Notes on Directing

By Russell Reich and Frank Hauser

Book Overview

Five years ago, Frank Hauser, then a retired freelance director, and writer Russell Reich, his former student, self-published Notes on Directing in hardcover. It was immediately acclaimed as "a gem-witty and full of insight;" "so sensible, so complete, and so right;" and "amazingly illuminating" by the likes of Judi Dench, Edward Albee, and Terry Teachout. Gathered over Hauser's long career, and polished to a sharp edge by Reich, the 130 "Notes" address a wide range of topics, from "understanding the script" and "defining the director's role" to casting, how to handle a first read-through of a script, rules for rehearsal, how to talk to actors, how to get a laugh, and the key elements of staging. Filled with enduring good advice expressed in assertive, no-nonsense language, and supported with explanatory commentary, insightful quotes and examples, and five valuable appendices, this deceptively slim book has the impact of a privileged apprenticeship to a great master, providing deep insight into the hidden process of creating a live, shared experience. It can be appreciated by everyone from the student aspiring to a directing career to the professional looking for new ideas to the theater-lover wanting insight into the creative process. Indeed, Notes on Directing offers life lessons to all who read it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080271708X
• ISBN13: 9780802717085
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Walker & Company
• Length: 127 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

For would-be directors: a MUST

If you seek to be a director, you must have NOTES ON DIRECTING: it looks small but it packs in notes gathered by British director Frank Hauser for his apprentice - notes which came from a long career in the industry. Hauser shared these with many famous theatrical and cinematic figures from Richard Burton to Sir Alec Guinness: now the former student expands upon his mentor's private notes to provide a book-length treatise appropriate for any student of directing. Chapters are packed with advice, explanations, quotes, examples, and insights into the director's role: a 'must' for any who would assume such a mantle.

priceless...

This book is a MUST for all involved in the theatre.It's a quick read & an excellent sorcebook- VERY well organized. If you want more of a textbook on directing, go with Catron's The Director's Vision. But this book (Notes on Directing) is GREAT to have on hand during the process.

The Leadership Advisor . . .

We are presented with an artful, intelligent, and incisive opening of the doors to the art of Directing a dramatic production from a very real human level. Author Russell Reich received wisdom from teacher/mentor Frank Hauser(CBE)in the casual hand-off of several pages of loose notes accumulated over the years of Hauser's teaching on two continents and directing many of the true greats in British theater. With deep and careful further observation of this directing great, Reich recognized further significant attributes of Hauser's approach.Adding his own turns, gentle humor, appreciation of people, and insistence upon quality in presentation of dramatic works, Reich has created a manual for presenting drama for public view in what may well be a no-fail approach. All of this is accomplished without infringement upon the ability and need of a director to create the presentation which is clearly his or her own. More is always available to be gained with each successive reading and practice with this guiding gem.Kudos to Hauser for his clear accomplishments over many years and generations of theater; and to Reich for bringing the methods for those accomplishments to a reachable level for the lover of performance arts through incorporation of his own insights and wisdom.

Destined to become the new standard on this subject!

Anyone who has savored the concise, witty, practical wisdom of the classic -- Acting: The First Six Lessons by Richard Boleslavski -- will love this clever, useful book on directing. Not involved in the theatre? Never mind. This is a highly entertaining and eye-opening guide to the art of managing and leading people in any field. Try it, you'll like it.

Useful for theater directors at all levels of experience

Notes On Directing is a collection of wisdom gathered by Frank Hauser (Director of the Oxford Playhouse for sixteen years) and Russell Reich (Artistic Associate at the Circle Repertory Company, New York) over a lengthy directing careers. Hauser and Reich offer invaluable tips on how directors can help their actors better get into character, internalizing a script, performing their roles efficiently (without micromanaging), and a great deal more. Each individual tip is straightforwardly and usefully presented. Useful for theater directors at all levels of experience and expertise, Notes On Directing is especially recommended for the novice director in school and community productions as an easy-to-grasp supplementary instructional and reference resource.