Theater is a pervasive facet of the human experience that most people have been exposed to in one way or another. Whether one prefers watching TV shows from the comfort of their home or loves the experience of going out to see a play in a massive auditorium, the work of directors is something that most people have witnessed, most likely without realizing it.
A director is responsible for overseeing every aspect of a production. From coordinating with designers to guiding actors to connecting with the audience, directors have the ability to influence every aspect of a show, and for some, that’s a big part of the appeal.
Molly Donahue is a third-year M.F.A. directing student who went into college with the intention of double majoring in acting and stage managing. Instead, she found a way to combine her passions as a director.
“I found that I actually had a really hard time connecting to just a singular part of the play, just from a one-character perspective, and then I accidentally found directing and I was like, ‘Oh, this is always what I liked better anyway,’ the picture making and the movement direction…it combined acting and stage management in a way for me,” said Donahue.
Second-year M.F.A. directing student Devin Franklin followed a similar path to find himself in the directing program at OU. Two years ago, he got his B.F.A in musical theater, and it was in that program that his current mentor noted Franklin’s aptitude for giving feedback to performers in an auditioning class. Once he began pursuing directing, Franklin realized that he preferred it to performing.
Caitlin Lopez is another second-year M.F.A. directing student who hopes to use her skills to produce the kinds of shows she wishes she saw more of.
“The kind of work I like to do is rooted in a sense of playfulness and improvisation…even in directing drama or tragedy…but also the things that I wasn’t seeing were stories about queerness…because every time we see queerness depicted onstage or in movies, it’s usually about tragedy, and not (about) a multifaceted person who has joy,” said Lopez. “Those are the things I wanted to see, and I didn’t see them…that’s part of being a director is realizing what your voice is and using it.”
Lopez recently finished directing a show called “The Knight of the Burning Pestle,” a story that, according to Lopez, is “about how wacky it is to make live entertainment.” Meanwhile, Franklin recently finished directing an updated version of “Medea” by Euripides.
“I learned a lot from that process, just in terms of how to approach more difficult material,” said Franklin.
Donahue is currently working on her thesis, an original and immersive show called “Shining Girls.” The show is horror-based and very fun, according to Donahue.
“I really like immersive theater and horror theater…I think they work really well together. Immersive theater is about embracing and emphasizing our liveness,” she said. “Why would you come out to the theater to see something you could see better on Netflix? You are coming for an event, you are coming for an experience, and so it’s a holistic creation kind of thing.”
Like any art form, directing comes with its own set of benefits and downsides. These three students believe the lows are worth it for the ups, and they are learning a multitude of important lessons along the way.
“My favorite part is playing in the rehearsal room, being able to sort of experiment with the actors and with designers in terms of figuring out what works, and failing and excelling and making really messy work that is fun,” said Lopez. “Essentially, the role of a director is to constantly be making decisions, all the time, and that can sometimes feel like a lot. It gets tiring, but it’s worth it for the fun of everything else.”
Donahue agreed that directorial decision fatigue is challenging, as well as the isolation that occurs when a director doesn’t know when to ask for help or recognize the weight of their own needs. However, she believes the most difficult part is to not lose herself in the process of running a show.
“The most challenging part is to maintain my own voice within making something…you spend a lot of time figuring out how to bring everybody in on the same idea, and you’re serving the play and you’re serving the actors and you’re serving design and then at the end of the day, did you get lost in all of it yourself?” said Donahue.
Franklin held an interesting point of view regarding the double-edged sword that is leading a group of people with diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives.
“My favorite part and most challenging part are the same,” Franklin said. “It’s working with people and dealing with people because everyone works so differently. Just getting to know people so intimately so fast, and then figuring out how they work, how they best communicate, and then working with the same end goal in mind.”
Franklin believed working as a director fosters curiosity and communication skills, in all aspects of life.
“I look at people, and I look at situations a lot more intensely now than I did before I started directing,” he said. “I just feel like I’m constantly asking questions.”
All three of these M.F.A. Directing students hope to freelance after graduating. Franklin hopes to relocate to Chicago or New York, Donahue hopes to someday settle in at a regional theater and Lopez believes that teaching may be in her future.
The future of theater lies in the hands of students like these, and Lopez believes theater is in the midst of a huge and exciting transformation, which may change what career paths are available for people like her but will be positive in the long run.
“Theater is a live experience where the energy is affected not just by the people on stage and the designers who put the show up, but by the people sitting in the room watching it, and that is unique to this art form and extremely special, and I think we should learn to really love it for how unique that experience is,” said Lopez.
According to Franklin, the consumption of art is one of the most important things someone could do.
“Just consume as much art as possible,” he said. “Whether it’s music, dance, theater, film… we’re in times right now where we need to depend on artists a little bit more than politicians.”
