Anne Bogart a director prepares “embarrassment”
Anne Bogart’s “a director prepares” contains seven essays regarding art and theater. After reading number six titled “embarrassment”, several topics mentioned resonated with me as a theater maker. The biggest one I constantly grab onto is “You cannot create results; you can only create the conditions in which something might happen”. Getting too caught up in dictating what to do in a rehearsal room could potentially hurt the outcome. Bogart goes on to explain that it’s not the directors job to say and create the final product but to provide the background, details, insights, environment, etc. to create the final outcome. If the director provides what is the most useful then the outcome the director envisioned will happen naturally without having to tell the room. I believe that this is the most efficient way of getting the most natural responses from actors which nine times out of ten is the best choices when creating work. Which is why I’m always so drawn to this section of this essay.
Anne Bogart pictured to the left.
