SO YOU WANT TO BE A THEATRE DIRECTOR

by Stephen Unwin

A hands-on, step-by-step guide to directing plays – by one of Britain's leading theatre directors.

Stephen Unwin has worked with hundreds of different actors in a multiplicity of different venues. He is the ideal author of a 'how to' guide to directing.

As Unwin himself says: 'Directing plays is difficult. The aim of this book is to lay out what skills are needed, and to give some sense of how you might develop them. The emphasis is on the professional theatre, but the book is useful for directors in other contexts - amateur dramatics, university drama, school plays and so on. Directing is directing, wherever you do it.'

Starting at the very beginning, Unwin takes us step by step through:
* Choosing the play
* Casting
* Design
* Rehearsal - Establishing Facts, Improvisation, Language, Character, Blocking, Using Specialists and so on
* Running the Play
* Putting it on the Stage
* Opening Night

'So You Want to be a Theatre Director does exactly what it says on the cover. It is aimed primarily at the young would-be professional theatre director, though much of it will also be of interest to those working in the amateur sphere. The writing is clear and direct; the chapters are divided into conveniently headed sections... His [Unwin's] book is filled with wise insights. Any budding director who reads it will learn much about the pitfalls and challenges he or she is likely to face but will also, I'm sure, catch some of Unwin's enthusiasm for what he describes as being, at times, 'the best job you can imagine'' Around the Globe

Stephen Unwin is Artistic Director of the Rose Theatre, Kingston. He founded English Touring Theatre in 1993, after a career as a freelance theatre director, which included work at the National Theatre, the Royal Court and the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. For English Touring Theatre he directed over 20 plays including Shakespeare (Alan Cumming in Hamlet, Timothy West in King Lear), Chekhov (Prunella Scales in The Cherry Orchard) and Ibsen (Diana Quick in Ghosts).

• ISBN13 9781854597793

Stage Whispers Books Rewards: Buy one book and receive three e-editions. Buy three and receive three print and e-editions. Buy five or more and receive a one year print and electronic subscription. Buy eight or more and receive a two year print and electronic subscription. See details of our latest issue here.