The Thrill of Directing Comedies

As a director of comedy plays, I always adore working with my writer and actors. It is a rollercoaster of ingenuity and sheer joy of bringing humor to life. Unfortunately we do not have good comedy writers in Urdu Literature. I mostly do adaptations; so we have to select any foreign script; sometimes it was selected by me or sometimes it was suggested by my writer. In comedies, I love farce because it is fast paced and full of action. The writer does the painstaking task to set that script in our culture and society. At times, it takes a lot of discussions and exchanging of ideas & references just to find that right alternative in our culture.

After having a final draft of the script, now the director has to do the challenging process of casting the actors. In this process, I always rely on my gut feelings because you have to keep in mind that selecting the actors should have a natural knack of comedy along with their acting skills. The chemistry between the actors is like the secret ingredient which elevates the comic interactions and how they convert scripted jokes into memorable moments of genuine laughter.

For this the director should have a shrewd eye because every actor brings a unique flair to the play.

For a director, rehearsals serve as a laboratory where you and your actors are exposed to thousands of possibilities and experimentation. I always encourage my actors to contribute ideas or try different approaches in order to discover the most effective ways to elicit laughter from our audience. The timing and dialogue delivery is crucial for this genre.  A director’s job is to have a keen eye and ear to fine-tune the rhythm of dialogue, ensure that the punch lines land with the maximum impact. My simple formula is that if I am enjoying the show then anyone can. I always ask my actors let's entertain your director! I am their barometer to judge the funniest part of the play.

Mostly the farce demands a proper choreographed physical comedy. We try a lot of things in rehearsal and then lock one final blocking which has a balance between precision and spontaneity, where my actors must feel comfortable and it has a comic timing as well. I believe that a theatre play should be entertaining for all the family members. The action part is equally enjoyable by adults and kids. It has a surprising element also.  A well-choreographed action sequence gets not only laughter; at the same time it lasts in the minds of the audience.

The first day of performance of each & every play which I have directed was not easy for me. I always have a sleepless night before the show and at the time of opening the curtains I can clearly hear my heart beat and butterflies in my stomach. As it progresses, my anxiety turns into happiness and satisfaction as I see that the audience is enjoying and my actors are getting laughter and appreciation.

I am always doing the lights for my plays, so I see my show every night unlike other directors who just be there on the first or second shows and then leave it to the cast & crew. I feel lucky that I remain a valuable part of my play. As a director you feel authority to create your own world on the stage and it continues as a lighting designer and then lighting operator because the control of the stage is still in your hands.  In comedies, actors often take leverage to adlib on stage just to get more laughter from the audience. But as a part of the audience in the control room, I have an opportunity to see what my actors are doing. It sounds autocratic but I am not a very dominating director. I give a free hand to my actors as I have mentioned above that they can improve during the performance if it does not deviate from the storyline.

Being a director, you have to be an overseer also because it is your duty to pick the right script and pick the right actors for your audience. To me it is a 50/ 50 alliance of the director and the audience. The target audience should be in your mind when you decide your script. Otherwise you will be the only audience of your creativity.