Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair [Hardcover]

Frank Hauser (Author), Russell Reich (Author)

Book Description

Series: Notes On | Publication Date: February 15, 2003

The classic guidebook to the director's craft.

After 50 years in the theatre, English director Frank Hauser joins New York writer and director Russell Reich to bring you an inspirational and practical guide that critics are calling "provocative," "lucid," and "indispensable." Luminaries like Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Richard Eyre, Edward Albee, Moises Kaufman, Rosemary Harris, and Jerry Zaks have hailed "Notes on Directing" as "witty," "bold," "audacious," and "an instant classic."

More than a how-to book, this is a tool for directors looking to translate the page to the stage – or to the screen – and is of immense value to actors, playwrights, students, and teachers. Essential for any student of film or theatre, here is what all directors need to know, and what every actor, scriptwriter, and audience member wants them to know. Includes four appendices, an original acting exercise, a recommended reading list, and an index.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...filled with smart, useful, thoughtful advice... I learned a lot from this remarkably straightforward book... it is invaluable." -- Director Mark Lamos, Former Artistic Director, Hartford Stage

"BEST PERFORMING ARTS BOOK OF THE YEAR" 2004 Ippy Award -- Independent Publisher

"BOOK OF THE YEAR" 2003 Silver Award -- ForeWord Magazine

"Frank Hauser's...wise and pithy observations on acting and rehearsing don’t age, reminding me how much I learned from him." -- Sir Ian McKellen

"OUTSTANDING BOOK ON THEATRE OR LIVE PERFORMANCE" 2003 George Freedley Award Finalist -- Theatre Library Association

"This book is so sensible, complete, and 'right,' that somebody might think it was not serious. They would be wrong." -- Pulitzer Prize Winner Edward Albee

"…if you need a practical manual of the craft, this book should be by your side." -- Sir Richard Eyre, Former Artistic Director, Britain’s Royal National Theatre

A highly useful, insightful, thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking look at the directing process. Essential for all performing arts collections. -- Library Journal, April 1, 2003, in a starred review

Clear, straightforward, dryly funny. Deserves to earn at least a million dollars, if not a Nobel Peace Prize. -- The Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2004

Like sitting down for sherry with a wicked and droll Oxford don...full of surprising interests and quirky delights. -- American Theatre magazine, October, 2003

From the Inside Flap

In 1987, British Director Frank Hauser quietly handed twelve pages of typewritten notes to his apprentice, American Russell Reich. The notes—gathered over a long career and polished to a sharp edge—documented the teachings and directions that Hauser shared privately with a host of theatrical and cinematic figures, including Sir Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Judi Dench, Kevin Spacey, and many others who called Hauser their director, mentor, teacher, or boss.

Now, the former student has expanded and enhanced his mentor's private notes into a book-length format suitable for anyone searching for the timeless gems of the director's craft. Drawing on years of training, decades of experience, and the distilled wisdom of leading practitioners, "Notes on Directing" is filled with enduring good advice expressed in assertive, no-nonsense language. More than a "how-to," this is a tool for directors looking to better translate the page to the stage -- or to the screen. With one hundred and thirty directives supported with explanatory commentary, helpful examples, and rare quotes, this deceptively slim volume has the impact of a privileged apprenticeship to a great master.

Whether you are a student or a professional, a playgoer, moviegoer, or enthusiast, Notes on Directing provides a thrilling glimpse into the hidden process of creating a live, shared experience.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: RCR Creative Press; 1 edition (February 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972425500
• ISBN-13: 978-0972425506
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful for theater directors at all levels of experience, June 13, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Leadership Advisor . . ., October 10, 2003

By 

E. Bittz (Metro Detroit, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Destined to become the new standard on this subject!, August 3, 2003

By 

Jeffrey Haddow (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair (Hardcover)

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.