Big Daddy Lives or Don’t Say the F Word: Feminist Directing in Theory and in Practice

Abstract

A feminist director finds themselves faced with a number of questions. As they study the work of Aristotle and Stanislavski, they realize that these questions continue to go unanswered. In fact, the canon of acting and directing theory leave the feminist director with even more questions. Does learning the art of directing mean sifting through the sexist metaphors and male pronouns in our textbooks to find the given circumstances of our craft? How can marginalized voices be amplified without conforming to the male-dominated methods of making theatre? Using directing textbooks and articles written by feminists, for feminists, Big Daddy Lives or Don’t Say the F Word was part scripted, part devised performance piece that explored a variety feminist directing theories and strategies by staging a series of scenes from classic and contemporary plays with the goal of putting the spotlight on “alternative” ways of directing theatre.