The notes collected together in this volume were gathered over Frank Hauser's successful career as a theatre director. They document his teachings and his directions of such acting legends as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Sir Ian McKellen and Kevin Spacey. Russell Reich has combined Hauser's notes with explanatory commentary, insightful quotes and helpful examples to provide a unique apprenticeship. Perfect for students and professionals, theatregoers or just plain enthusiasts, Notes on Directing offers an illuminating and witty commentary on human interaction and a thrilling glimpse into the hidden process of creating live theatre.
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"'If you need a practical manual of the craft, this book should be by your side.' Sir Richard Eyre * 'This book is a gem - witty and full of insight... compulsory reading for every aspiring director.' Dame Judi Dench * 'So sensible, so straightforward, so complete and so "right".' Edward Albee"
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Endorsed by Sir Richard Eyre, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Judi Dench, Edward Albee, Marshall Mason, Moises Kaufman, Jerry Zaks, Robin Wagner, Mark Lamos, Rosemary Harris, and Rupert Graves
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
You'll be told, "Directing can't be told. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
You'll be told, "Directing can't be told. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Digital Kati
Format:Hardcover
- A book by a director whose experience has enabled him to speak with extraordinary clarity about an enterprise which can be extremely difficult to get right: theatre directing. This is beautifully distilled advice.
- Handbooks on directing can be densely written and/or obtuse; the good news is that this one isn't. Its advice is bite-sized, a bunch of notes to consider and apply in the rehearsal room, with room in the margins for your own annotations.
- It's handy, therefore, for the vast majority of theatre directors whose busy working lives are such that they don't have time to wade through complex texts. Read this one on the tube or on your coffee break. You can pick it up and put it down twenty times and still follow the plot. Because it's bite-sized, you remember the advice more clearly afterwards too.
- The main virtue of this book is that it steers clear of saying stuff that sounds cool but means very little in practice.
- Handbooks on directing can be densely written and/or obtuse; the good news is that this one isn't. Its advice is bite-sized, a bunch of notes to consider and apply in the rehearsal room, with room in the margins for your own annotations.
- It's handy, therefore, for the vast majority of theatre directors whose busy working lives are such that they don't have time to wade through complex texts. Read this one on the tube or on your coffee break. You can pick it up and put it down twenty times and still follow the plot. Because it's bite-sized, you remember the advice more clearly afterwards too.
- The main virtue of this book is that it steers clear of saying stuff that sounds cool but means very little in practice.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By happysad
Format:Hardcover
I had the pleasure some years ago of spending a day with the author, chaperoning him to and from a film set to visit one of his proteges. The few hours I spent with him were as insightful as anything I could compare them to - only there is little you can compare them to. The same goes for this book. I started my working life directing theatre before graduating to writing and directing film; Notes On Directing been an indispensible companion on that journey. There's very little that can be taught in drama - anything of any real value has to be learnt the hard way. That said, this book is the closest you'll get to a manual for the dramatist. Simple, concise, irreverent and witty, Frank Hauser's lifetime of experience and personal generosity has been distilled into something that for me is there to refer to in those moments of self-doubt or silence when you need a friend who gets it, who really knows what it's all about. A gentle had on the back and an occasional kick up the rear, Notes On Directing is exactly what it says it is, only the note-taker, alongside Alexander Mackendrick On Film-making and Nicolas Ray I Was Interrupted: Nicholas Ray on Making Movies(the only other teachers in this field worth listening to on the page, unlike say Mamet who is all mouth and absolutely no trousers), is a world-class director with a poet's economy and a philosopher's insight. There is no conceivable way you could regret buying this book.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By M. P. Roche
Format:Hardcover
From directors to actors, from producers to writers; this book provides an invaluable insight into the essetial, 'need-to-know' aspects of the world of theatre. I defy anybody not to read it and keep saying to themselves 'how true'. The author captures all those nuggets of knowledge and presents them in a format which can be read from cover to cover, or dipped into as the need arises. Be warned though ... pick it up and you may not be able to put it down!
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very accessible bite size chunks.
Being a writer of plays, never having directed but having always been interested in the process of direction, I purchased this on the strength of reading recommendations on... Read more
Published 2 months ago by GRASSY
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
A must for all. I was asked to direct some friends of mine in an amateur production. I was apprehensive at first, but after reading this, it was a doddle (not really, hard work)... Read more
Published 4 months ago by I. Ralph
3.0 out of 5 stars
Can we not just buy the first dozen pages?
Perhaps the best way to describe this book it to says the first quarter is excellent! However the second quarter began to 'scrape the barrel'. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Horace
4.0 out of 5 stars
Notes on directing
This book was purchased as a gift for my grandson who has aspirations of being a director in the future, he is too young as yet, but I always say you are never to young to learn. Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2010 by D. C. Bennett
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
I ordered this book to help me with my university directing project and I found it extremely helpful when preparing my script and rehearsals. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2010 by Jeanette Kendall
3.0 out of 5 stars
nuggets
Lots of small gems of information, very thought-provoking and insightful but sadly, not expanded upon enough. Read more
Published on 10 Dec 2009 by Mr. P. Forrester-o'neill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Self-Help for drectors!
This is probably the MOST amazing book on directing - at least that I have found.
The knowledge and advice is bitesize, and offers sparring and solid foundation to base your... Read more
The knowledge and advice is bitesize, and offers sparring and solid foundation to base your... Read more
Published on 25 May 2009 by Anne-marie Varberg
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic tips for directors
I'm part of a very prolific (20-odd shows a year) amateur theatre in London. This book has spread like wildfire among the people directing. Read more
Published on 30 July 2008 by Robert Callender
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