Clay and Dirt.

I am starting The Last Five Years in just a couple of days.  Now, just a week or so ago, at the fundraising event for the show, I was pleased to meet Toby, one of the industrious young folks producing and starring in this show.  I was dead impressed with the energy and talent at this fundraising event and was happy to have attended.  But Toby said the funniest thing when I met him and I paraphrase:  "You're the one who's going to mold me into shape, huh?"

It was and, I suppose, still is common in theatre to see a director as the only truly active artist in the room, the one who takes dumb slabs of clay, bends them and molds them and returns a work of art of which only she can conceive.  Actors are not a part of a generative artistic process and are considered vacant vessels waiting to be filled with the vision and wisdom of the director.

In my view, it's all poppycock, of course, but that's what some people believe.  I think of the process as a more collaborative one in which I have done the most thinking and research and reserve the right to final decision-making (thereby avoiding unnecessary conflict) but enjoy those fantastic moments of discovery and epiphany in rehearsal that can lead to a solid show.

I prefer to think of myself more as a kind of gardener, helping a performer grow into a role.  The performer is not a dead hunk of wet dirt but, more, a delicate plant trying to push itself up out of the ground and thrive in the sunlight.  In this way, if I think of the creative process as something quivering and young, as opposed to dead in my hands, I believe I will be less likely to ground these seedlings into the dirt before they have a chance to grow into a beautiful, majestic performance.

And, I always like to add when I am discussing this analogy, it helps this process of growth that I am so full of shit.




Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Kidsplay 2012:  The Mayan Prediction opening June 20. 2012 at the Palmerston Library Theatre for one night only, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions running July 20-21st, 2012 at the Alum Studio.  Next year, she is looking forward to producing/directing her own show in the fall, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

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Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
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www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
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http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $155.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $200.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

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