THE ART OF STAGE DIRECTING: A CASE OFTHREE KENYAN DIRECTORS KEVIN KIMANI KAHURO (B.A.) M66/24471/2013 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS (FILM AND THEATRE ARTS) IN THE SCHOOL OF CREATIVE ARTS, FILM & MEDIA STUDIES OF KENYATTA UNIVERSITY MAY 2018 ii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my Parents, John KahuroWainaina and Mary-JecintaWambui, my sister Vienna MugureKahuro, my loving wife Cynthia Muthoni and my beautiful angel Aart Casey Wambui. iii Acknowledgement Most High God for his mercies, favour and grace; without him I wouldn’t have come this far. Support from my parents John Kahuro and Mary-JecintaWambui, my one and only sister Vienna MugureKahuro and my wife Cynthia Muthoni. Gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. John Mugubi and Dr. Emmanuel Shikuku for your sacrifice, support and mentorship throughout my entire master’s journey. Asante sana to my able teachers, Prof. Richard Hess for your inspiration, encouragement and support. RachelDiang'a, Dr. David KakutaMulwa, and Dr.Wasambo Were, you will always be remembered and appreciated. I also thank my peers and classmates, Gabriel Kimani, Michael Ndetei, EutycusMwangi, Eric Abuga, Erastus Sorobi, Steve Wekesa and Fr. Charles for the immense support and encouragement. May the Lord bless you abundantly! iv Table of Contents DECLARATION ................................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................................ II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................................... IV ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................................................... IX OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS ........................................................................................ X LIST OF PICTURES ............................................................................................................................. XI ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... XII 1.0 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................. 1 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ................................................................................................ 6 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ...................................................................................................... 6 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................... 6 1.6 RATIONALE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................................................. 7 1.7 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION ....................................................................................................... 7 1.8 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ........................................................................................ 8 1.8.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.8.2 ELEMENTS OF THEATRE ......................................................................................................... 8 1.8.3 ART OF STAGE DIRECTING ................................................................................................... 11 KONSTANTIN STANISLAVSKY ....................................................................................................... 11 VSEVOLOD MEYERHOLD ............................................................................................................... 14 BERTOLT BRECHT ........................................................................................................................... 17 AUGUSTO BOAL ................................................................................................................................ 19 NEIL COPPEN ..................................................................................................................................... 20 1.9 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.................................................................................................. 22 1.9.1 AUTEUR THEORY ..................................................................................................................... 22 1.9.2 ELEMENTS OF AUTEURISM ................................................................................................... 23 1.9.3 APPLICATION OF AUTEUR THEORY IN THIS STUDY ...................................................... 24 1.10 RESEARCH DESIGN................................................................................................................... 25 v 1.10.1 SAMPLE SIZE AND SELECTION PROCEDURE .................................................................. 25 1.10.2 DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................................................... 27 1.10.3 PRIMARY DATA ...................................................................................................................... 27 1.10.3.1 OBSERVATION ..................................................................................................................... 27 1.10.3.2 INTERVIEWS ......................................................................................................................... 27 1.10.4 SECONDARY DATA................................................................................................................. 27 1.10.5 DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................... 28 1.11 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 28 2.0 CHAPTER TWO: STAGE DIRECTING TECHNIQUES ............................................................ 29 2.1 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 29 2.2 STAGE DIRECTING TECHNIQUES ........................................................................................... 29 2.2.1 TEXT SELECTION ..................................................................................................................... 32 2.2.2 CHARACTERIZATION ............................................................................................................. 33 2.2.3 THE DIRECTING APPROACH ................................................................................................. 35 2.2.4 DIRECTING THE ACTOR ......................................................................................................... 38 2.2.5 BIOMECHANICS THEATRE TECHNIQUES .......................................................................... 39 2.2.6 CINEMATIC THEATRE TECHNIQUES .................................................................................. 40 2.2.7 COLLABORATION .................................................................................................................... 41 2.2.7.1 SET ............................................................................................................................................ 41 2.2.7.2 COSTUME ................................................................................................................................ 42 2.2.7.3 SOUND AND MUSIC ............................................................................................................... 42 2.2.7.4 LIGHTING ................................................................................................................................ 43 2.2.8 RUN-THROUGHS, TECHNICAL AND DRESS REHEARSAL ............................................... 44 2.2.9 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 44 3.0 CHAPTER THREE: STAGE DIRECTING TECHNIQUES USED BY THE SELECTED KENYAN DIRECTORS AND HOW THEY USE THEM TO CONVEY THEIR THEMATIC CONCERNS ......................................................................................................................................... 45 3.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 45 3.2 DIRECTORS .................................................................................................................................. 45 3.2.1 JOSEPH MURUNGU .................................................................................................................. 45 3.2.2 ANDY RURI................................................................................................................................. 48 vi 3.2.3 SAMMY MWANGI ..................................................................................................................... 50 3.3 DRAMATIC GENRE ..................................................................................................................... 50