Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

If you direct, or plan to direct, buy this book!

The directorial wisdom in the book is presented in brief, powerful points that are well categorized. The directing books I have found tend to be tedious, dense, and self-important. Notes on Directing is a breath of fresh air--giving you just what you need.

One word of caution: while Notes on Directing is an essential and fabulous book, don't expect it to tell you how to be a director. This is a book to refer to after you have acquired basic foundational skills.

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.

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.

Notes on Directing is squarely aimed at theatre directors, but it's got some fantastic advice for anyone who works with stories or manages people. Also, the chapter on managing actors strikes me as perfect advice for managing employees, too. For example, when giving bad news, use AND instead of BUT:

Don't say, "Great delivery, BUT when you dip your head, your hat covers your face." Instead, say, "Great delivery, AND when you keep your hat up, we can see your face better."

A world of difference, there. It's a small book, but packed with good stuff. Highly recommended.

This is a terrific resource for directors and actors alike. Advice is clear, interesting and helpful. It's worth several readings

As an amature director this little book will be referred to over and over. The excellence of the master director speaks to the point and carries with it the weight of weathered experience.

If you are a new playwright, and wonder what a director does, or should be doing (if he/she is directing your play), this small book will tell you briefly and succinctly.

It begins at the beginning with the Script, then explains the Director's role, Casting, Rehearsal Rules, Talking to Actors, Building Blocks, Staging, etc. The authors do not embellish, nor are they verbose. The information presented is clear and direct. Most important, the format allows one to go immediately to the section most needed if necessary.

This book enlightens, makes one think, and is an invaluable learning resource.