Here is my interview with director Tiffany Strawson, in full.
Q.1 What in your opinion are the most important assets for a successful director to possess?
In my case, a van!
Plus all the usual things any creative professional needs, like an apple mac and a mobile phone!
But these are all tangiable, hand held things and the greatest asset I think actually is more of a personal nature, for example a list of creative colleagues and peers, for stimulus, inspiration and support - and contracts! 'And it helps if they are also friends built up along the way!
In addition to this it certianly helps to have emotional and domestic support and a patient bunch of mates (who you never get to spend enough time with!)
Q.2 What are the most important things to consider when directing a drama/play?
The exact answer to this would totally depend on the nature of the piece, the venue, the group I was working with including the cast obviously and the theme/ subject/ context. 'A variety of different contexts. So half of the answer is very much about the creative explosions that happen to the individuals and the 'group' and the other half of the answer is about the boring limitations and managemnet of any project; like the time line and the budget, because ultimately the show will go up!
Q.3 How long have you been a director and what was your career path?
I've been directing in combination with performing and workshop facilitation for about 16 years and I came into it quite randomly but quite orgaincally. I graduated from uni having done a theatre degree, and worked festivals and all sorts of other stuff voluntarily for a couple of years gaining real experience of all the stuff they didn't teach me in college. Then at a time when many of my peers were tiring of the sheer bloody hard work of free lancing and the uncertianty of it all and were side stepping into more secure jobs, I seemed to be going deeper into my practice and dedicating myself to not ever earining any real money at all! This included travelling around the world chasing masked theatre traditions and doing an MA along the way and working all over the country chasing the work. However it's all seemed to have balanced itself out now, and whilst I can honestly say I'm not a huge earner, I do make a comfortable living and I'm my own boss and I do the work I love and that's priceless.
Q.4 What was the single most important piece of advice you were given when you set out to become a director?
How I came to arrive at a 'successful' job as a director was pure fluke really and of course is very fragile and could all change tomorrow. Plus I never really 'set out' in an ambitious way to direct, so I was never really advised to do anything specific. In fact, at various times I was encouraged to change track completely and seek something that may be more secure or stable, so perhaps it's better to answer by saying what advise I would give which would be:
to always follow your instincts, and that a feeling is never wrong but there to be explored to the full.
Don't worry about not knowing.
Find out what you enjoy and refine enjoying it better.
Q.5 how do you view the changing face of the industry, what are your thoughts on the current media climate. Is it affecting you?. e.g digital media, internet...
my first love will always be the moving body on stage and live performance, however in terms of other practices digital media is a major part of our cultural and it's very exciting to collaborate with film makers, DJs and VJs in the creation of live performance. Why not? It opens up the potential for really exciting possibilities. I don't see why the two things can't exist in perfect harmony with each other. With the advent of technologie, we just have more toys and resources to play with, so long as there's a balance, this need not compromise the artist integrity of the work and the stage craft and the tools, talents and skills that the performers bring to the performance.
The arts are suffering massively right now because of all the funding restrictions and the advent of the Olympics, so this is a major negative impact on the industry. In other cultures artists are really celebrated and are considered important but here very few artists actually make any significant contribution to the ecconomy so in this air of capitalism, we're not really valued as we should be, or recognised. However with any shift in one direction, there is then a counter shift and I feel that somehow in this vacuum of finances, some brilliantly exciting work will emerge. This is my hope anyway. Although we all need to make a living, I think it's important for artists to not be solely guided by whats available fundingwise and to just make art works regardless and in revolt to the current political climate.
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