A SENSE OF DIRECTION ginning, and these limitations are his creativity and the ereativ- ity of his designers and actors. These limitations ultimately provide the production with greater punch, clarity, meaning, tunity, imagination, vigor, wit, power, invention. The metaphor is a limitation that pays off in extraordinary creativity. Thave learned from my own experience and from my obser- vation of the work of other directors that the more clear and striking the metaphor, the mcre unified and powerful the pro- duction. The converse is also true. The more vague the meta- phor, the more commonplace the production. Auditions and Casting Casting is the major decision that a director makes. If you cast correctly, you have done about eighty percent of your work. This is why casting is 50 very delicate; itis as critical as @ doc- tor's diagnosis. If you make the right diagnosis, the likelihood is that the patient will get well; but if you diagnose incorreetly, you are in all sorts of trouble. Consider that you have the wrong actor in the part: You will spend long hours explaining—trying to get something from che actor that he is unable to give. If you have an older woman cast as a seventeen-year-old girl, you can ask her to be fresh and energetic, but the more she tries, the more trouble she gets into. The right person in the role rep- resents eighty percent of the work done well. The question occurs in casting: Do you cast for “type” or do you cast for skill? This is a dangerous trap to most directors, Frequently, someone will come in to audition who looks and sounds precisely like the character and who may even give reading that is so close to the performance that you say, “Oh, this is destiny. The part is written for this actor.” Then in the interview and from his resume you learn that he has limited experience in certain kinds of parts, he has never carried a play 37|A SENSE OF DIRECTION before, and he has never played comedy. Another actor comes in who scems unlike the specific type you are seeking, and yet he has played many parts that are similar to the part you are casting. He has carried a play many times, he has control of his speech, he knows how to get laughs, he knows the rehearsal process, he is familiar with technical language, and he is a sca~ soned professional. The second actor may not seem to be the exact type that you had in mind for the part, but he is a profes- sional actor. Now, given these two actors, the perfect type and the skilled professional, which choice do you make? This is frequently a serious dilemma. My answer is, Always hire the skilled actor. Even though he doesn't seem the exact type, the skilled actor will always pull you through. If you hire the type, you will spend the entire rehearsal period begging and pleading and pulling teeth, and frustrating everyone else in the cast as well. Even- tually, you come to the understanding that the type will never be able to hold his own. But you will always get a professional performance out of a skilled actor. I always favor the actor. You only have to make this mistake once in your career before you earn. The type is very elusive—the exceptions to this rule are “specialty casting” and “sight gags.” In casting, it is important to understand that when an actor walks into an audition, he is at his worst. He is nervous, he hopes he will land a job, he is in a strange place, and you are seen as the judge, the forbidding authority. His merit is on trial, he is probably unfamiliar with :he material; he is all too aware of his shortcomings. His shoes are not shined; his collar is frayed; his hands are clammy; he has a slight cold; he hasn't studied the part and doesn't know what you're looking for... . In other words, the actor can be expected to appear in terrible condi- tion at an audition. He’s not in a position to be judged. As the auditioner, or casting director, you have certain humane re~ sponsibilities. As much as possible, you must relieve him of his apprehension. If you don't alleviate his anxiety, you won't get to know him at all. In that first few minutes it is important for you to get to know him very quickly. The first thing you have 38 Auditions and Casting to do is put him at his ease and let him know that everything is forgiven in advance—that everything is okay. My first interview with the great director Elia Kazan was ex- traordinary. As I walked in to the small room we shook hands and he immediately lay down on the floor. I hardly knew what to do, so I sat on the edge of a chair. As we talked about my resume he remained on the floor beside me. He understood that by lying on the floor he put me immediately and com- pletely at ease in one deft gesture. There are other techniques that I consider customary. You talk with an actor before you ask him to act; you allow him to spend two or three moments looking at faces and moving around the room and touching objects. It doesn’t make too much dif: ference what you talk about, but these few moments are pre- cious to the actor. When I ask the actor to begin his reading, I usually invite him to take off his shoes or to loosen his belt, or something in- consequential of that sort. It is a signal. Rarely does the actor accept the invitation to take off his shoes; but the somewhat silly suggestion carries with it this symbolic message: “In here, pe- culiar things are okay.” If it is a reading, I always say, “Just read for sense, or just co it lightly once through. I want to hear your voice.” This is to take the pressure off any need to per- form. Then I usually say, “If you don't like what you're doing, stop and go back and scart over.” The reason I invite the actor to start over is to send the message that it is possible to get muddled and still be okay. He has to know that there is a way to get out of trouble. It reduces the pressure to know in ad- vance that he can have a second chance. I think it is very im- portant to have some key sentences that are short and that spe- cifically target the actor's nervousness; we use these sentences from the minute the acior walks into the room. Before the audition you shake hands. Courtesy is absolutely essential, and I mean more than just passing courtesy. The di- rector must demonstrate respect and a certain kindness in the audition, because what the actor does is very difficult. It is hu: miliating for him. You never know at what stage of discourage 39A SENSE OF DIRECTION ment an actor comes to you. He may be close to giving up and your attitude may give him the encouragement needed to con- tinue. T think of this as a rule: At the end of an audition, the actor should leave with a greater sense of self-esteem than when he came in. Even if you can't give him a job, you can upgrade his confidence. But you can’t spend a great deal of time at it. You need short, deft sentences or rituals that send these signals quickly. It is very helpful at the end of an audition to touch the actor. There have been many studies revealing the powerful signals conveyed in