Last post, I talked a lot about how directing was very stressful for me because of the people management aspect. I must say, despite the fact that it was very stressful for me, I kicked ass at it. Examples:

• People got along with no friction (at least, none that I could see)
• Even when things were going sort of poorly on an organizational front, it did not translate into an overly negative experience
• Communication between production team members was smooth and clear
• Things ran as expected for the run of the show

Overall the show was a success. The audience loved it, the cast had fun up on stage every night, and I got to see my ideas come to life. It was really a fabulous experience, and I am particularly proud that I was able to achieve it as a first time director. So, the question is, how did I do it?

1. Empathy

This is a big word nowadays in the business world (at least, it’s present in at least half of the Harvard Business Review articles I read around leadership). You should have empathy for the people you work with, you should strive to have a high EQ, etc. etc. It’s a little buzzy, sure, but only because it’s true and it works.

I have a problem where I have a hard time reading people, and more often than not need other people’s thoughts/emotions spelled out for me before I can understand (though, I don’t think this is so uncommon). So, I practice empathy by constantly checking in. At the beginning of every rehearsal, for example, everyone was invited to share how they were doing that day (or not, if they preferred). I also emailed the crew on a bi-weekly basis to ensure that everyone was empowered to do their job. I strove to keep myself in a constantly-updating context of humanity. I knew when people needed nudging and when they needed space.

2. Clear and Open Communication

I can’t read people’s minds and I don’t expect them to be able to read mine (if they did they might be a bit confused by the Hamilton soundtrack constantly playing). I always made sure that my notes and expectations were clearly understood. When necessary, I managed communication within the tech team so that everything would be similarly transparent.

The biggest root cause of problems I see in other productions is a mismatch of expectations. When everyone expects someone else to do something then nothing gets done is bad, but when more than one person expects to be taking care a task, that’s worse. People accidentally stepping on each other’s toes because the task, role, or responsibility was not clearly defined at the start is very very common. We nearly had a problem with this in Scrooge, where both the tech director and stage manager expected to be running strike (when the set is taken apart). Luckily, we were able to catch it before it came to a head and work it out.

And…that’s it. I would attribute the success of my show to those two things. Also, perhaps, assembling a good team, but that was luck more than anything. Especially in the community theatre world, I believe that opportunities should be open to all, not a select “proven” few. Sure, I know lots of reliable people who could work together perfectly and put on a flawless show with no problems, but that’s not what community theatre is about. Community theatre is about taking chances and welcoming new people into the fold, and being ready to manage any bad situations that arise from a bad bet. I’ve learned the hard way how to do this in my years at KWLT, and ultimately that is how I was able to make my show a success.