THE 10 RULES OF THE DIRECTOR #2

These are as follows:

1.  My rules apply on my stage.
2.  A director is always prepared.
3.  A director never leaves his stage.
4.  A director always pays back with interest.
5.  Promises are sacred.
6.  Instructions have consequences.
7.  The script always takes center stage.
8.  All actors are always free.
9.  Actors will ALWAYS complain when they are being directed. They are allowed to.
10.  An actor doesn’t have to agree with a direction. He must understand it.

Translating these rules into daily practice seems simple, but there’s a lot more to it. The consequence the director envisions is not always followed by the actor. Sometimes for good reasons, but usually not. The actor is a diva, with all the qualities, but also all the whims and quirks that characterize a diva.

At times when the implementation of the script limits the impulses that an actor follows (and they always do), it becomes difficult. The actor then suffers from their own opportunism, lack of self-discipline, laziness, vanity, or – and this is usually the case – fear of what is to come. I will elaborate on this later.

Next time, we’ll take a closer look at the first rule and see what it means for the daily interaction with numerous fellow actors.