Directing

Director's Philosophy

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My philosophy for directing and teaching the actor is wholly based on the theory and practice of the actor as storyteller through a three-fold approach: storytelling with the mind, body, and soul. 

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In teaching and directing acting fundamentals, the first and foremost focus of my approach is to provide the knowledge and tools that actors need to fully grasp and understand the circumstance of their character and their character’s story. Through the thorough analysis, questioning, and understanding of a character’s given circumstances, an actor can then begin to think the thoughts of their character in order to live truthfully in the presence of their character’s story.

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Beyond the school of thought and creating the world and circumstances that one’s character lives in, my directing and teaching work organically explores the use and connection of the body through physical actions in storytelling. This exploration of physical actions is deeply rooted to our characters’ greatest need and what actions we are going to take to achieve it. Experimental tactic work significantly helps facilitate actors’ growth in embodying their character, making believable choices, and raising the stakes of their characters’ greatest conflicts and dire needs. 

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Finally, acting is reacting. Actors think the thoughts through circumstance, do their thing through physical actions, and the soul is the natural human behavior that ties it all together. Through this third pillar of my approach, I challenge my students to step outside of their comfort zone, follow their humanly instincts and fully commit themselves to the present moment of their character’s journey. What is my instinctual emotional response to the circumstance at hand, and what am I going to do about it? It is through this step in my directing and my teaching that I witness actors unveil incredible discoveries and unleash their greatest potential. 

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My passion for directing and teaching comes from my greatest passion for storytelling. As an arts educator, an actor, and a director, telling the story is at the core of it all. Our young actors standing on our stages and sitting in our classrooms are the next generation of leading artists who need to be given the tools to discover the story, and the permission to exercise their mind, body and soul to create it. 

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- Stephanie Scuderi