Last night the Alliance of Women Directors held another super informative event. The featured presenter/ speaker was Christine Lahti. She did not disappoint.
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| Christine Lahti Directing (photo from AWD website) |
The evening was filled with directing insights provided by Christine Lahti. Ms. Lahti was quick to point out the importance of the actor and rehearsal and how on a busy film/ TV set it is important to rehearse whenever you have a chance. By allowing actors to organically discover and create in rehearsal their on screen performance will prosper. If possible, it is very important to have the DP (Director of Photography) watch rehearsal. Regarding the on screen telling of the story Christine says, “It’s an actor, DP, director collaboration.” Sure a director arrives on set knowing every conceivable intention and character arc for every scene and even has a shot list. But that should just be a guide. A director must be willing to adjust if something better presents itself.
For yesterday’s event, Ms. Lahti directed three scenes from three shows/ films with three different sets of actors (two actors per scene whom she just met before their scene). For each scene she had the actors run through the lines. Then she discussed the characters needs with the actors. At the end of the discussion she had determined what the needs are in the scene and also determined the arc of the scene for each character.
Although as director I’m sure she already knew exactly what the needs and character arc was she allowed her actors to be involved in the creative process by discussing these with them thus allowing their creative juices to flow unblocked. Sure she could have just said these are your characters needs and this is your character’s arc for the scene but that may have blocked or pigeonholed the actors thought process stifling creativity and peak performance. Throughout the scene discussions she would preface her statements with “I wonder if…” and “let’s try it both ways with your intention/ choice being different each time.” By using those statements she was able to clearly get across her thoughts and ideas guiding the actors rather than telling them do it this way. By guiding the actors she was able to pull or rather she allowed the characters to flow organically from the actors thus enriching the performance by leaps and bounds.
After the first run through of the lines and determining the character needs and arc she had the actors improv the scene with their own lines. This was beneficial because tactics and actions presented themselves along with subtext. After each performance or improv she always pointed out the positives she saw from each actor. Never did she have anything negative to say. Her positive reinforcement fosters positive energy flow leading to spectacular creative performances. After discussing the revelations this improv brought out she gave suggestions of potentially different tactics using the same “I wonder if…” and “Lets try it…” statements.
Next she had the actors run the scene again but using the scripted lines. Then discussed it with them and had them run it again with a few tactical changes. It was amazing to see the scenes come together as they did. The performance of one scene brought out two amazing possibilities for how it should be played on camera. Ms. Lahti’s conclusion was shoot it two ways if need be.
I am so glad I attended this AWD event. Watching Christine Lahti gracefully and sometimes humorously guiding her actors to peak performance was a joy. To see her take a possibly mundane line read through and guide her actors eliciting so many flavorful levels and bringing the scene alive is inspiring. I hope to be able to be such a positive -guiding force in my directing endeavors.
I encourage you to check out the Alliance of Women Directors web site and attend as many of their events as you can. There’s no better place to gain a wealth of knowledge and information than from their very affordable events. The “Alliance of Women Directors fosters a community of professionals to advance the art, craft and visibility of women directors in the world of film, television and new media.”
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| Christine Lahti answers audience questions |
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| Christine Lahti observes actors running lines |
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| Christine Lahti guiding her actors |
Follow Christine Lahti on Twitter @Christine_Lahti
The actor in black with long hair is Patty Jean Robinson. Follow her on twitter @pattyjrobinson
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