There were some people who thought directing was easier than acting. Wasn't that why so many actors eventually turned to directing, after all" But they were wrong. Dead wrong.
There were some things about directing that were easier than acting though. For one, Jon didn't have to sit in a chair for three hours while he was transformed by way of makeup and wardrobe into someone else. He also didn't have to memorize hundreds of lines of dialogue and know precisely when and how to recite them. No one was clamoring for an interview or an autograph, and the applause was directed toward the actors, not the director or anyone else who worked behind the scenes to bring the play to life. But Jon didn't care much about that. He'd had his share of acclaim, as duly noted by the row of awards he'd earned for Swan Song in 2013. He mostly had Mataya to thank for that. Come to think of it, he had Mataya to thank for his latest stint as director, too.
But was directing easier than acting" If anyone had asked Jon that he would have replied with a resounding no. An actor was generally responsible for one person and one role alone. A director was responsible for the entire production, including cast and crew. It was a huge responsibility, but one Jon thought he was ready for.
He'd gotten his directorial feet wet already with RhyDin Nights, but directing a play was much different than a movie. A play involved rehearsal after rehearsal until everything was perfect. If anything went wrong during a performance, there were no re-takes. Everyone had to know precisely what was expected of them. There could be no mistakes. There were the occasional flubs, of course, and sometimes things happened that couldn't be predicted, but as the old saying goes, the show must go on. No matter what happened, short of an emergency, you just kept going.
It was a good thing he had such a great cast. The Lion in Winter was not the easiest play to pull off. It was high drama, that much was certain, but Jon believed in not only the play's ability to draw a crowd, but his cast's ability to move them.
Aris, for example, had made great strides as an actor and was perfect for the role of Henry. Not only was he the right age, but once they added a beard, a little white to his hair, and dressed him regally, he looked the part. Annabeth, of course, was a perfect Eleanor. A consummate professional, he couldn't have asked for more from an actress. She gave everything she had at every performance, and then some. Doran and Eregor, too, were fast becoming veterans of the stage - one young, the other ageless. Marcus and Kiri were new to the Rep, but were experienced actors themselves, having come from RhyDin television. He was not yet quite sure what they were capable of, but so far, he was pleased with both of their performances. Aware that they were a couple offstage, like Aris and Annabeth, he couldn't let that sway his casting choices. Even Byron had met the challenges set before him with apparent ease.
No, directing was definitely not easier than acting, but Jon could not have hoped for a more talented, more dedicated, more professional cast and crew than that of the Shanachie Repertory Company; and so as he made his directorial debut, there was no doubt in his mind that they would all make him proud.
