The Director's Carft: A Handbook for the Theatre

by Katie Mitchell

Katie Mitchell has directed plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court, The Young Vic, and The Donmar Warehouse. Outside the UK she has directed at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Sweden, the Koln Schauspielhaus in Cologne and the Piccolo Theatre in Milan. Her opera work includes productions for Welsh National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and English National Opera. She has received two Time Out Awards and one Evening Standard Award for Best Director.

The Director’s Craft is a unique and completely indispensable step-by-step guide to directing for the stage.

Written by one of the most adventurous and respected directors working today, this book will be an essential item in every student and practitioner’s kitbag. It provides detailed assistance with each aspect of the varied challenges facing all theatre directors, and does so with startling clarity. It will inspire everyone, from the beginner just starting out to the experienced practitioner looking to reinvigorate their practice.

Katie Mitchell shares and explains the key practical tools she uses to approach her work with both actors, production teams, and the text itself. She addresses topics such as:

the ideas that underpin a play’s text
preparing improvizations
Twelve Golden Rules for working with actors
managing the transition from rehearsal room to theatre
analyzing your work after a run has ended.
Each chapter concludes with a summary of its critical points, making this an ideal reference work for both directors and actors at any stage of their development.

Genres: Theatre, Nonfiction, Drama, Film, Plays, Art, Grad School

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2008

Reviews

[Aaron Piccirillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

“And herein lies the heart of the craft: to immerse the actors in the situation, whilst making sure that what they do is constructed with the audience’s perspective in mind.”

wish i had read this while i was still in school because there is so much good information in here! i love katie mitchell’s work and it was interesting getting a deeper look into it and her process throughout the entirety of directing a show. would love an updated version of this because i know she’s moved away from being so research heavy in her work. definitely made me look at directing differently and was pretty inspiring. now katie PLEASEEEEEE release the proshot version of your 2016 national theatre production of cleansed i’m begging you!!!!!!

[Justen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I wish I'd read earlier in my directing career. Mitchell lays out a clear, relatable process that addresses directing today. Taking care to acknowledge that not every production has the resources of the National Theatre at its disposal, she refers to ways to cut back on the process and other adaptations to address a wider spectrum of budget and time. Some fantastic exercises you can pull out or a full process you can follow, I found her methods complementary to my own. I look forward to experimenting with adding some of her techniques, especially in the pre-production period, to my own work.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie Mitchell is a director with a deservedly big reputation for excellent work. This handbook is a well-crafted look at the craft of making theatre from the viewpoint of the director. It is practical and shows a clear eye for what is and what is not important in the process. It's an excellent book for students and all practitioners of making theatre.

[Hamlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

بالاخره تمام شد. من‌ این کتاب رو به عنوان کارگردان برای اجرایی مطالعه کردم که در زمان کوتاه باید به روی صحنه می‌رفت. برای همین بخش‌هایی از کار با متن رو حذف کردم. کتاب به معنای واقعی همان چیزی هست که عنوانش میگه، منش شما و آگاهی شما به عنوان کارگردان رو افزایش می‌ده نه تمرین دهی یا فوکوس کردن روی ساخت تمرین‌ها

[Steve]

Lots of good information and insights. Definitely written more for a very large and professional theater with many weeks of rehearsal and unlimited resources are at your disposal. But still some good tips to implement in any situation. A lot of this is also written with the assumption you are doing something realistic like Chekhov. I'm not sure all the character background stuff is worth that much time and energy for others styles of theater. All in all, interesting to read and think about.

[Víctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Com va dir Antonio Simón: "Leeros el libro de la Kaite Mitchell".

Antonio Simon Veryfied.

[Tom Colgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without the exclusivity and cost of the MFA Directing program that Katie Mitchell runs at Birkbeck, this book provides a really engaging insight into the process of one of the most respected directors in the UK today. Mitchell's writing is clear; irreverent yet powerful. She has essentially created a practical handbook for working as a theatre director, making it a useful resource for those at the very beginning of their careers who may want a framework to push against as they start out. I fall into this category myself, although I have to admit some of the details of Mitchell's process are implausible for an emerging theatremaker who operates with little-to-no budget and at small scale. What this book does exceptionally well is motivate the director to show up; I don't mean this facetiously, but I genuinely believe that the quality of specificity and curiosity with which Mitchell approaches each project is a valuable lesson in and of itself to directors. No stone is left unturned, no avenue unexplored. This is useful and sets a bar for the level of detail that directors need to look for to make work of quality.

Overall, this is a great guide to the art of directing. It left me empowered and curious about the work, inspired to create.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love Mitchell and her philosophy surrounding theatre making. A total inspiration to me, and most likely many future theatre practitioners. Her realism, and inspirations taken from Grotowski are what initially attracted me, and seeing her true dedication to naturalism but in a cruel light is incredible. I wish I could have seen some of her European directed plays.

