DreamWork: A Training for Directors provides a theoretical basis and a highly detailed, practical, step-by-step blueprint for developing a directorial concept for a play.
Directing is a complex, multi-staged artistic process which, for the most part, is a collaborative work of art. The director works with designers, composers, choreographers and actors to create the performance that is eventually shown to an audience. In this process, there is one stage of the director’s work which is uniquely personal and individual: the creation of a directorial concept. This book concentrates on this crucial stage of the director’s work, offering a template for the creation of a directorial concept prior to embarking on the collaborative stage of the director’s work. The book follows the process from the choice of the text, through a series of clearly documented and structured sets of strategies with attendant examples, up to the creation of the director’s version of the original play - the adaptation - that is the starting point for the director’s dialogue with designers, composers, choreographers and actors.
DreamWork: A Training for Directors is intended for directing students at universities or theatre academies, both at undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as directors at the beginning of their careers.
1. The Story 2. Groundwork 3. Methods and Names 4. Concept and Elements 5. The Creative Trajectory 6. Auteurship: From DI to DreamWork 7. DreamWork 8. From Draft One to “Instant RunThru” 9. Creative Collaborators 10. Auteurship: A Case Study – “White Fire/Black Fire (Dybbuk)”
Biography
David Zinder is Professor Emeritus of the Theatre Arts Department at Tel Aviv University, actor, internationally renowned actor trainer, author, and theatre director. He has created a unique form of acting training known as ImageWork Training and is an international Master Teacher of the Michael Chekhov Technique. David is a founding member of the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA), USA, and a member of Michael Chekhov Europe (MCE). The second edition of his book BODY VOICE IMAGINATION: A Training for Actors was published by Routledge in 2002, and subsequently appeared in a a revised and expanded second edition in 2009, entitled BODY VOICE IMAGINATION: ImageWork Training and the Chekhov Technique.
“Combining performance studies with semiotics, Zinder shows how to unify acting, design, text, and staging. Dreamwork is unique among books on directing in concentrating on the director's individual artwork before any collaboration with co-creators. This useful mind-opening book is drawn from a deep well of experience well-demonstrated by examples from Zinder's directing internationally.”
Richard Schechner, Editor of TDR and the Enactments book series, USA
“David Zinder's years of experience and brilliant insights combine to make Dreamwork the go-to book for both long-time professional directors and students looking to discover the secrets of effective staging. Detailed, organized carefully, and punctuated by shocks of recognition, this book is a distillation of decades of hard-won knowledge. I will be plundering it for years to come.”
Bruce Avery, Professor of Theatre Arts, School of Theatre and Dance, San Francisco State University, USA
“In these pages, you won't find a one-size-fits-all theory of directing. Directing defies simple categorization. Instead, you'll discover a harmonious blend of theory and practice, focusing on that pivotal Creative Moment that precedes the collaborative symphony required to bring a theatrical masterpiece to life. Unveiling a step-by-step guide to the directorial concept's evolution, this book ultimately leads you to the creation of a 'DreamWork,' a unique and enchanting theatrical masterpiece in the conceptual and adaptational mode. Whether you're a seasoned director or an aspiring artist, this book is your key to unlocking the art of crafting unforgettable theatre experiences."
Abhilash Pillai, Director of the School of Drama and Fine Arts, Calicut University, Kerala, India
“This book is a must for anyone interested in learning the art of directing in the theatre. Zinder brings to his writing deep wisdom, vast directorial experience and an impressive knowledge of theatre scholarship, criticism and history. He takes the reader through a clear and deeply creative process to find a distinctive directorial voice. DreamWork is the culmination of Zinder’s distinguished and brilliant career.”
Lorne M. Buchman, President Emeritus, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA, USA
"A must for any auteur serious about the craft of directing! DreamWork: A Training for the Director fills a void in the canon of directorial tomes with a transmissible technique for developing an authentic, informed and inspired artistic vision for production. Zinder’s time-tested, step by step framework of DreamWork centers the director on solid conceptual ground via theatre-qua-dream before diving into the complexities of artistic collaboration."
Hugh O’Gorman, Co-Director of the National Alliance of Acting Teachers and owner of the PraXis Acting Studio, Los Angeles, USA