touching—amazing that a short physical touch communicates confidence, friendliness, okayness, all sorts of messages. How to ask the actor to begin his audition? T use sentences like, “What are you going to do for us?” or “Do something for us,” because actors like to give. If they feel as though they are doing something for you, it opens up that channel. To begin the interview, T like the phrase, “Tell me something about yourself.” The very next thing that the actor says can be one of the most revealing things about your future relationship. You listen very, very carefully. A doctor listens carefully when he questions a new patient for the first time. Doctors learn that the most important words they hear from a patient are the words that follow, “Well, what seems to be the trouble?” In our busi- ness, “Tell me something about yourself” is the same kind of invitation, At that moment the actor will fll in whatever hap- pens to be pertinent to him; he will give you something from himself that he would like you to have. His phrasing is guid- ance for yau on how to know him. If you are a director, itis very helpful to have been an actor; every director should be required to audition whether or not he is a good actor. It is important for a director to experience the degree of panic that is involved and the feeling of desper- ation after auditioning Every time an actor auditions, it is imperative that the direc- tor thank him. He must be praised simply because he got through it. It took great courage. Whether it was good or not, 40 Auditions and Casting you must convey the impression that he did well. That is your responsibility; there is no way you can get out of it. tis very important not to mislead the actor at the end of the interview, because he lives on the hope that he takes out of that room. If, for instance, you say, “Your reading was better than anyone we've auditioned all day,” he will go home think- ing he has the part. What you haven't told him is that you plan to read for ten days and that he was actually too tall. It is better to keep your praise general. It is also important not to try to be too popular, not to try to win votes with the actor. It is better not to give the actor any- thing to go on except that you will call him if, after thought, you consider that he’s right. At the close of the interview, you need another short set of phrases with an exact and unmistakable message, Many actors want to know, “If I get the part, how soon will you call me? Will you call me tomorrow? Will it be two weeks? Should I call you?” It is important to tell the actor how he will be notified if he has the part. He must be told what your plan is in as few words as possible. That's how the famous old expression “Don’t call us, we'll vall you" originated, It is quick and exact, but nowadays it is considered rude. I usually say something like, “Thank you. That was a very nice audition. We're meeting a number of people and when we see what our needs are, per- haps we'll be in touch with you,” CASTING THE WRONG ACTOR After casting an actor, do you have the right to change your mind? In Broadway theatre, the union contract provides a five- day clause. This means that the actor has five days to prove himself in the role. If he doesn’t measure up, he can be fired without notice. I believe this procedure is inhumane and in- correct. If you engage in actor conditionally, he lives in fear of losing his job in the first five days; as a result, he gives you his Teast creative work becaase he's working in a state of fear. I look 41‘A SENSE OF DIRECTION at it this way: As a professional director, you are expected to know what you are doing. When you audition an actor, you are supposed to be able to evaluate that actor's ability to play the part you have in mind. If you cast him in that part, that’s a sig- nification of your judgment. If you won't live with your ows judgment, you are a shabby thinker. If I was wrong, 1 force myself to live with my decision. I am too stubborn to renege on my commitment. Here's another thought: It helps me to cast the right actor if I know that I will be irrevocably committed to that actor for the entire rehearsal period. I have to get to know him very well, until I know absolutely that this is the one per- son who can fully realize this role. If one makes a half-hearted commitment to the actor, one does the production a tremen- dous injustice. To replace an actor demoralizes everyone else in the company. Each feels that he may also be replaced. Put- ting in replacements is a tremendous waste of time. You need every moment of creative time for the rehearsal process. Other directors feel differently, but I feel very strongly that when you have hired an actor, he is yours until the opening. If he’s the wrong actor for that part, it’s your mistake. You live with it and you make it work. It roprosonts unprofessionalism to irc an ac- tor. It signifies essentially that the director admits he doesn’t know what he is doing. HOW LONG SHOULD THE AUDITION BE? T believe that if the actor has “psyched” himself up for an au- dition and has taken the time to prepare and to come all the way across town, he has the right to three minutes of acting time. In that three minutes, he can do anything he wants to do, and, in my opinion, you are obliged to listen. Frequently, you can tell that the actor is rot meant for you in the first three sentences, but you must always let him complete the entire se- lection. He has probably worked hard on it, and it doesn’t cost you much to sit there. You find yourself spending more time apologizing if you interrupt him than you would if you had let hhim finish peacefully. It is easier to sit there. It saves explana- 2 ee Auditions and Casting tions. If you have been an actor, you wouldn't think of inter- rupting an audition. Ttis almost like a sacred rite “TO WHOM DO I PLAY! If an actor plays to me during the audition, T pass my index finger in front of my eyes and direct his eye contact to some other place in the room. For film and television, casting direc tors like an actor to lean across the desk and play right to them. I prefer otherwise. I don't like an actor to oblige me to act with him, because I'm not there to act with him. I'm there to ob- serve his acting, What if I suddenly yawn while he’s playing to me? What if I turn to make a note on his resume while he's playing to me? I don’t want to break his concentration, so T al- ways say, “Play to the hmp shade,” or “Play to the stage man- ager. COURTESY AUDITIONS A courtesy audition is en agreement to see an actor whom you know in advance is not a likely candidate for the part, but whou you see at the suggestion of some connection—a friend or a rel- ative—hbecause it is easier to see him than it is to explain why ‘you won't. A courtesy auditioner receives the exact same treat- ment that the other actors receive. Sometimes you discover some talent there, and occasionally you can say something encour- aging that will get him to the next step. 43