Question
Simplify the following in point form
Phrasing
Picture this scenario: You are directing Bus Stop and you've had your initial design meetings with your production team to talk about your concept for the show. You go into your next meeting and your scenic designer begins to show her design. You look at it and say, "You need to put the kitchen up left and not down right." She looks back at you and says, "No." Now what? You are most likely angry at her flat refusal and considering what you need to say next to make her do what you want. You are at an impasse that seems divisive already... and you've barely begun the process! Where did you go wrong, and how can you solve the problem? Better yet, how can you make sure that the problem doesn't crop up? It's all in the phrasing.
Look back at the previous paragraph and see what you notice about the director's phrasing; it should jump out at you once you look for it. Notice that, in the example, you've told the designer what she needs to do. By phrasing it that way, you've automatically set up a confrontational atmosphere that will be tough to overcome. When you are a director (or, really, in any leadership role), remember that questions are your friends. If, in our example, you phrase your initial desire as a question ("Could the kitchen be up left, instead of down right?") you have begun a discussion... as opposed to an argument. Either the designer, when answering your question with a "No," will go on and elaborate her response, or if not you can follow up with the question, "Why not?" It is only then that you have the opportunity to leam that the water and electric hookups are behind the stage-right proscenium arch, and since you want your kitchen to be practical, it needs to be as close to the hookups as possible. Ahhhhh! A logical and good reason to roll with this altered vision to the design.
Designers aren't going to say "no" just for the sake of it. Remember that they work practically just as much as they work crea-tively and there will almost always be a logical reason for the answers they give you. If you are communicating in questions as opposed to declarative statements, it makes the collaborative process a much smoother one. I once directed a show and, after a technical rehearsal, was having drinks with one of the actors, who was also a director. He marveled at the fact that the set designer (with whom he had worked several times) and I were sitting next to one another throughout the rehearsal. He lamented that he could never get that designer to sit with him in rehearsals. I mentioned that I had often seen him going into the scenic studio of the theatre and telling the designer what he needed to do, whereas I would go in and chat with the designer each day and not just about the show. We talked about current events, politics, sports, music, and other things, as well as the show. And because we had built a personal relationship with one another, that carried over to our professional relationship
Phrasing
Picture this scenario: You are directing Bus Stop and you've had your initial design meetings with your production team to talk about your concept for the show. You go into your next meeting and your scenic designer begins to show her design. You look at it and say, "You need to put the kitchen up left and not down right." She looks back at you and says, "No." Now what? You are most likely angry at her flat refusal and considering what you need to say next to make her do what you want. You are at an impasse that seems divisive already... and you've barely begun the process! Where did you go wrong, and how can you solve the problem? Better yet, how can you make sure that the problem doesn't crop up? It's all in the phrasing.
Look back at the previous paragraph and see what you notice about the director's phrasing; it should jump out at you once you look for it. Notice that, in the example, you've told the designer what she needs to do. By phrasing it that way, you've automatically set up a confrontational atmosphere that will be tough to overcome. When you are a director (or, really, in any leadership role), remember that questions are your friends. If, in our example, you phrase your initial desire as a question ("Could the kitchen be up left, instead of down right?") you have begun a discussion... as opposed to an argument. Either the designer, when answering your question with a "No," will go on and elaborate her response, or if not you can follow up with the question, "Why not?" It is only then that you have the opportunity to leam that the water and electric hookups are behind the stage-right proscenium arch, and since you want your kitchen to be practical, it needs to be as close to the hookups as possible. Ahhhhh! A logical and good reason to roll with this altered vision to the design.
Designers aren't going to say "no" just for the sake of it. Remember that they work practically just as much as they work crea-tively and there will almost always be a logical reason for the answers they give you. If you are communicating in questions as opposed to declarative statements, it makes the collaborative process a much smoother one. I once directed a show and, after a technical rehearsal, was having drinks with one of the actors, who was also a director. He marveled at the fact that the set designer (with whom he had worked several times) and I were sitting next to one another throughout the rehearsal. He lamented that he could never get that designer to sit with him in rehearsals. I mentioned that I had often seen him going into the scenic studio of the theatre and telling the designer what he needed to do, whereas I would go in and chat with the designer each day and not just about the show. We talked about current events, politics, sports, music, and other things, as well as the show. And because we had built a personal relationship with one another, that carried over to our professional relationship
Answers
GPT-4o mini
### Simplified Points:
- **Scenario Overview**: Director faces a disagreement with the scenic designer regarding the placement of a kitchen in the set design.
- **Initial Conflict**:
- Director commands, "You need to put the kitchen up left and not down right."
- Designer responds with a flat "No."
- **Director's Emotional Response**: Likely feelings of anger and frustration due to perceived defiance.
- **Issue Highlighted**: Confrontational phrasing creates a divisive atmosphere.
- **Effective Communication Strategy**:
- Use questions instead of commands to foster collaboration.
- Example: Instead of telling the designer, ask, "Could the kitchen be up left, instead of down right?"
- **Benefits of Questioning**:
- Opens a dialogue rather than starting an argument.
- Allows designer to provide reasoning for their choices (e.g., practical constraints like water and electric hookups).
- **Understanding Designers**: Designers often have logical explanations for their design decisions, merging practicality with creativity.
- **Collaborative Process**:
- Using questions facilitates a smoother collaborative environment.
- Importance of building personal relationships with designers for better professional rapport.
- **Personal Experience**:
- Director shares that they developed a personal relationship with the designer, improving communication and collaboration during rehearsals.
- Contrast with another director who only issued commands, resulting in a lack of collaboration.
- **Conclusion**: Effective phrasing and relationship-building are key to successful collaboration in directing and design.
- **Scenario Overview**: Director faces a disagreement with the scenic designer regarding the placement of a kitchen in the set design.
- **Initial Conflict**:
- Director commands, "You need to put the kitchen up left and not down right."
- Designer responds with a flat "No."
- **Director's Emotional Response**: Likely feelings of anger and frustration due to perceived defiance.
- **Issue Highlighted**: Confrontational phrasing creates a divisive atmosphere.
- **Effective Communication Strategy**:
- Use questions instead of commands to foster collaboration.
- Example: Instead of telling the designer, ask, "Could the kitchen be up left, instead of down right?"
- **Benefits of Questioning**:
- Opens a dialogue rather than starting an argument.
- Allows designer to provide reasoning for their choices (e.g., practical constraints like water and electric hookups).
- **Understanding Designers**: Designers often have logical explanations for their design decisions, merging practicality with creativity.
- **Collaborative Process**:
- Using questions facilitates a smoother collaborative environment.
- Importance of building personal relationships with designers for better professional rapport.
- **Personal Experience**:
- Director shares that they developed a personal relationship with the designer, improving communication and collaboration during rehearsals.
- Contrast with another director who only issued commands, resulting in a lack of collaboration.
- **Conclusion**: Effective phrasing and relationship-building are key to successful collaboration in directing and design.