Wednesdays, July 13 through August 17
6:45–9:15 p.m. ET
Virtual

Instructor: Samantha Wyer Bello
Prior Experience: Prerequisite of either Directing 1 or Directing 2 required.

In this follow up to Directing 1 and Directing 2, the focus will be on the rehearsal process before staging begins. We will take each moment, from Meet and Greet and first gathering to folding the tables and pushing them aside, to specify what can be discovered and measured by a director in this critical time during production. Exploration of directing tactics that activate imaginations of the actors while also narrowing in on a thematic path you wish to lead. This class will include class demonstrations and “on hands” opportunities to apply techniques for those enrolled.

Essential Question: What exploration can a director do with an acting company to clarify the story before any movement begins?

Course Objectives: To unearth the theatrical jewels of a company’s journey together for a knowledgeable director by specifying the steps before blocking begins in the rehearsal hall.

Key Knowledge & Skills: Developing vocabulary with actors, reimagining your vision based upon new information, expanding creativity, mining the possibilities in the script.

Week One: Connecting to vision before you begin

• Preparation and Text Analysis
• Artistic ideas and how to feed them

Week Two: The First Day

• Who is in the room and what do they want?
• Beginning your To Do list

Week Three: Organizing your Thoughts

• What are your priorities?
• Long game vs. short game

Week Four: Working in the script

• Definitions and pronunciations – what matters
• Giving and receiving with actors

Week Five: Rising from the table with Ideas, Information and Intention

• Actor growth and evolution
• Practical changes in design

Week Six: Back to the Table?

• Outside the traditional systems
• Burning additional questions from directors

Samantha Wyer Bello, STC Senior Director of Engagement and Education
Years Teaching with STC: 10
Directing Website: SamanthaWyerBello.com
Directing Highlights: To Kill a Mockingbird, I Am My Own Wife, Noises Off! and Wetback by Elaine Romero
Why I Teach: What a joy it is to share ideas and thoughts with a group of artists as students that are in an exploration of how they stage stories for others. Each class is unique to those in the room – online or a shared space.
What Her Students Say: “Anyone who is considering this class absolutely should. I would never have been able to take a class with Samantha, since we are on opposite sides of the states. But thanks to this online class, I started to connect and meet with like-minded students, while also learning some amazing skills.”

Samantha Wyer Bello is the Senior Director of Engagement and Education at Shakespeare Theatre Company. For STC, Ms. Bello directed Will on the Hill 2020 and Will on the Hill 2021, readings of Ada and the Engine, The Ruby Sunrise, A Number, Proof, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Arcadia, R.U.R., and Miss Evers’ Boys in partnership with the National Academy of Sciences. She also created/adapted STC’s A Mini-Summer Night’s Dream and The Tiny Tempest. Previously, she served as Associate Artistic Director for Arizona Theatre Company. Ms. Bello has directed for Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Childsplay, Inc., Voice and Vision – NY, Playwright’s Center, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, and Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland. Ms. Bello has been a grants panelist and guest speaker for arts organizations including DC Commission on Arts and Humanities and Theatre Communications Group and has taught and directed for Brescia University, University of Missouri, Arizona State University, and University of Arizona. Ms. Bello received her MFA in Acting/Directing at University of Missouri and is a proud member of SDC.