A GUIDE TO

DIRECTING THE SCHOOL SHOW

This 33 page Guide has four chapters.

(From Chapter 1)

The moment you ask people to pay good money to watch what you are doing, you have, I firmly believe, to give them the best value for that money that you can, and you mustn't be satisfied with that so damning comment, "Well, they are just kids, of course". I want the audience to forget that they're watching kids!

And that isn't a pipe dream. It can happen. The most satisfying moment of all, as far as I am concerned, was when, at the end of a show many years ago, a relative of a kid in the play just sat in his seat and said, "I only came because the wife said I had to because our X was in it. I still can't believe they're school kids." That's the reaction to aim for, and if you get it just once in your career, you'll feel wonderful!

You might even think that sounds selfish, but it isn't really. If you drive, bully, cajole the kids to aim for that kind of level, then even if they don't make it, they'll still achieve a standard well above that of the average school production. When we did Godspell, a reporter from the local paper came to review it, and set out a list of those things for which school productions are famous (or, rather, infamous), such as giving sly waves to mam and dad in the audience and so on. She went on to say, with what seemed like genuine surprise, that there was no sign of any of them in our show!

The thing is, kids, if they are really inspired by what they are doing, will work their socks off to achieve what you expect of them. Set your sights low, and you'll get what you ask for; set them high and your kids will bust a gut to try to meet your expectations.

And it all starts with the play. Choose a play which is written down for kids and you're on a hiding to nothing. But choose one which will make real demands on them and they will respond - and surprise you. Even now, after following this philosophy for over twenty years, I still find myself surprised by what they are capable of achieving.

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And please, please, please! avoid those plays which are sold on the basis of their "relevance": they might be good, but they might also be a load of rubbish. You may have thought, in the last paragraph, that my illustration of talking down to kids was a bit old-fashioned, rather Joyce Grenfell. You're probably right, but people like that still exist in our schools (I know a couple!). Their modern equivalent, however, is the relevance-monger. You know the sort I mean:

This exciting new play by Fred Bloggs explores the temptation to vandalism which all teenagers face and shows how Joe, a new Y10 pupil at Mucktown Comprehensive, is nearly dragged into crime by a gang of......, and so on!

What a bloody insult to the kids! Pander to the fascination with low-life that all kids have, and preach a good old-fashioned moral at the same time! They might even try to give it a veneer of literary respectability by calling it a "modern, teenage morality play"!

(From Chapter 2)
By the way, don't fall into the trap that many amateur (including school) directors do, of thinking of the moves set during the blocking rehearsals as sacrosanct. They're not: they are the basis on which you build, nothing more. When we move in real life, whether in relation to other people or when we are alone, we are prompted to do so for a reason, either because of something external (the movement of other people, for instance) or something internal (an emotion, perhaps). Once the actors begin to build their characters and relationships, it is inevitable that moves will need to be changed. I always find, too, that, no matter how careful you are in trying to reproduce what the stage will look like when you're working on a rehearsal room floor, things won't look the same once you get on the stage, so you'll almost certainly have to change quite a number of moves. One of the reasons for the stilted look of many school or other amateur productions is a too-close adherence to the preconceived notions of the director which fail to work when the characters develop or the play transfers from the floor to the stage.

(From Chapter 3)
It is worth mentioning at this stage that, as in every aspect of teaching, those who look for popularity will not find it, and they'll make a mess of the production too. Don't be afraid to work your cast very hard. Yes, they'll complain, but they'll do so for form's sake: after all, you're a teacher and they're pupils, so they've got to put up a fight. It's the nature of the beast! It's a problem you'll only have the first time: after that they'll be used to it, and when newcomers complain they'll be put in their place by the old hands!

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The worst directors share one common fault - a contempt for their actors. They would never admit it, of course. In fact, they probably don't realise that they feel that way, but what else can you call it when the director treats his actors as pieces on a chessboard, telling them their characters, the tones of voice to use, their moves - everything? In my time as an amateur actor I worked with one or two like this and hated it: you were afraid even to mention that a move felt uncomfortable, let alone ask to change it! The best directors, however, encourage their actors to bring their interpretation to the part so that what finally emerges is a real fusion of everyone's ideas, but a fusion which follows the director's guidelines.

(From Chapter 4)
Occasionally I have heard a teacher (even a director) telling a kid to "put some expression into it". What a singularly unhelpful instruction! It's the surest way to get a performance which screams aloud "I am reading this with expression in my voice"! Unfortunately this "expression" usually has nothing to do with the meaning of what is being read: it's just a variation in tone for the sake of variation.

Always start with the meaning.

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