Don't Stop Learning as a Director

Hannah Crawford, OnStage Blog Columnist

Did you know that the director doesn’t have to have all the answers? I’m sure some reading this are a little confused. Because after all, if you are directing the show, shouldn’t you know everything that goes along with it so that you can make the decisions needed? 

Yes, directors are leading the production, but leadership and expertise are not the same thing. Sometimes the very smartest thing that a director can say is that they don’t know ut that they will find out the answer. 

Your Title Doesn’t Make You All-Knowing

Now, you will never hear me say that titles don’t matter. That’s actually something that frustrates me about some professionals in the workplace. “Titles don’t matter”; um, yes, they do. Your title reflects the experience you have under your belt and what skill level you’re at. I’m a big believer in titles. 

However, I think far too often people rely heavily on titles for the wrong reason. Your title doesn’t just mean that you are all-knowing about the subject. 

For example, I’m a marketing manager at my day job. I’m the highest level of marketing at my job. But does that mean I know everything about marketing? No, it does not. In fact, I often go to conferences or meet with colleagues and find that there are things I can do better. There are aspects of marketing that I know, but I am absolutely not an expert in. 

Why should a director of a show be any different? Your stage manager may understand the show's logistics better than you do. And your music director obviously understands things better than you do. 

Just as I trust my tattoo artist when he tells me, “Hannah, I don’t think this design will flow well with what you already have on your arm; if we change the direction, it will blend much better.”

Now, is he telling me what to do? No, he’s not. He’s sharing his 30+ years of experience tattooing. And you best believe I’m going to trust his advice. 

Learn to Lean On Those Around You 

Oh, how dangerous it is when directors think they should just do everything themselves. Newsflash, you don’t have to. Rely on those around you with the skill set that you need to finish the production more efficiently. 

I’ll never understand why many managers at work have issues relying on one another for their areas of expertise. I know it’s a control issue, but we have to learn that our jobs are actually easier when we lean on others.

I’ll never forget a show I worked on many years ago, “The Great American Trailer Park.” I was the assistant stage manager for the show. And the stage manager seemed to see me as a threat from every angle. Probably because, for almost every show, I was always the stage manager, but for this one, I wanted to take a break. 

She would have found that her job would have been much easier if she had relied on someone on her team with expertise, rather than trying to fight it.

When I started my day job years ago, there was a fellow manager and I who butt heads a lot. I didn’t understand why I was being challenged at every angle and that everything had to be a fight. It almost came to the point I had to be like, “Girl, I don’t want your job and never will. I am happy where I’m at.” And then after that, our working relationship has been fantastic. Once she learned that I was an asset and not a threat, let her know she doesn’t know everything and that she could rely on me, too. 

Stop Saying “We’ve Always Done It This Way”

I’m not sure there is much else that gets my blood boiling the way that sentence does. When I first started working with a youth performing arts program many years ago, I worked with the owner who was notorious for saying, “We’ve always done it this way.” 

Well, Pumpkin, you hired me because that way wasn’t working anymore, so perhaps you should just trust me. 

Through the years, I took one improv class and turned it into three full-blown productions, 2 improv groups, backstage classes, 3 levels of acting classes, recitals, summer programs, and more.

I think we are far too often scared of what may happen if we just rely on someone that we work with instead of pretending that the way we've always done it will always work. 

Being Teachable Makes Others Want to Work With You

Why do we view learning something new as a bad thing? There is nothing I respect more than hearing a professional I admire say, “I’m not sure, actually. But let me find out.” 

Just because you are the director doesn’t mean you have to appear to others as if you know everything. People will not think less of you just because you don’t know everything. If anything, they will admire the strength it takes to admit when you don’t know something and rely on someone else’s expertise. 

A director who can admit when they’ve made a mistake, get feedback, change the direction they first started to take, and respect other people’s expertise will undoubtedly provide a much healthier rehearsal space.

For every show I’ve ever directed, I have always walked away with something I didn’t know and carried it with me to the next show. I hope I never reach the level where I “know everything”. 

I know so much more now than I did 11 years ago when I graduated from college. And I hope that 10 years from now, I will look back at where I am today and realize how much I didn’t know. 

And that’s a good thing. 

I will say this: the day that I walk into a rehearsal space and believe that there is nothing anybody in the room can teach me is the day I should probably stop directing altogether.