Getting Directions

A Fly-on-the-Wall Guide for Emerging Theatre Directors

Russ Hope, Dominic Cooke

$27.99

Paperback

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English

Nick Hern Books
16 August 2012

Theatre direction & production

The theatre rehearsal room is a sacred place. What goes on there is mysterious, alchemical and closely guarded. So how are aspiring theatre directors supposed to learn their craft?

In Getting Directions, Russ Hope gives us the benefit of unprecedented, fly-on-the-wall access to eight rehearsal rooms. He has shadowed some of the UK's most exciting young directors at each step of the way, on productions as diverse as Shakespeare at the Globe, Greek tragedy at the Gate, Tennessee Williams at the Young Vic, panto at the Lyric Hammersmith, and a touring Dickens dramatisation.

Describing each of these rehearsal periods from first concept to first night in revealing and often remarkable detail, Hope gets under the skin of the professional director, and reveals the decisions they must make on a daily basis: How best to arrive at a concept and communicate this to a design team? Which games and exercises really help to unlock the text for actors? And what should you do if everything is falling apart during the tech?

Getting Directions will equip emerging directors with a practical handbook, not bogged down with theories or precepts, that lifts the lid on what it means to be a director. The result is both a portrait and a masterclass from a generation of theatre practitioners, essential reading for anyone who wants to follow in their footsteps, or to understand what directing really entails.

'An incisive kaleidoscope of rehearsal-room practice which is a useful tool for directors to borrow from and a fascinating insight for the curious.' Dominic Cooke, from his Foreword

'Those wanting to direct would do well to read Russ Hope's Getting Directions... a detailed account of what happens in rehearsal rooms'

— The Stage

'A useful weapon in the armoury of any aspiring director and of great interest to anyone who would like to know more about what goes on in the rehearsal rooms in the modern theatre'

— British Theatre Guide

'Vital reading for anyone working or wanting to work as a director'

— ThePublicReviews.com

By: Russ Hope
Foreword by: Dominic Cooke
Imprint: Nick Hern Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 334g
ISBN: 9781848421820
ISBN 10: 1848421826
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 16 August 2012
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Russ Hope is an author and theatre director. He was born in London in 1983 and studied at the University of Warwick. His work as a theatre director includes Brooklyn (Cock Tavern Theatre), The Last Five Years (Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue), Wired and Finishing the Hat (King's Head Theatre), Knickerbocker Glories (Union Theatre, Southwark), Lucky Nurse and other short musical plays and The Fix (Edinburgh Festival) and Square-Eyed (Etcetera Theatre Club). Dominic Cooke is an acclaimed theatre director who was Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre 2006-13. He is the author of plays including Arabian Nights and an adaptation of Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses. He was awarded a CBE in 2014 for services to drama.

Reviews for Getting Directions: A Fly-on-the-Wall Guide for Emerging Theatre Directors

'Those wanting to direct would do well to read Russ Hope's Getting Directions... a detailed account of what happens in rehearsal rooms' * The Stage * 'A useful weapon in the armoury of any aspiring director and of great interest to anyone who would like to know more about what goes on in the rehearsal rooms in the modern theatre' * British Theatre Guide * 'Vital reading for anyone working or wanting to work as a director' * ThePublicReviews.com *