Focus of the Investigation The Director as Interpreter Assignment is an assignment that I have developed over the years in my Directing II class at Lehman College, City University of New York. Directing II is usually composed of 8-12 students, many of whom have also taken Directing I the previous semester. The student are usually juniors and seniors, and most of them possess a fair degree of proficiency as writers. From year to year, I have changed and developed the course requirements for Directing II. During the spring 2007 semester, for instance, I required the students to "coach" a fellow student in performing a contemporary monologue, adapt and direct a staged reading of a section from Stephen Crane's short novel The Monster, direct a ten-minute one-act play and direct a scene from William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. As in all my courses, I require my students to do extensive writing. Directing is primarily an interpretative art form or practice, and the good director needs to develop certain practical skills of his craft to develop as an artist, in particular proficiencies in writing and critical thinking. During the spring 2007 semester, I made two modifications to the course in order to support students in their completion of the Director as Interpreter Assignment. For one, this was the first semester in which I required students to direct a scene from The Comedy of Errors. Second, whereas in previous semesters when I have given the Director as Interpreter Assignment I had each student select one of Shakespeare's history plays, this semester I required students to imagine that they were directing a hypothetical production of The Comedy of Errors. My reasoning was that their familiarity with directing a scene from the play would elucidate their contextual comprehension of the play and facilitate a greater level of critical thinking in the Director as Interpreter Assignment. In effect, I used "scaffolding" (one of my favorite WAC techniques) to support my students as writers but also as directors. This website explores the outcomes of their writing, and the Director as Interpreter Assignment encourages writing proficiency and critical thinking skills.

Low Stakes Assignments Leading to the Final Assignment Prior to receiving the three-part Director as Interpreter Assignment, students completed several low-stakes assignments, one of which led directly into the subsequent high-stakes assignment. While they were directing a scene from The Comedy of Errors, they were asked to complete a one-paragraph, low-stakes writing exercise in respond to the following prompt: In Chapter Three of John Barton's Playing Shakespeare, "Heightened Language," Barton at one point says, "The text is the character. It fills [the character] out and gives him life. With a speech like this we have to ask what is the character reason why the old boy uses such extraordinarily words and images." (p. 75) As a director working on a scene from The Comedy of Errors, how does the heightened language help you coach your actors in developing their characters? Playing Shakespeare Writing Assignment #1 Playing Shakespeare Writing Assignment #2 Playing Shakespeare Writing Assignment #3 Playing Shakespeare Writing Assignment #4

Resources for Students I provided students with various materials to help them complete their final Director as Interpreter Assignment. I shared a sample scene from The Comedy of Errors and provided them with completed samples of the different sections of the final assignment. Sample Scene from The Comedy of Errors Sample French Scene Analysis Sample Rehearsal Schedule

The Revised Assignment You have been hired to direct Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors for a professional Equity showcase production at an Off-Broadway theater in New York City. You will be asked to construct a French Scene Analysis, a Rehearsal Schedule and Rationale, and a Vision Paper in terms of how you envision the production: A. French Scene Analysis: 1. Read your play and make a list of all the characters in each beat and scene. 2. Decide which character or characters is a primary character (like the title characters) and require one and only one actor to play this character. 3. Decide which characters are secondary--perhaps they appear in only one scene or in only a few scenes. Perhaps this secondary character is killed off or does not appear until later in the play, etc. 4. Decide which characters you can "double up;" in other words, you can cast one actor to play more than one character. 5. Note: Your producer is allowing you to cast 15 actors for this production, all of whom are adept at playing different types of characters. 6. Also consider whether you need to allow time for actors to change costumes, etc. 7. Evaluate in a paragraph how you think that your French Scene Analysis will facilitate your rehearsal schedule and your work with your actors. B. Rehearsal Schedule and Rationale: 1. Devise a Rehearsal Schedule for your production: You will have six weeks of rehearsal from First Reading to Final Dress, with your first rehearsal starting on May 14, tech and dress rehearsals on June 17-20, previews on June 21-24, and performances June 28-July 1, July 5-8, and July 12-15. Remember you won't rehearse on federal holidays. 2. Remember that your producer has to pay the actors' transportation costs, and she has indicated in less than subtle ways that she would like you to "save money so that it can be put into the design of the show." You want to work for her again, as her theater has a really good reputation and it will definitely further your directing career. 3. Define in a paragraph your rationale for scheduling the rehearsals. Is there a reason you call particular actors for a certain number of rehearsals, for instance? 4. Discuss in a paragraph one particular scene--which can be the scene you directed for class--how you will integrate physical comedy into the play. 5. While all of your actors are professionals without excessive conflicts, devise your schedule so that you do not call every actor to every rehearsal. 6. Integrate your responses from your readings from John Barton's Playing Shakespeare. C. Vision Paper: 1. In three paragraphs, discuss the play's Central Conflict, the Architecture, and Archetypal Patterns. 2. Also discuss briefly how you visualize the play: Do you want to costume it in modern dress or select an analogous period, etc.? 3. Do you wish to try a novel approach to the set, lighting or sound design? 4. Imagine what you're writing will help you when you speak with the actors at the first reading of your production, and with your designers when you meet with them at your first production meeting. 5. Include any visual materials that will help your actors and designers with your vision of The Comedy of Errors.

