Linda.  Sorry to hear about this.  What an uncomfortable position to be in as a director, particularly when you want to be able to work with these people (Board of directors and producers) again. 

The best approach, for starters, is to approach the miscreants individually and in private and express your concern that their well-meaning interference is an un-needed, unwanted distraction to your actors.  (you can pretty up the language as you see fit).  You may also want to point out the un-professionalism of this behavior.  Be as bold or as apologetic as you want, but be firm. Remind them you were given the responsibility of directing and direct you will.  Also tell them you will instruct your actors to cheerfully ignore any back-seat directing and to inform you if it happens so that you may inform the rest of the board of their actions (they can't ALL be meddling biddys, can they?)  Then you may follow thru and remind your actors whose name will be listed on the program as director and ask to be informed of any outside interference.  Let your actors know you have complete confidence in their professionalism and apologize for the situation. 

You must, if you want to have any future credibility as a director in that theater, handle this quickly and firmly.  Get it behind you as soon as possible so you can concentrate on your tech week and opening.

I had to deal with a simular situation in the past with a cast member.  In that instance, I asked them to refrain from directing my show and threatened to replace him and spread the word he was "poison" when cast.  It worked.   He smartened up, stopped directing my show, played his role and did the local theater community a favor by never auditioning again.

I also starred in a show where the stage manager kept "suggesting" to an actress that the way she was being directed was wrong.  She went to the director who immediately took the jerk out into the hall and read him the theater riot-act.  We heard it on stage.  It ended the problem. 

Not a pretty situation, but remember that the Chinese idiogram for crisis combines the idiograms for "danger" and "opportunity". 

Let us know how it unfolds.  Fingers crossed here.

Chris

Linda,

I have to agree with what Chris and Joe have said.  YOU need to assert yourself and take charge, but gently.  Scaring away actors or alienating yourself from the board won't help.

Let me say that I am all of the above -- actor, board member, and have also directed.  In CT, all those roles are necessary.  (We don't designate "producers" as such.)  The last show I did had 7 of our board members as cast members.  We did have some who tried to direct from backstage, but enough of us also balanced that out.  Because we hired a professional director from outside of the board, we don't have a whole lot of a problem with this -- we are paying him and intend to get our money's worth.  He also doesn't put up with much of this behavior, gently reminding offenders who the director is.

The bottom line is that you are the director and need to make it clear to everyone that you are the ONLY director.  Sure, we encourage actors to use their own initiative and imagination and take risks, even making suggestions for each other.  But ultimately, we want actors to do what the director has agreed to.

Best of luck with this.  Don't lose your sanity in the process!

Jeff

Thanks everyone,

I hope I took care of it last night, and I didn't yell. Thanks to this board I got a chance to vent a little before I took their heads off.

I told the cast last night that many people from their relatives to others involved with the show might be tempted to offer them advice. I used a analogy involving my sweet little mother: I told them about when I was playing an inmate in an insane asylum.  After opening night my mother told me I would be a lot prettier if I just combed my hair.  They all laughed. I reminded them that although she was correct about my hair, in the context of the show she was wrong. I told them to please ignore any advice, or if they had a real concerns to talk to me.

Keeping the other two in check may be a bit of an ongoing process. I was the president of this board for about 8 years, so I know these people very well. I am on a leave absense from the board right now, and this is my last show for a bit. I desperately need to recharge my batteries.  Anyway, I am asking them to trust me, and telling them I will always do what is best for the show.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Linda

 

It's so easy to get burnt out in CT.  I am approaching that point after only four years.  I can't believe you've lasted 8, Linda!  I'd go whacko if I didn't have this BB to vent to.

I think that in CT, since everyone does everything and the roles are so blurred, we all think we should have input into the play.  After all,. we are volunteering tons of our time!

Our AD who founded our CT (and who has directed most of the shows) always told the cast that she would listen to their input but she had the last word.  Unfortunately this meant that everyone expects to be able to throw their two cents in. 

In our current run I am SM and had a cast member (who has a very minor part) change his blocking on Opening Night!  The Director (not our AD this time) was watching and told me to tell him to 'stick to the original blocking'.  He got all huffy since his antic produced laughs.  Now he's impossible backstage - crabby all the time and complaining that he should have been allowed to keep up his joke even though it was out of character.  Sheesh!

Actually k8tt, I hear you "loud and clear".

Don't really know what "load and clear" is, but it sounds violent.