But all I really want to do is Direct

HOW TO DIRECT A MUSICAL Broadway Your Way by David Young

Published in 1995 by Routledge NY and Routledge Great Britain

Broadway is where one can find the newest musicals and revivals of some of the greatest musicals. But, musicals are not restricted to being performed by professional theatre troupes. Community theatre groups and high school drama departments offer up some of the most enjoyable renditions that musical theatre lovers can find. Granted, with limited budgets and lack of technical professionals, these performances do not have the "glitz" of Broadway, but they certainly have the "heart".

But how do these amateur productions get off the ground?

There are so many details to attend to from auditions to casting to blocking to choreography. How does the budding director cover all the details and get the show on its feet?

There are many fine books on the subject of directing musical theatre with everything from rehearsal techniques to staging. One of these such books is, "HOW TO DIRECT A MUSICAL Broadway Your Way" by David Young.

Mr. Young has worked for more than 15 years for the American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. He is both a director and an actor who has worked with many different levels of community theatre. His book covers a wide variety of topics, all told through the eyes of someone who lives to work in the theatre arts.

Chapters include information in these areas:

1. BEFORE REHEARSALS BEGIN covers everything from script analysis to collaborating with designers, crew, and choreographer.

2. AUDITIONS AND CASTING gives ideas on how to advertise and conduct auditions as well as dealing with choosing the parts.

3. THE BEGINNING: FIRST REHEARSALS offers a sample rehearsal schedule, blocking and staging diagrams and information for doing a revue.

4. WORKING WITH SINGER/DANCERS ON ACTING: THE EARLY STAGES begins with Young's advice regarding giving the cast time to explore before saying "no". There are also exercises to improve rehearsal fatigue and discussions on characterization.

5. SPECIFIC CHALLENGES - MIDWAY deals with different aspects of the musical theatre genre from farce to accents to realistic aging within a character. Also information on using microphones and orchestra rehearsals.

6. PACING,BLENDING,STREAMLINING discusses how to achieve a good pace and rid the musical of unwanted pauses and avoiding unnecessary glitches.

7. ONSTAGE - FINALLY is one of the best chapters in this book because it breaks down the elements that make up the final rehearsals and discusses the rehearsal process for light/sound/tech/ costumes/sets and fine tuning. There is also an extensive discussion of the dress rehearsal

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