Learning to be a director

By Pam Johnson

The Taming of the Shrew Director

I knew that I wanted to direct plays – but  without any training or experience – how to begin?  Then, in 2013, The Royal Shakespeare Company expanded their Open Stages project working with amateur theatre and I was lucky enough to be one of only 86 would-be directors accepted into the scheme. 

There followed over 100 hours of workshops under the guidance of many fantastic RSC practitioners working on movement, exploring the text, voice projection, using the stage and a multitude of the other facets of producing exciting live theatre.

Directing The Taming of The Shrew in 2015 was something of a dream come true and proved to myself that I could put it all together. 

I am full of enthusiasm to bring modern techniques and ideas to local amateur theatre.  Plans are in hand to run workshops to share with others the new ideas of production that I have learned with The RSC and ways for cast and crew to work together and delight audiences while having great fun!

Members of The LADS have taken on board wholeheartedly the work we explored in “The Shrew” and have gained so much from workshops with experts such as Michael Corbidge, international voice coach and practitioner and Senior Voice and Text Associate with the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

So what does the future hold for The LADS following Open Stages – more plays, more Shakespeare, new directors, more confidence, more fun together as a group – an ‘open stage’ for newcomers, old friends and a world of theatre.