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Play Director's Survival Kit: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Producing Theater in Any School or Community Setting (J-B Ed: Survival Guides)
 
 
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Play Director's Survival Kit: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Producing Theater in Any School or Community Setting (J-B Ed: Survival Guides) (Paperback)

by James W. Rodgers (Author), Wanda C. Rodgers (Author) "Almost everyone has heard of the term director, but surprisingly few people know exactly what stage directors do..." (more)
Key Phrases: polishing rehearsals, dry tech, wet tech, New York, Act Two, Lady Bracknell (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
List Price: $29.95
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Frequently Bought Together

Play Director's Survival Kit: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Producing Theater in Any School or Community Setting (J-B Ed: Survival Guides) + Technical Theater for Nontechnical People + The Perfect Stage Crew: The Compleat Technical Guide for High School, College, and Community Theater
Price For All Three: $46.91

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This expansive guide covers the where, when, and how for every step of school play production, including play selection and adaptation, auditions, casting and dealing with disappointed students, budgeting, coaching actors, setting up a production team, rehearsals, publicity, and promotion.

From the Back Cover
For new and veteran play directors, here is a comprehensive guide to producing student theater packed with tested tips, timesavers and problem-solvers gleaned form the authors' experience in directing over 120 full-length plays or musical!

Step by step, the Kit takes you through every phase of play selection and production in six sections. Each section is complete with ready-to-use checklists, diagrams, and samples. And, as an added enhancement, each carries a subtitle that's also a song title form a musical and includes interesting facts about its Broadway opening, original cast, and number of performances.

The following identifies the six sections of the Kit along with some of the specific topics and reproducible aids included in each major part:

PROLOGUE: What kind of help can you expect from this resource

ACT ONE: PLAY SELECTION — Your role as play director ... Getting started ... A Director's Checklist of Responsibilities ... Production options ... Stage Manager's Checklist for Touring Productions ... How to select the right play

ACT TWO: PRE-PRODUCTION CONSIDERATIONS — How to unravel a play's meaning ... How to lay out a rehearsal schedule ... Layout for a Typical Rehearsal Schedule ... What you need to know about stage properties, lighting, sound and special effects, costumes and makeup ... Property Inventory List ... Director's Costume Notes ... How to conduct auditions ... Sample of Audition Form ... Layout Form for Call Backs ... How to make intelligent casting decisions ... Sample of Cast Announcement

ACT THREE: REHEARSALS & PERFORMANCES — How to get the most out of rehearsals ... Standard Set of Warm-up Exercises ... How to help actors develop character ... Working with actors ... How to direct period plays ... A Selected List of Standard Period Pieces ... How to direct your first musical ... Where to Obtain the Rights for Musicals ... How to run a smooth productions ... Backstage Etiquette

ACT FOUR: AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT — What you need to know about tickets ... A Box Office Checklist ... How to sell your production ... Preparing posters, press releases, and programs ... Checklist for Program Copy ... Sample Program layouts ... What you need to know about audiences

EPILOGUE: DIRECTORY — Acting/Directing Terms ... Odd Names for Technical Terms ... Stages of Production Process ... A List of Theatrical Forms ... List of Contemporary Play for Beginning Directors ... Players in Commercial Theater Organization ... A Selected Reading List for Beginning Directors

Included are over 55 full-page checklists, diagrams, forms, fact sheets, samples and other aids you can use as is or easily adapt to your particular needs. And all material is printed in a handy 8 ¼" x 11" format for easy photocopying!

Whether you're directing a first play or your25th, at the planning stage or in the midst of the production process, you'll find PLAY DIRECTOR'S SURVIVAL KIT invaluable. It will not only relieve you of some of the stress in producing a play but, at he same time, give you greater confidence and enjoyment in your theatrical endeavors.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Jossey-Bass (November 6, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0876285655
  • ISBN-13: 978-0876285657
  • Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,226 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #26 in  Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater > Direction & Production
    #54 in  Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater > Stagecraft

