From Script to Stage at Stand:

My Directing Process
by  Renée Norris

Directing is equal parts planning and discovery, discipline and play. It always begins with the text, moves through vision and design, and then takes shape during  collaboration with actors.

From script to stage, the director’s job is not just to tell the story but to invite everyone - designers, cast, crew, and audience into the world of that story. And if we’ve done it well, by opening night, everyone feels like they’ve lived there.

Journal Entry: August 29

Last night, I began my first rehearsal for Over the River and Through the Woods by Joe DiPietro. The first rehearsal always feels like the true foundation - a time to gather, dream, and set the tone. But the truth is, the journey to opening night begins long before that moment. For me, it begins with vision and world-building, even before auditions.

Step One: Creating the World Before Auditions

When I direct, I want everyone - from the auditioners to the audience - to feel invited into a specific world. For Over the River and Through the Woods, I started with an aesthetic that reflected my vision. I leaned into an Italian-Mediterranean theme: authentic lemon candies, Tuscan tones, and an atmosphere that felt like a warm family invitation.

The marketing carried this look, so when actors walked through the audition doors, they were already stepping into the world of the play. In the end, the final production will look less like Tuscany and more like my grandmother’s living room - cozy, layered with history, full of food, stories, and family. But that first impression matters. It helps the cast, creative team, and eventually the audience know: this is the world we’re living in together.

Step Two: Dramaturgy as a Foundation

My rehearsal process always starts with dramaturgy - the research, the history, the flavors of the story. Even before auditions, I’m meeting with designers, creating the ground plan, and studying into the playwright’s world. For this play, I researched Hoboken, New Jersey, and placed the story in 1989 - the year I left my Italian family in Pennsylvania for Texas. That decision made the piece deeply personal.

On the first rehearsal night, I introduced the cast to the Italian traditions that shape the play and my childhood. We sampled foods, practiced pronunciations, and talked about the “cookie table” tradition at Italian-American weddings. I brought in a painting of my grandparents on their wedding day - a piece that will hang center stage in our production.

For me, dramaturgy isn’t just research. It’s memory, food, pictures, colors, and traditions. It’s how we start honoring the playwright — and each other.

Step Three: Collaboration with Designers

Directors can’t create alone. Early in the process, I gather my designers and we read the script together, this time over a meal. We talk through set, lights, costumes, and sound so that everyone is imagining the same world before we ever step into rehearsal.

I always provide the initial palette, style commitments, and ground plan, then let the designers thrive in their areas of expertise. The key is constant conversation - choosing a team that enhances the story and creates a safe, creative atmosphere for the whole company.

Step Four: Building the Rehearsal Process

When I build a rehearsal calendar, I work backwards from opening night. I make sure the final weeks allow enough time to polish, then I divide earlier weeks between blocking, table work, and exploration.

What matters most to me is not rushing through blocking. Blocking rehearsals are not about telling actors where to stand. They’re about giving actors a world they can live in - discovering what parts of the set make them feel comfortable, what parts create unease, and letting those discoveries shape their performances.

I dedicate entire rehearsals to dialects, culture, and physicality. We laugh a lot, share personal stories, and let discussion fuel performance. I send actors home with “homework” - maybe a secret about their character or a memory to invent - and when they bring those discoveries back, the work deepens.

The director’s role, to me, is not just to instruct but to facilitate. To guide actors toward performances that are authentically their own, while making sure everything is rooted in truth, research, and respect for the playwright.

Step Five: Honoring the Text

Every production begins with honoring the playwright. For Over the River and Through the Woods, that means recognizing Joe DiPietro’s Italian-American heritage and bringing my own heritage into the work. The title itself is personal - growing up in Pennsylvania, I often said to friends that visiting my grandparents meant literally going “over the river and through the woods.”

Not every play I direct is this personal. For instance, later this year I’ll direct a 1940s radio-play version of It’s a Wonderful Life. That show will require a very different approach - authentic hair, makeup, jingles, and cadence. In that case, the audience’s expectations guide the choices, just as they would expect Dorothy in a blue gingham dress in The Wizard of Oz.

Whether the play is intimate and personal, like Over the River, or iconic and traditional, like It’s a Wonderful Life, the process is the same: honor the text, create the world, collaborate, and invite both the actors and the audience into a shared story.

Step Six: Extending the World Beyond the Stage

For me, the audience experience begins the moment they enter the lobby. Sightlines, set design, costumes - yes, those matter. But so does the lobby experience, the first impression, the invitation into the world of the play. Every detail is an opportunity to extend storytelling.

Step Seven: Leaving the Audience Changed

Ultimately, my greatest hope as a director is that people leave a show still talking about it, still feeling something. Theater is more than entertainment - it should move us to reflect, to connect, to change.

With Over the River and Through the Woods, I hope audience members leave wanting more time with their families. I hope someone makes that long-overdue phone call to mend a relationship, or strengthens a bond with someone they love.

That is what theatre at Stand is about: sparking conversations and exploring ideas that enrich life. My job as a director is to guide actors and designers through that process. Their job is to offer it up to the audience. Together, we create and transform lives