An Interview with Sarah Hall
“Lots of things could hinge on just a couple of lines on the show. Those get cut, and that changes the meaning.”
Sarah Hall is a senior Theatre Major at Middle Tennessee State University. She has recently directed Stephen Bittrich’s 10-minute play The Proposal and assistant directed Dipti Bramhandkar’s newest play, The Ruminants. She is currently directing a one act titled Little Happy Secrets by Melissa Leilani Larson and assistant directing Nashville Repertory Theatre’s production of Waitress. When Sarah is not directing, you can find her performing or lighting designing for any production she can get her hands on.
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Where did your passion for directing come from, and how have you honed said passion throughout your career?
I didn’t come to college knowing I was going to be a director, but I think in a way I’ve always kind of known. I’ve always been a little bit of a control freak. When I was super young, I was directing my parents around. This is how we’re going to play Barbies. I was that girl. You’re going to say this line, and I’m going to say this line, and this is how we’re doing it.When I came to college I came as an actor, wholeheartedly, I was all in it for acting. I’ve taken a bunch of classes with Lauren Shouse, the head of directing at MTSU. She’s really inspired me to go on this path and to hone my skills as a director. The more that I’ve done, the more I’ve been interested in it, and now I really see myself going down this path in the future.
Are there any directors or directing methods that inspire your work?
Lots of directors inspire my work. I would say off the top of my head Rachel Chavkin, the director of Hadestown. I had to do a deep dive of her a long time ago, and I just love her style. I love the way that she compresses her stories into a small space in these big, grand theaters. She compresses her sets into these small spaces, and it makes her shows feel so intimate. I just think that an intimate show is going to connect with the audience infinitely more than these big grandiose shows. I as an audience member always am feeling those intimate things, and I feel like she nails that really well.
Does your process change between directing 10-minute versus one-act versus multi-act plays? If so, how do you approach each length of project?
It is very, very different because typically when working with a shorter script, at least in my experience thus far, I have less time to work with my actors and designers. I’ve directed a 10-minute play — it was called The Proposal — and I only had one or two rehearsals with my actors; that was the time I had to table work to get everyone to the same place as I was with themes and the bigger ideas of the show. But it was a shorter script, so there’s less text to work through, where with something longer I would have much more time with my actors, much more time talking to designers. I would have a lot more time myself to become set in my ideas, to communicate my ideas to other people effectively, and for other people to communicate their interpretations to me.
How important is the connection between a writer and director in theater?
It’s very important. In any script that you’re doing, the connection between the writer and the director, it’s going to vary, but it’s always important. You’re directly dealing with the author for what it was that they intended with their script. What are they writing about? What story are they trying to tell? When I worked on The Ruminants, and then working The Last Time We Saw Madison, these are both experiences where I’m talking back and forth with the playwright. It’s different from the ones where you’re not dealing with the playwright at all because both times the script has been evolving. The script has been changing. Plot points can shift, the themes can change, and the tiniest little line shift can be a world of difference from the directing perspective — and from the acting perspective. Lots of things could be hinged on just a couple of lines on the show. Those get cut, and that changes the meaning; now we have to evolve on that front.
Similarly, how does the relationship between actor and director affect your work?
I’ve worked with a lot of actors now, and that’s the thing I feel like I can speak on the most clearly. Working with actors is so important because they are going to pull something away from the script that I’m not going to pull. I’m looking at the overarching picture; I’m looking at big themes, the big ideas. They are looking from one specific perspective, and they can so easily pick up something that I am not picking up because they are looking at it through such a small lens. They’re looking for motivations; they’re looking for why did my character do this thing. I’m not living in that character’s mindset the way they are.
How would you say play directing compares to directing for movies or television?
I haven’t directed for film and television, but I think that it is a different ball game. There’s a stamina that your actors have to have for the stage. We don’t get a do-over, and it’s going to change every single time you do it. Where, with film, everything is set. As a director, I have to bring in these overarching themes.
How does your acting experience affect how you direct other actors?
A lot of times I will have opinions on how something will be performed when I read a script. I have my opinion of this is how this line would be read, and another actor comes in and reads it completely differently from how I heard it in my head. That just brings a whole new perspective that I don’t have. A lot of times, that can create something very beautiful because we can meet in the middle; we can find something that neither of us would have come to on our own. It does help me to have that acting background because I understand how the character work works. If I feel an actor is missing something that I found important in the script, I can bring that up in a way that is respectful to the work that they’ve already done. We both have thoughts. It’s a collaboration in the end.
Would you say that improves the communication between the actor and director, having the experience you have?
I do think so because I understand what goes into the acting side. I would never want to disrespect someone else’s work, and I know how not to do that.
More specifically, how have you approached directing The Last Time We Saw Madison?
So far, I’m very very early in that process. What I have right now is a draft of the script that was written for Zoom, and it’s going to be revised for the stage. At this point, I don’t have my actors just yet, and I’m doing several reads of the script. I’m writing down things that jump out to me, things that I find I relate to, or things that I think point to an overarching theme in the show. What is sticking out? What is important? Doing that, I come to a base point or a seed that the show can grow from. It’s these things that I’m going to bring to my actors when I have them. As of right now, I’m creating the foundation for what this is going to be. Then, when I get an updated version of the script, I’ll have to do all of this again.
How long is the process for directing, from getting the script to putting it on stage?
It definitely depends. A new play process tends to go on a lot longer than a show that’s already written. The Ruminants — I worked on that show on and off from July through the following April; that was several months of working on that show and that was a two-act, full-length new work. Whereas typically at MTSU the process takes about a month or so to get something from the page to the stage.
If you had the chance to direct any play, famous or obscure, what would it be?
I have been turning over Pageant Play by Matthew Wilkas and Mark Setlock. It’s very Dance Moms-esque or Toddlers & Tiaras. It’s these moms, and they are parading around their pageant daughters who are little bitty toddlers. It’s really interesting because the toddlers are represented by dresses and not actually children; the objectification of children is the idea of the show. I would love to put this on stage at some point. I’ve been really turning it over in my mind lately.
One final question: what advice would you give to aspiring play directors?
I would say you just got to do it. It always is going to seem like a daunting task. For me personally, it felt like I could never, that’s not a thing that I can do. Upon doing it, I realized that this is something that I feel like I’m good at. I think that if you’re an aspiring director, the best thing you can do is direct. Direct something whether or not you think you’re any good at. It’s the only way to get better.
Caleb Peluso-Harper is a senior Business Administration major and Honors student at Middle Tennessee State University. He is currently writing an action screenplay, A Woman’s Revenge, for his Honors creative thesis. Outside of classes, Caleb works in entertainment distribution for social media content; rights management, search engine optimization, and video editing.
