite shy--you are assured your
play can have at least eight characters with a medium to high range
line
base. The less-experienced, newer actors can be tallied for smaller
roles. My plays usually involve several leads and secondary-leads. That way it isn't just about how one person performs, but the whole group is growing and becoming better at the art of acting. However, I've found that after a few years of productions, leads tend to develop much stronger acting abilities than the others. The responsibilities they carry and the greater passion for living in someone else's shoes will outshine the rest, and when that happens, it's an amazing process to watch! Return to TIPS. For clean, fun plays, visit... www.4thofjulyproductions.com  |
| Thanks for stopping by! |