New-York tribune., 1921-11-27
Problems of
| Directing a I
| Production
Julian Mitchell, ve,.,,.
Stage Manager, Ten.
How He Builds a sbs. 80

~l@oas, AID thA,
are many in the profession Who CIV.
much OF the success that has ....,
ed his offerings to that punct.,,on.
'ens0n' His only production nov
the stage. "The o'Brien Gir,r :. =
Liberty Theatsr. Is fair exo,.,...
OF the cohan who brook. no d.
OF effort or inattention 70 49,,
which brings to mind that eon.,a.,,
OF the duties Of Julian Mitcb.,p. :,
fee Is to be master of that cara
1t is common knowledge that ,sYs,
Mitchell's rshearsals are ssvsr.. ..
~ not an easy taskmasser n.
"nas ne wants and exacts the sso,.,
Of the players to get It. Both .r'
o'Brien Girl" and Ed Wynn, RAW.
1.-THE Perfect Fool" arc sx.rs,..
his stage direction.
Where does the stage director S.,,,
when his production agrrseas.. .,
twenty music numbers7
"Much depends upon the eona,.,..
of the production" Mr.. Mitchell =.
swers. "Often start work on , -.
duction for which tie opening chow. n
has not even been thought ~ ".
producers very often wait for INV .,.
gestion as to how the play should !.
opened. OF course. II poss!bls NJ.
to begin with tbs opening chorp. .,s
take the numbers in the right ysou.,..
so that the girls will have thu rer.,.
impressed on them from the b.glnp,n,,
but | am only human, and when n.
material offered is not what Il .hoo,a
be, do the numbers that hold son.
charm for me first After I feel n,
way and get solid tcotin. the other,
get my attention. However I dons
recommend this method to he you,,
director.
Nerves and the
First Rehearsal
AT first rehearsal am far nor.
nervous than q chorus girl novice. ].
is tremendous responsibility to ssks
another mans piece Of property, N
which he probably has invested thou.
sands and thousands Of dollars, snd
prepare it for public ccnsumptioa. No
one realizes it more than | do. Thss
realization and the realization Of th.
confidence placed in me mako ns pay
scrupulous attention to my work.
while reading manuscript Of q
play i am TO stage, famliarize my.
self with the characters, the period
and the locale. Often | will find mu-
sicai numbers placed in spots that will
make the flow of the play Inconsistent
I try TO remedy that. In some NUN.
bers / recognize a great opportunity,
but If my life depended on 1t | couldn't
say how | was going to stage 1t until
] had my people there.
"To avoid Inconsistency and obvious
ness is an obsession with me. ! can
imagine nothing moro vlious to Che
public than a musical number that is
dragged in for no rhyme or reason
and done by a gang of puppets. n-
fore starting to work on nuniher
get together with the author and hhi
out where the people who are Id II
stand before the number begins. lfT
to impress on them that they an 70
look and act the same as they DID n
fore the music started. To aceompasa
this they must use their faces. as ven
as their feet and hands. II they u'sa
their heads my telling them would
unnecessary. This applies to the pns
eipals as well as to the chorus. u
at is impossible for the public
realize the difficulties encounters
during rehearsals. We get girls Tn'
are absolutely devoid of any sense y
rhyme or tempo, others who Just "s'
mechanically-like puppets on s1s''s
Totally lacking in personality :"
magnetism, which is essentially - W.
portant as being able to dance
The Unexpected Thing
Is Always Occurring
"Dissension in a company is ano'e''
thing that must be overcome, ta.'
again, after having thorough
sehooled the company In nuinnsf' "
powers that be may suddenly sse'''
that the music isn't up to the -"
and cut it goes and we must begin y
over again; or new scenes will DO VIZ
ten in or taken out, which neeess''S'',
changing numbers or taking tne~ ~
altogether. Very often enr''e
are thrown out bodily. The secopa
third week rehearsals-and' 'nis
common occurrence - find us w's4''
four or FIVE songs that the COMP
is working on. Yes. It's merry -, -.
"The final week of the reheaf'.
spent putting the show togetaef' - :.
director of the libretto and s's 4,
gether and dovetail the music aSS
dialogue. Again we go over 'ns
tinuity and see that the musicai ~
bers do not interfere with tns -
tinuous flow of language, tha' 'hss &,
part of the plot, arrange II ~
the girls come on at the risas =
when, although there is no nus 49,.
number, there is other business =,