Foreword

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There is a common belief that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become a master of anything. Why is it then that so many training programs spend most of their semester discussing theory and limiting workshop experience to practice mastery? In David Mammet’s book on acting True and False he says “knowing the history of boxing does not make you a better boxer. Just like knowing the history of acting won't make you a better actor. If you want to get better, get in the ring and box.” While this statement is insensitive to artists who have dedicated their lives to the study of their craft, there is a lot of truth to the statement. Directing, writing, acting, design and all forms of theatre require experience and application for improvement.

When you begin this process you are going to be bad. This is not a negative thing. Everyone starts off being bad at the beginning, the true key is learning from your failures and possessing a drive to get better. In the arts you have to do your best work and then put it in front of an audience and see if your ideas succeed. Often they will not but that does not mean that the idea was wrong, it might just be missing an element. The only way to learn is by doing and if you have a mindset that is based on improvement you will never fail, only learn. In the process of doing you will learn staging and story principles, how to work and communicate with people, and hopefully what works or does not work by watching the art of your peers.

I am not saying that you should not learn performance theories and history. Talking about theory is most helpful once you have developed your process and are looking to expand your understanding of the art. It also helps if you know why something works rather than just the fact that it works.

There are many necessary skills you will need regardless of the show in order to successfully complete a project. There are many books and approaches to directing, every director has a unique, beautiful, and effective approach to producing a production. Yet many textbooks about directing are theoretical rather than practical and spend most of their time teaching you how to approach a project rather than actually staging it. This is a tremendous problem for many new director’s since they are often hired or placed in that position with little to no experience and have to ‘fake’ their way through the process of mounting their first few productions.

Staging a production is stressful and nothing can fully prepare you for it. Nothing ever goes according to plan and you often find yourself barely staying above the obstacles you encounter and often test your patience to its breaking point. Staging a production is the largest and most daunting of tasks for young or new directors and this book is designed to give you the tools you need to begin developing your own process.

If you are reading this you are a collaborative partner interested in creating stories that entertain your community and inspire positive change. I have directed over one hundred productions to date and still learn or relearn lessons every show. In addition I teach multiple courses on directing each year and needed a helpful guide that would not increase the financial burden on those wishing to pursue a life in the arts. The life of the artist is already hard enough and buying additional texts takes away from the tight budgets most artists and students are forced to live under. Many of the lessons in this book are stolen from all of the amazing directors, writers, teachers, and artists I have had the pleasure of working with and are compiled so that upcoming artists can carry that knowledge into the future.

Please view this book as a source of knowledge but know that every director you meet both good and bad you will learn from. Your journey is never over and the goal of any artist should be to take the lessons of the past, learn from your own experience, and transform your understanding into a unique approach that will change the future of the artform. This is my gift to you as you are the future. Best of luck on your journey.

Sincerely,

Nick Garcia