Select Page

Overview

Directing Program Coordinator:

David Seitz
Glendale Community College
david.seitz@gccaz.edu

Welcome to the Region 8 Student Directing Program. In the spirit of encouraging the next generation of stage directors, we have expanded the opportunities for those interested in pursuing directing at the Festival. For the SDC Student Directing Initiative, we are looking for experienced directors who will bring a scene from their home institution for presentation at the Festival. Finally, we will be presenting a range of workshops with directing professionals to expand directorial education.

If you have any questions after you have read the materials, please direct them to David Seitz, Directing Program Coordinator.

Additional Information

Candidates

One student director from each region will be selected to participate at the national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC each April. This award includes travel, lodging and per diem expenses, as well as attendance at KCACTF National Festival workshops and performances.

Eligibility

The participant must be a bona fide student during the qualifying year of the regional festival. For example, for Festival 56 in 2024, the participant must have been a bona fide student during 2023. The participant must submit the Questionnaire for SDC Directing Initiative 2024 which may determine their eligibility to
participate.

Event

Preliminary and Final presentation of a rehearsed, nationally selected scene, consisting of student actors. On the first day of the regional festival the nominee will turn in a prepared prompt book and director’s statement that reflects their analysis of the scene. Directors are required to observe all scenes and participate in responses as scheduled. The number of participating student directors will be limited to a maximum of 16 at the preliminary round, and a
maximum of 6 at the Interview/Final rounds.

Respondents: The number of respondents is determined by Regional leadership. The respondents are skilled directors who have a strong track record of responding to directing and are out-of-region colleagues or local professionals who are not affiliated with regional institutions. They will respond to the rounds of presentations, will participate in the interview round, and will decide which student director will attend the events in Washington DC. At least one member of the respondent team must be an SDC member.

Scene

All regional student directing candidates must present a scene at Festival from the following list:

SDC Scene Selections 2023 and 2024 [click on Play Title to access the scene.]

If more than one director participates from the same institution, the directors are discouraged from sharing actors for their projects and the directors are prohibited from acting in each other’s scenes.

Preliminary Round

Preliminary round is a closed round. All of the candidates (directors only) are required to attend all of the first round presentations. Teachers/mentors who are the nominators-of-record for the student director are encouraged but not required to attend. Other than for the scene in which they are performing, actors are not allowed in the room. After the presentation the respondent(s) will react to the work in front of the closed gathering of directors and teachers/mentors.

Interview Round

Directors who are chosen for the final round will attend closed individual interviews with the respondents. At this time, the director’s book, written statements and approach will be discussed. No teachers/mentors or actors are allowed to participate in this phase of the event.

Final Round

Presentation of scene in a round open to the public. A final round of presentations will consist of up to six (6) selected scenes. The final round will occur at least two days following the preliminary round to allow the director and actors to work on the scene based on feedback from the preliminary round. Limited rehearsal space may be provided. Teachers/mentors may advise the student directors during these rehearsals. A response session will follow the final round, and will include the scene directors, and may include teacher/mentors, actors and audience.

Evaluation

● Directors will be evaluated through the preliminary scene presentation, interview process, written materials, and final presentation. Written materials consist of a prepared director’s prompt book for the scene.
● The director’s prompt book will be handed to the Directing Coordinator for the region prior to the preliminary round and will be returned to the student director at the final round.

Prompt Book Guidelines

The Prompt Book Should Include:
○ Contact Information (This page will be seen by the coordinator only)
○ Nominee’s Name, School, Current Email Address, Cell Phone Number
○ Faculty Advisor’s Name, Email Address
○ Name of Play/Scene Being Presented
○ Actors Names
○ Director’s Statement (a written statement that reflects analysis of the scene – see next section)
○ Visual Materials (ground plan, blocking diagrams, etc.)
○ Critical Materials (dramaturgical research, text, language, character analysis, etc.)
○ Working Script (for the text with notes, breakdown, analysis, edits, etc.)

Director’s Statement (Required)

The director’s written statement provides the personal, analytical, and intuitive framework for the scene. It is a combination of script analysis, research, creativity, and personal connection to the text. The statement should address the themes, images and specific lines of text that guide the director’s work, including the context of the scene, where/how the scene fits into the play. Directors are encouraged to consider non-traditional casting for any of the scenes selected as can be supported by your concept.

