The Process of Play Directing: From Concept to Curtain

Are you directing your first show? Do you find yourself directing after years of acting? Are you a seasoned director looking for a refresher course? Or are you just pursuing some new, fresh, proven techniques? In The Process of Directing: From Concept to Curtain, Bob May, director of over 450 plays, and forty-eight years of theatrical experience, shares his winning directorial process in an easy to read, exciting way.Using examples from productions he directed, Bob starts from choosing a concept and works his way through to the curtain going up on opening night. He closes the book with tips he has learned over his half century in the theatre.

In these pages you will learn how to: - analyze the playwright's words - visually show what it verbally happening - make the script your own by conceptualizing it - utilize actors' time efficiently - trust your support team - research scripts and playwrights

The theatre is a collaborative art, with the director at the helm. If you want to be the best at guiding each script you direct to opening night, this book is for you.

Bob May began directing professionally in 1972 after graduating with a BA in Theater from St. Cloud State University, MN, and has since directed over four hundred fifty productions across the country. In 1994, Bob earned an MFA in Playwriting from The University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Twenty-two of his plays are published and have been produced around the world. The most popular are Beanie and the Bamboozling Book Machine, Elson - The First Christmas Elf, and Jack and Bella: From Beanstalk to Broadway. He wrote The Gulf Coastal Plains Region episode for the Arkansas Educational Television Network (PBS) program The Great Experience of Arkansas: An Amazing Journey Through Six Regions. His book on acting, Postcard Pointers to the Performer, is published by Dominion Publications. The Process of Play Directing: From Concept to Curtain, and his scriptwriting book, Scriptwriting Structure: To-the-Point Pointers, are publishing by Skye Bridge Publishing. Mr. May has taught in higher education since 1983 and currently teaches playwriting and screenwriting at The University of Central Arkansas. He and his wife, Cathy, have a blended family of five children and five grandchildren. Mr. May is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America.