The book is very comprehensible to digest, and excellent to those planning to direct a play, act in a performance, or take inspiration from Katie herself, though if I ever see any Chekov I may cry and curl up into a ball from seeing her reference The Seagull so much. Though, this is acceptable as it is her inspiration and reference play throughout this book.

[Maria Cullimore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly useful and comprehensive guide to directing. It is Katie Mitchell's honesty about work she has directed of lesser success that is particularly refreshing as the reader is encouraged to reclaim their own mistakes in the same way the author has done and put the experience to good use on the next job. Necessary reading for all would-be directors!

[Amanda Rafuse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike the pithy and short "Notes on Directing" (Hauser and Reich), Mitchell's book is a graduate course in how to lead a theater process (and is USED by theater education institutions). It is sometimes overwhelming and (to me) often unrealistic -- I think she must have 2 years and a massive travel budget for every process -- but Mitchell provides a very complete tool-belt for any director. Taking even a few of the tools and reminders she lays out as guideposts is so so helpful as I prepare for the start of a production and engage with production team members and actors. Then, of course, the process takes its own life, and I sort of have to "let go and let god" and trust the process and mystery.

One day it would be really fun to actually follow her entire process from start to finish. That would take a theater company and production team willing and able to invest the time and resources... anyone, anyone??

[Noah Kotzin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really like how specific Mitchell gets. She doesn't apologize for her style or try to pretend she's eclectic or whatever as a lot of these books do: she has a specific method and tells you how to do it. I don't always agree with her but this is the only book on the market that actually teaches a method of directing and doesn't just do philosophy or offer vague overtures as to how you direct.

The method Mitchell offers is definitely well-suited to traditional theatrical works, especially Chekhov; while she suggests that it can be used outside of that tradition (and Mitchell has in fact directed some work outside that tradition) she's pretty vague about how it can be adapted.

[Bree Glasbergen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actionable and helpful practical advice. My big take aways were:
- You set the tone of the relationship with your actors right from the first moment. (Usually auditions)
- Fostering a healthy environment of collaboration
- Let go of attachment to the outcome after dress rehearsal and trust your actors.
Well written for directors from beginners to seasoned professionals.

[Nicolas Lamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this is a very important book. It begins to demystify the art of directing via the perspective of a very thorough and prolific director.

This being said, I do have some personal gripes with the book’s advice that I’m attributing to lack of experience on my part, so I won’t get into those.

A must read for any director starting out.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prudent, practical, clearly written and inspiring. It's an exacting standard of preparation for directing, and could perhaps be a bit more specific of how to analyze/read work that actors do (leaving that mostly up to directors' own tastes) but as a groundwork for a craft, it is eye opening.

[Nathan Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thorough and precise explanation of the director's process. Great information on script analysis and some interesting ideas and suggestions on approaching rehearsals with actors. Some things I definitely want to explore the next time I direct a show. Well worth reading.

[Tom Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinatingly unregulated, also very unjustified, she does not explain why, she just says 'you have to do this'. Her work is proof that it does work, but doesn't at any point stop to explain the pathway of these methodologies.

[Charlie Froy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinatingly unregulated, also very unjustified, she does not explain why, she just says 'you have to do this'. Her work is proof that it does work, but doesn't at any point stop to explain the pathway of these methodologies.

[Eliot Fiend · Rating 4 out of 5]

very detailed, methodical approach to play analysis and directing. useful 'handbook' style for new directors.

[Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

best book on directing ever

[Büke Erkoç · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Katie Mitchell explains everything from the casting process until the opening night press talk 😲♥️

[Helia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take it as a 3.5
Basic, flowing, unmixed and easy to read and understand.

[Annie Kershaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie Mitchell is everything.

[Madii Ivanov · Rating 5 out of 5]

best directing book ever written

[Sherry Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative with examples

[Almaleh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

[Arlekino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greatest book to get you started on a bunch of tools to use as far as Stanislavski's method is concerned. Highly recommend to find yourself around analysis, rehearsals and production.

[ela begüm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drama GCSE got me reading some of the most didactic, rambling theses on directorial doctrine ever. I know this is probably useful and very instructive to future directors - Mitchell is an innovative director breathing new life into the dying body of naturalism. But....it's just so boring.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and linear description of the process the author uses and ways in which it can be applied to different situations. I will definitely be using it as a touchstone for future projects, not least because after each section within each chapter, there is a summary of the key points; having read it once, the key points are easily located and present reminders of the finer points of the process.

[Emily Ledger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for class.

[massmarketbareback · Rating 5 out of 5]

KATIE FUCKING MITCHELL!!!!! need i say more...