An exploration of the communication and leadership style of theatre directors : a Maltese case study

Abstract

In this thesis I explore the various communication techniques and leadership style characteristics of a sample of Maltese theatre directors. In working on different local productions there seems to be heavy reliance on individual personality functions and personal evaluations when it comes to certain practices and styles. Creating a theatrical performance is a process of constant communicative acts and the role of the theatre director is to set the tone for how this should take place. A qualitative case-study approach was deemed appropriate, in which I observed a local director developing a real-life theatrical production and disseminated a brief questionnaire to their cast and crew, providing insight into the leader-member relationship. One-to-one interviews with the primary participant and two other theatre directors provided a deeper understanding of certain behaviours and practices. By appropriating events observed into hypothetical scenarios and presenting them to the secondary participants I was able to extract a degree of diversity and/or similarity in the approaches of the three directors. Findings revealed that Maltese theatre director’s patterns of behaviour stem from trial and error due to a lack of a formal knowledge-base emerging from the insular local theatrical culture which also results in these patterns of behaviour being widely used. Local directors rely on support from established relationships frequently choosing team members based on previous knowledge of their skills and collaborative potential. Elements of both situational and autocratic leadership are used and directors encourage knowledge-sharing with members, allowing them a certain degree of ownership. Beyond this level, this study can be expanded to include more directors of varying ages, genders, cultural and educational backgrounds.