Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
#1Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:10pm
What are your thoughts on this, particularly when it comes to local versus professional productions?
Because I know, at least, in my hometown directors cast themselves in their own productions quite frequently. It's frustrating to me as an auditioning actor- but do they have the right to do this? Or is it generally frowned upon by the theatre community? And can it be done successfully?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
#2Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:14pm
There have been many, many theater productions and films for that matter that have had a director actually star or co-star. Yes it's been done successfully and yes they have a right to do it as long as it's been agreed upon with the producers/creators of the piece or if the director *is* also the producer/creator of the piece.
If the latter is the case then the director can do whatever the hell he wants.
Updated On: 12/16/14 at 04:14 PM
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#2Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:15pm
Of course rse they have the right. It's their show. Is it frowned upon? By whom?
It's no different than Community theaters that cast the same buddies in every show.
Is it wise? Not usually.
#3Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:16pmLet's say I'm directing a local production of Nine and I cast myself as Claudia. If you were a woman who nailed "Unusual Way" at your audition and wound up in the ensemble, would you feel slighted? I guess that's part of what I'm trying to figure out.
#4Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:19pmI did a small workshop of a show here in NYC many years ago. Was acting in it and the playwright was the director (and way over his head). I offered to take over the directing duty cause he really wasn't able to pull it off, and it went well. A producer agreed to put the show up in L.A. and insisted I stay as actor-director. Though a lovely stroke of my ego, I would have preferred doing one or the other. It was TOUGH. And something I'd never do again.
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#5Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:21pmWell there's a difference between casting a show and thinking you would be best for the role, and casting a show knowing that you are going to be the role. I think that it would be unfair to refuse to see anybody else for the role, and it is a better idea to care about the show most.
#6Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:23pm
If you were a woman who nailed "Unusual Way" at your audition and wound up in the ensemble, would you feel slighted?
There are no small roles, only small actors.
#7Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:25pmYes, tazber, I realized that after I posted it. I should have said "not cast at all" instead of cast in the ensemble. Sorry!
#8Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:25pmNailed "Unusual Way" in a Nicole Kidman way or Shelly Burch way? There *is* a difference.
#9Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 5:24pm
A director needs to a have a wide perspective of the whole show, which can be tough when you are in the scene. I also think that it has potential to get kind of toxic to be sharing a scene with someone and also be directing them. It might create a kind of unbalance when rehearsing the scene.
Having said that, if a director/actor feels up to it, and is professional about it, it can definitely be pulled off effectively. As for the "moral" question, I think when you get to it, that's just show business for you. People cast people they know, and sometimes they cast themselves. It can be a problem if the director is not right for the role, but again, that's "the biz" for ya. If nailed "Unusual Way" and they cast the director instead of you, and least you know it wasn't your problem.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#10Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 6:05pm
Nailed it -- by whose determination? You can sing the hell out of something and still not be right for the part
There is never anything fair about casting.
#11Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 6:19pmMy favorite example of this gone horribly wrong was this director who cast herself as Kim in Miss Saigon. She was pushing 35 at the time. Not very applicable for a character who is supposed to be 17. THAT bugged me.
#12Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 6:26pm
If the director wanted to play a certain role from the very beginning, he/she should have spread the news that, that role wasn't up for grabs.
I'm directing and playing the Baker in Into the Woods right now. I made it known that the Baker and a few other roles had already been filled and there weren't going to be auditions for them.
#13Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/16/14 at 10:16pm
There have been some famous success stories (Anthony Newley musicals), but I agree with JBroadway that it's generally a bad idea.
One of the reasons I stopped acting and started directing in my late teens was that I realized that even while on stage, my mind's eye saw the entire production, not the viewpoint of my character.
Acting and directing are simply different points of view.
#14Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/17/14 at 1:56am
^And that my friends, is why I'm a director.
Once, I was directing a Christmas sketch and could not find another guy to do it to save my life, so I cast myself. Another time, the actor dropped out and I had to fill in. It's totally doable, but really stressful and should really only be done as a last resort. Just my two cents.
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#15Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/17/14 at 7:02am
Again, as has been previously stated, and to offer a slight spin...
Casting is never fair, casting is ALWAYS subjective. There is no "best" for a role. There is right for a role, there is wrong for a role. There is right for a production / ensemble, there is wrong for a production / ensemble. The idea is to cast the person who is right for the role AND the production / ensemble.
As far as perspective, yes... a director has to have one POV, the actor a completely different POV. Some people are capable of having one and understanding the other. Some people can have one and no understanding of how to formulate the other. A lucky few can operate with both, and even fewer can maintain both in the same production. It really depends upon the person. Sme people can manage both incredibly well, as a general rule.. For some people, they may be able to do it, but only for one particular show.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a director casting themselves in a production. The same standard applies to to them as to casting anyone else... Serve the show. And, I would assume and hope, the director would be far more strict and hold themselves to higher standard than anyone else on stage because they want the company to see that it is not merely an act of vanity.
#16Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/17/14 at 11:41am
It also should be said that different shows and different roles can lend themselves more or less to a Director/Actor. David Cromer as the Stage Manager in OUR TOWN leaps to mind. I don't offhand know of any productions that have done the following, but I also think Vice Principal Panch in SPELLING BEE lends himself to an Actor/Director very easily.
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#17Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/17/14 at 11:49am
"Let's say I'm directing a local production of Nine and I cast myself as Claudia. If you were a woman who nailed "Unusual Way" at your audition and wound up in the ensemble, would you feel slighted? I guess that's part of what I'm trying to figure out."
Sure, particularly if the director isn't delivering in the role. And the same if the person not delivering what I did as Claudia wasn't the director, but the director's friend, or a perennial favorite in the company, or, for that matter Nicole Kidman!
But that's show business.
#18Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/17/14 at 12:06pmOrson Welles seemed to handle it well on a few occasions . . .
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#19Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/17/14 at 1:20pm
Indeed. Also Chaplin, Keaton, Olivier, Truffaut, Allen, Branagh, Brooks, Rock...
Updated On: 12/17/14 at 01:20 PM
#20Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/17/14 at 6:44pm
Cute reply, Henrik. I guess I feel that way when anyone gets the role I wanted, indeed!
Icecreambenjamin, it's funny that you mentioned Into the Woods as the one you're doing. That was actually a show I had in mind when formulating this topic...
#21Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/17/14 at 11:33pm
Anyway, I've done this. It wasn't a smart move. I got away with it because it was a low-budget production of a one-act play where I was onstage the entire night, done with minimal technical demands. I also wrote the damn thing. It was...about as close to close to a mess as you can get without something actually being a mess. There's an inevitable loss of perspective which can very much damage a show, and your own performance. There are exceptions to the rule, but it's a bad idea.
Even though it's obvious, it bears noting that most of Henrik's examples are film directors, who have the benefit of playback on set, and with the exception of Welles and Olivier I don't think many of them directed themselves onstage. (Branagh has, but I think usually co-directing with someone else
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#22Opinions Wanted: Directing and performing in a show at the same time
Posted: 12/18/14 at 1:20pmSteven Berkoff has had success directing himself in his own plays.
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