The Original and the Revised Assignment Please click on the links below to see the changes I made to the final assignment. Original Assignment Revised Assignment

Results It would be dishonest and disingenuous of me to write that every one of the papers that my students submitted was marvelous and reaffirmed my brilliance as a teacher of directing. In all honesty, I was somewhat disappointed with the results. In analyzing the papers, I realized that I need to be even more clear in terms of developing, scaffolding and explaining these assignments. However, I did find that certain aspects of the assignment worked (even if I did wish that each of my students had perhaps pounded the keyboard at greater length!) In each paper submitted to me I found some nugget of insight or understanding into the craft of directing.

Examples of Student Work Although I was disappointed with my students' papers in general, I found some really good responses to parts of the assignment, which I have included below. Tony, for instance, writes insightfully about the central conflict of The Comedy of Errors in this paragraph, which also includes the observation that one of the play's goals is to entertain: The central conflict of this play is mistaken identity. There are two sets of identical twins; one pair being masters and the other pair just so happens to be their servants. The problem in the story is that both pairs of brothers are separated at an early age and somehow at the same time are in search for one another. However, they never find one another until the end. Hence, through the entire show causing much confusion for everyone else along with the question, "How did he come in from over there?" This play does not offend, offer or teach any lessons or morals; rather it's simply meant to make an audience forget about their day by laughing and enjoying themselves. Identifying the central conflict as focusing on "confusion and mistaken identity," Andie (not her real name) wrote about her vision for the set design for her hypothetical production of The Comedy of Errors: I have decided to modernize the play and keep it up with current events and fashion of the modern times. It will be set in a small modern town in the outskirts of Italy. The central conflict is confusion and mistaken Identity all the characters are confused about who is who in the play. Items in the play also have symbolic meaning like the gold chain. What I had in mind was a set with a tower with a jail attached to it. Every scene will be in the tower and the tower will change with the different scenes. Lighting and sound will play a big factor in the play. I will use different forms of lighting to create a different scene. Outside the tower will be the jail scene with dark and glum lighting I will also use a gobo for jail bars. I will visually show what I want by putting together a diorama for the production meeting. David writes about the play's archetypal patterns and architecture and succinctly discusses the play's rhythmic structure in this paragraph: The play has some archetypal patterns, slapstick comedy between the slave and master, the slave being smarter than the master, long lost family members, a laundry list of these archetypal patterns could be made from this play. The architecture of the play, is well organized, we are set up with exposition in Act One, in Acts Two and Three we have most of the tension that will cause all of the problems in Act Four, in Act Four it happens, and Act Five everything unwinds and makes everything happy again. Well organized and typical of Shakespeare's comedies, a feast. French Scene Analysis One This student--let's call him "David"--created a clear and concise French Scene Analysis of The Comedy of Errors which no doubt facilitated his casting and rehearsal decisions. French Scene Analysis Two This French Scene Analysis was also well-designed and obviously facilitated this director's casting and rehearsal decisions. Sample Rehearsal Schedule One This student--let's call him "Charles"--created a very comprehensive schedule that reflected a clear and methodical approach to directing the play over the course of the rehearsal period and that included brush-up rehearsals before each weekend's schedule of performances. Admittedly, a production would not need so many brush-up rehearsals. Sample Rehearsal Schedule Two Tony (not his real name) constructed a meticulous rehearsal schedule that delineates which actors are called to which rehearsals. Very clear and very concise.