Shhh…it’s a secret. Directors are vulnerable, too.

At first glance, it may look like we have all the power. After all, we are sitting on the other side of the table. It appears we are judging actors. We may seem imposing, professional yet reserved, sitting back in the dark deciding who is good enough to be in our next play.

In rehearsals, directors take notes and tell actors what to do, right? We have all the answers. Actors are merely pawns we control to fulfill our brilliant, predetermined vision. We are there to criticize, demand, cajole, and make the actors do it right. Right?

SCREEEECH of brakes.

Nope. Wrong.

Enter: reality…

Directors are equally vulnerable. When I direct, I participate in warm-up games, wear my hair down and wild, go barefoot, and play hard with the actors.

I, too, need to be in a creative, open, authentic space in order to create art with actors and designers. The result is something cool, new, fresh, inviting.

And I do it by feel.

Creating art is not strictly rational. Sure, there are certain specific aspects…stand on that box, turn on a dime, grab his shirt, etc. The overall nuance, however, is that I know when it feels good. I know when it clicks. I know when I resonate with what is happening in rehearsal.

And I know these things by being open. Present. Connected.

Guy Sanville, Artistic Director at the Purple Rose Theatre Co. in Chelsea, defines “talent” as the ability to express oneself in abstract form. Directing, for me, takes on the challenge and joy of expressing myself via the shows I direct. My raw material is actors, the script, the setting. The thing is, actors are not clay. They are living, breathing, feeling human beings. And there is my joy: collecting, harnessing, encouraging, synergizing the voices, hearts, bodies, authentic selves into a unique creation.

As a director, I share the experience with the actors of allowing my heart and soul and self to be revealed. It is joy to be known. It is a gift to deeply connect, openly share and creatively join with actors and designers to successfully express ourselves together in abstract form.

This weekend, I invited the Godspell cast and band members to write a note to each other sharing something they love about the other person. I was touched that some included me in the game. Here are a couple of particularly memorable, loving remarks I received:

“Your crazy ideas always seem to work!”

“You have inspired me to direct some day.”

“I have learned so much from you not just as an actor and singer, but as a person.”

Okay, wow. Thank you for allowing me to continue to fulfill my life’s purpose: to inspire others to do and be their best. Because I am at my best when you are at your best.

Ain’t that a delicious recipe for a success. And not just onstage; in Life. We all win. Together.

Come see Godspell at Jackson Lumen Christi Catholic High School this week:

Thursday, Friday, Saturday

March 21, 22, 23

7 p.m. curtain