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Almost everyone has heard of the term director, but surprisingly few people know exactly what stage directors do. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
polishing rehearsals, dry tech, wet tech, tech week, blocking rehearsals, working rehearsals, rehearsal process, beginning directors, first dress rehearsal, rehearsal schedule, theater organizations, open auditions, lighting instruments, audition process, technical rehearsals, house manager
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Act Two, Lady Bracknell, The Importance of Being Earnest, Miss Prism, Technical Director, Act One, Dry Tech, Music Director, University of Kentucky, Wet Tech, French Scenes, Canon Chasuble, Stephen Sondheim, Oscar Wilde, Production Coordinator, Samuel French, Charley's Aunt, Miss Fairfax, Scenery Design, Michael Stewart, Russell Jones, Charles Strouse, Memorial Building, Oscar Hammerstein
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Citations (learn more)
This book cites 87 books:
See all 87 books this book cites

Books on Related Topics (learn more)
 
The Ballet Companion by Eliza Gaynor Minden
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Play Director's Survival Kit: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Producing Theater in Any School or Community Setting (J-B Ed: Survival Guides)
72% buy the item featured on this page:
Play Director's Survival Kit: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Producing Theater in Any School or Community Setting (J-B Ed: Survival Guides) 4.2 out of 5 stars (8)
$19.77
Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair
9% buy
Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair 5.0 out of 5 stars (9)
$10.20
Thinking Like a Director: A Practical Handbook
6% buy
Thinking Like a Director: A Practical Handbook 4.2 out of 5 stars (5)
$10.88
The Director's Eye: A Comprehensive Textbook for Directors and Actors
6% buy
The Director's Eye: A Comprehensive Textbook for Directors and Actors 5.0 out of 5 stars (5)
$16.47
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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 (5)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the unorganized or inexperienced director, March 18, 2000
By Dan-Ski (New England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Play Director's Survival Kit: A Complete Step-By-Step Guide to Producing Theater in Any School or Community Setting (Spiral-bound)
Survival Kit is the perfect name for this book. The Play Director's Survival Kit has been in great demand no matter what community or regional theater I've worked in. Everyone is borrowing it. Time to buy your own kit. The kit is perfect for the person who may be slightly unorganized (as creative people can be) and will take you through step by step to get your production to a successful conclusion. It's hard to forget anything when you have this kit by your side. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is directing for the first time or who has found that they are not quite as organized as they thought.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Everything a director needs to know gathered in one place., May 14, 2001
By A Customer
I discovered this book through a fellow theatre professor and was immediately impressed with its scope of information. So impressed, in fact, that I'm planning to adopt it as the textbook for an advanced directing course I teach that culminates with the production of a one-act play.

The authors have covered everything a director needs to know, from selecting the play through rehearsals, peformances,and marketing. This book would be especially helpful for high school/community theatre directors, or those in similar situations where the director is expected to assume some of the responsibilites usually handled by a producer. (The sample forms are especially good for these organizations.)

Although not a substitute for a more thorough book on the pure basics of directing (blocking, composition, etc.), this is an excellent supplement that reviews those basics and enhances them with elements that often aren't covered in directing classes but are faced in production (putting together program copy, for example). Although I've been directing professionally for over 12 years, I immediately ordered a copy for myself after examining it.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I wish...., July 8, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Play Director's Survival Kit: A Complete Step-By-Step Guide to Producing Theater in Any School or Community Setting (Spiral-bound)
I wish someone had recommended this book before I directed half a dozen musicals and learned its contents the hard way...trial and error. While the information is largely common sense, the organization saves the time of having to figure it out yourself. I recommend it highly...especially for school and community theatre.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good to buy
This book is a good buy and actually gives you sample forms. The only thing it lacks is a fundraising guidance and that's really important in the formation of a good community... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Tracy M. Carson

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy with the book
Very nelpful in organizing a sucessful play. Eliminates or reduces the 'fine art of forgetting something'.
Published on November 3, 2006 by Christy Benjamin-forkenbrock

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!
This book is very practical and easy to understand. Parts might be a little basic, but they're definitely helpful. Read more
Published on October 19, 2006 by B. Winston Sims

4.0 out of 5 stars THE CHECKLISTS ARE WORTH THE PRICE ALONE
While I didn't actually get any practicle directing techniques from this kit, I wasn't actually looking for any either. Read more
Published on December 3, 2000 by Kevin Brunck

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of money
It's really a book for amateurs. Most of the tips you can find out yourselves by a little logical thinking.
Published on April 26, 1999

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