Questions to consider when writing the Director’s Statement:
● What are your directing philosophy and goals as a director?
● Why did you choose this particular scene/play?
● What are you trying to achieve with your directing approach to this scene?
● How would you present a fully produced version of your play?
● What are your strengths and challenges as a director, and in regards to this particular project?
● Current Résumé (Required) A current résumé focused on directing and theatre-related activities

Additional Information/Final Details

Theater Space

Scenic
Please contact David Seitz david.seitz@gccaz.edu with your scenic requests. Kindly limit these requests to the simplest version: acting blocks, chairs, etc. and be prepared to adjust to what is available.

Lighting
There will be no light cues. Lighting for the stage will be preset as a wash and cannot be changed. There will not be any lights up or down.

Costumes, Props
The director is responsible for any costume pieces, set dressing and hand props needed for their presentation.

Sound
The director is allowed to use sound. However, there are no tech rehearsals. There will not be a sound board operator. If the director elects to use sound, the director must supply a sound source (i.e. MP3 player and external speaker). No directors will be allowed to operate the sound. Actors or other students may operate the sound.

Any additional questions can be directed to David Seitz, david.seitz@gccaz.edu.

Festival 56 Scenes

SDC Scene Selections 2024 and 2025
All entrants for the 2024 and 2025 Regional Festivals will prepare one from the list of scenes below, selected by the SDC fellowship alumni.

Machinal by Sophie Treadwell (Nick Hern Books)
“This scene and this play as a whole is an amazing challenge for a young director due it’s subject matter and how Treadwell has crafted this mechanical and cold world. The speech at the end alone is a monster for any actor or director willing to take this on. The scene also poses a challenging question about motherhood and the availability of choice in taking on that role.” – Jordan Mitchell, 2022 and 2023 Region 1 SDC Fellow

The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield (Broadway Play Publishing)
“One of the most important aspects of this show is developing a united trio who can work off each other. This scene puts that chemistry to the test as these silly and larger than life characters have to earnestly contend with a betrayal of trust within their group. The director who works on this also has a chance to bring more of themselves to the humor of the scene, if they choose to change the show that Jess is obsessed with.” – Jordan Mitchell, 2022 and 2023 Region 1 SDC Fellow

Passage by Christopher Chen (Dramatists Play Service)
Recommended by Abigail Torres, Region 7 2023 SDC Fellow

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly-Guirgis (Dramatists Play Service)
Recommended by Abigail Torres, Region 7 2023 SDC Fellow

Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Dramatists Play Service)
“This is quite a challenging play, both in its staging and content. I particularly love it because it asks the director to constantly build tension in an ensemble scene that constantly twists and turns with fluid status and complex chunks of dialogue. In this play, it’s my interpretation that no character is fully in the right, nor fully in the wrong, but thats what makes it so interesting— it asks the audience to interrogate their own familial relationships and how complex layers of dueling truths can exist at the same time.” – Nabeel Jan, Region 2 2023 SDC Fellow

Doctor Voynich and Her Children by Leanna Keyes (Bloomsbury Publishing, The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays)
“This ‘prediction’ is set in America years after reproductive health care has been made illegal. Doctor Voynich and her apprentice Fade travel the countryside in a converted ambulance dispensing harmless herbs by day and providing family planning services by night. Fade tries to help local youth Hannah complete her abortion, using forbidden knowledge from an ancient manuscript, before her mother and the sheriff can nail them for the ‘attempted murder of an unborn person.’ This play about mothers and daughters is poetic, sexy, vulgar, queer, and a little too real. Doctor Voynich and Her Children provides an excellent opportunity for young directors who are eager to tackle a bold and exposed script.” – Erin White, Region 7 2021 SDC Fellow

Arbor Falls by Caridad Svich (New Play Exchange)
Recommended by Sanhawich Meateanuwat, Region 3 2022 SDC Fellow

Rx Machina by Caity-Shea Violette (New Play Exchange)
“I love this play— the dialogue and character interactions in this piece are constantly layered— their true intentions are often hidden and others have to work to figure out what is really going on. I also especially enjoy the moments where characters snap out of their normal, or expected, paths, and portray what the other character sees. It is also quite appropriate to do now, as the effects of the ongoing opioid epidemic are being litigated in society (and courts) and blame must be assigned.” – Nabeel Jan, Region 2 2023 SDC Fellow

Big Love by Charles L. Mee (https://www.charlesmee.org/big-love.shtml )
Recommended by Amanda Baschnagel, Region 6 2023 SDC Fellow

The Language Archive by Julia Cho (Dramatists Play Service)
Recommended by Sanhawich Meateanuwat, Region 3 2022 SDC Fellow