Stage Directing: A Director's Itinerary

With Stage Directing: A Director’s Itinerary, the student of theatrical directing now has a step-by-step guide to directing a production, from choosing a play to opening night. Unlike other directing textbooks, this practical guidebook provides instruction on how to organize the work of the director through the practical challenges of the directorial process, such as organizing a budget spreadsheet, writing casting notices, and setting up an audition space. In Stage Directing, the process of directing a production takes the form of twenty-one chapters, which contain helpful examples and tried-and-true exercises, as well as information on how to organize the director’s documents into a director’s production notebook.

“This is the most comprehensive, common sense, step-by-step textbook on directing I have seen. Reading it is like having your your master director dad sitting next to you—guiding you as you work.”
—Bruce Miller, University of Miami

“Finally! A directing guidebook that takes the student through the craft of directing in an easy-to-process fashion.”
—Beate Pettigrew, Johnson County Community College

“Mr. Wainstein’s book is ideal for the beginning director because it offers practical and workable advice for both understanding the play and getting the play on its feet. Chapters on running rehearsals and those about staging both a straight play and a musical are especially valuable for directors with minimal experience or training. Think of it as a training manual in the best sense of the term and keep it as handy as your prompt book as you go from choosing the play to the opening night cast party.”
— David Rush, Playwright

Michael Wainstein is the Chair of the Department of Performing Arts at Savannah College of Art and Design. He has directed almost two hundred productions at theatres in the United States and Europe.