Contents:
Part I - PREPRODUCTION
1 - Ten Steps for Picking the Right Play; What to Look for Before You Decide 2 - Finding the Right Play for You; How to Use Play Catalogues to Guide the Way 3 - Thirteen Reasons Not to Pick a Show; A Baker's Dozen of Common Traps 4 - Seven Reasons Not to Attempt the Classics; ...And All the Reasons Why We Should, Anyway, Dale Lyles 5 - How to Read a Script; Ten Ways to Judge Whether a Play is Right for You, Jim De Young 6 - Is It Legal to Change the Script? 7 - Photocopying Plays; Publishers Explain What's Legal and What Isn't
Part II - FIRST STEPS
8 - Getting It All Together; How to Work with Your Production Team 9 - Off to a Good Start; Set the Ground Rules Early-and Stick to Them 10 - Great Expectations; A Successful Opening Night Begins with the First Rehearsal, Nancianne Pfister 11 - Make Time Work for You; How to Keep on Top of things Throughout the Rehearsal Period 12 - Off Book, On Target; Offstage Readers During Rehearsal Get Actors Out of the Script and Into the Play, Sue Wurster
Part III - STAGING THE PLAY
13 - Using the Framing Device; Here's How to Bring the Action Full Circle 14 - The Case For Delayed Blocking; Sometimes a Different Approach Can Be Useful, Michael Kanter 15 - When to Block Out of Sequence; Flexibility Sometimes Is More Important Than Strict Order 16 - Ahead of the Crowd; How to Handle Large Groups on Stage
Part IV - ACTOR AND DIRECTOR
17 - A Matter of Style; How You Direct Depends on the Play and the Actors 18 - Play the Intention, Not the Line; Why the Script Is Only Twenty Percent of a Successful Performance 19 - Succeeding With Difficult Actors; Recognizing the Types Is Step One 20 - Working With Inexperienced Actors; It's Difficult, but Potentially Rewarding 21 - The Tortoise and the Hare; With Experienced Actors, Different Strokes for Different Folks 22 - Helping Them Be Heard; Projection Is a Special Challenge for Many Actors, Diane Crews 23 - Triumphing Over Mumblers; Practical Tips to Help Your Actors Project to the Last Row in the Theater, Sarah Anne Starr 24 - Past Tense; Advice and Exercises to Help Actors Rid Themselves of Nervousness, Sarah Anne Starr 25 - Avoiding Personality Conflicts; How to Keep the Communication Lines Open
Part V - GENERAL CONCERNS
27 - A Chemistry Lesson; Sometimes Being a Good Director Means Being a Good Manager 28 - Lighten Up; Seven Ideas for Boosting Morale 29 - Onstage and Backstage Behavior; Etiquette, Schmetiquette-It All Boils Down to One Thing 30 - Dealing With Bad Reviews; Helping Actors Deal with-and Learn from-Criticism
Part VI - DIRECTING THE MUSICAL
31 - Song and Dance; The Eight Basics of Directing the Musical 32 - Get a Move On; In Musicals, Pacing Is Key 33 - Step-Kick-Turn; How One Non-Choreographer Coped, Stephen Peithman 34 - Big Show, Small Cast; Turn a Challenge into an Advantage by Rethinking Your Artistic Concept, Scott Miller
Part VII - SPECIAL CHALLENGES
35 - Staying Focused Under Fire; Actors in a Controversial Play Need the Support of the Director 36 - You Want to Do a Play About What?; A Firsthand Experience in High School Theater, Jerome McDonough 37 - Hold For Laughter; Effective Comedy Needs Work to Seem Effortless, Nancianne Pfister 38 - Who's in Charge Here?; Codirecting Challenges Two Leaders to Share a Vision-Here's How to Make It Work, Nancianne Pfister 39 - When You're Asked to Take Over a Show; Take a Deep Breath and Plunge In-After You've Thought It Through 40 - The Student Director; Lead a Little, Lead a Lot-Which Works Best? 41 - Putting on the Dog; Canine Actors Can Be a Joy-If You Know How to Select and Direct Them, Mary Johnson 42 - Let the Good Crimes Roll; An Interactive Murder Mystery Requires Preparation and Planning, Lori Myers 43 - The Cutting Edge; The Pitfalls-and Secrets-of Editing a Script for Competition 44 - The Final Picture; How to Stage an Effective Curtain Call 45 - Did You Know?
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