Publisher's Synopsis
This book is for stage directors in school and community theater. Author Dan Mills developed a series of actor workshops that train large casts to form beautiful group tableaux in five seconds or less. His time efficient strategies help directors stage challenging scenes quickly and powerfully. His techniques are easily side-coached and inspire the ingenuity of actors. In a career of directing more than 200 shows Dan found that actor absenteeism and forgetfulness, as well as the director's day job and a short rehearsal schedule, sometimes hampered the quest for excellence. So he replaced the labor intensive role of the traditional stage director with a post-modern approach. The result is a series of workshops that empower actors to be in the moment, funny, touching, and effective, all while crafting beautiful stage pictures collaboratively. These workshops are spelled out clearly, with plenty of examples and graphic illustrations so that you can be successful in your first foray into stress free directing. Many of the biggest effects take five seconds or less. Dan is now a retired high school principal living in Florida and still making music, writing, and working in theater. You may also wish to buy the companion books in the Stress Free Theater Series, "Coaching Pre-Broadway Actors," and "Staging the Stress Free Musical."
