Masters of the Stage

At St. Mary's Church in Manhattan on September 19, 1986 SDCF hosted the second installation in a series of interviews with "Actors Who Direct". This interview moderated by Ike Schambelan, features a discussion with the magnificent directors/performers/educators Geraldine Fitzgerald and John Houseman. The focus of the talk is a simple one - good directors. Fitzgerald and Houseman lead the audience on a survey of the craft of directing. Throughout two 40+ year careers in stage and screen, these two worked with a veritable who's who of film and theatrical directors including Ciulei, Kazan, Reinhardt, Stanislavsky, Wells and Wyler; In this interview the pair discusses who their favorites are, and why. They outline the difference between the crafts of acting and directing for film and the stage. They engage in the eternal debates on methods of acting and the most effective means of collaborating with actors. Fitzgerald tells of her own experience as one of the first Tony nominated female directors for Mass Appeal while Houseman recounts the landmark productions of the Mercury Theatre, which he began with Orson Wells. They conclude by conceding that they are most effective as directors when they show the kind of personal vulnerability that encourages their actors to explore and create.