Writer vs Director

A cheeky title today suggests a struggle between the inventor of the script and the executor of it. I do not want to write about fighting however, but about cooperation. I’ve been to a reading yesterday. The director decided to see how the script would stand the test of giving it to actors. It is an interesting script, and an interesting form used by the writer, who actually wasn’t there. He did not come only because the director asked him specifically not to.

I know this director well, and the writer not at all. But I cannot help but wonder what would the writer say if he was in the room. We could have used his insight in some places to smooth out some uncertainties. We would also point out some practical problems we encountered. What would his reaction be? Would he be able to help us in our struggles? Would he graciously accept our feedback or lash out protectively?

Authors, and writers especially, are often protective of their babies. They can be deadly afraid of feedback and take it as downright criticism. They may be the stern gatekeepers, protecting their words from disuse and abuse of others, who “don’t understand”. Their sensitive dispositions regarding their work often make them think anyone proposing changes to their precious writing is an enemy. Persons, who displays this behaviour, in my opinion, should not write for theatre, nor tv, nor film.

A play is a collaborative effort. The script is its central part of course. But it’s the people who make it come alive on stage and screen. And, in great part, the writer’s finished in the moment when he hands the script out to a director. That’s when the director takes over. He finds actors he thinks will be suitable for the characters. He supervises the rehearsals until the day of performance comes. He interprets the script in dramatic criteria. The writer – unless he decides to take up directing, or acting, or technical part of performance, or all of these or something else I can’t think of – becomes obsolete. Sometimes he/she becomes a liability.

I’ve heard stories of writers clashing with the directors, directors leaving because of the insatiable writers, writers withdrawing their scripts because of the directors. There is a fine line between creativity and abuse, and I understand sometimes the writer needs to intervene to rescue his work from being slaughtered. But, if a play/film/drama is being made on a certain script, the writer needs to learn to step back and let it go, believe in the director and the actors. A good writer knows how to command the page. A good director knows how to empower the actors to command the stage. The boundary is clear.