We recently connected with Bethany Rooney and have shared our conversation below.

Bethany Rooney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

As a freelance director, I move from show to show, rather than stick to one production. For example, this season I directed ten one-hour episodes at seven different companies. It used to be – we’re talking fifteen years ago now – that when I would show up to direct an episode, members of the cast and crew would tell me stories about the deficiencies of the director who preceded me. It would upset me, because that was the yardstick against which I was being judged. After a while, I thought, rather than just stewing about it, what could I do? How could I help the situation?

As an experienced director, I felt I should write a book about best practices and share what I knew, to help those coming up who didn’t know or understand the craft of directing. (After all, it is only by experience that one learns it; film school doesn’t truly prepare one for the realities of directing big-budget shows.) I enlisted the help of my fellow director Mary Lou Belli, who had previously written several textbooks about the craft of acting and understood the format of textbook writing.

That book, “Directors Tell the Story,” is now the textbook in many universities and more importantly, in the diversity/educational programs at Hollywood’s studios and networks. I developed a syllabus based on the book at the first studio to create such a program, Warner Bros., in 2012. I’ve taught there and at other places, such as NBC/Universal, ABC/Disney, Sony and the DGA since then. During that time, there has been an industry-wide push for equity and inclusion, and it is a joy to share what I know with those who previously didn’t have the opportunity to crash the gates of Hollywood.

Now those whom I’ve taught are taking up the baton and mentoring new directors. That one-on-one approach is the best way to help others learn and practice the craft, as it’s a very specific and demanding area of expertise. It requires practice to develop the skills – in fact, I honestly still learn something every day, and that provides the excitement that each new day on set brings!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got a Masters degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in TV/Film Production – not exactly a renowned film school. But it was through a fellow student there that I made one connection, which as it turned out, was the only one I needed. I became a production assistant at MTM (Mary Tyler Moore Productions). I answered phones and typed scripts and got coffee. Then I was promoted to Associate Producer, which meant I supervised post-production. That was a fabulous learning experience, because I saw how a story visually worked (or didn’t) and how post-production finished the process and brought all the elements together into a cohesive whole. It was great preparation for directing, in addition to the scene study acting class that I took for several years. Then my boss, Bruce Paltrow, gave me my first opportunity to direct. I am forever grateful – because once I was on that path, I stayed there. To date, I’ve directed over 250 primetime network dramas and nine TV movies. And I still love it!!

I continue to direct and teach. I am so passionate about storytelling and the craft of directing! I consider it to be, truly, the best job in the whole world and I’m blessed to get to do it.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I was lucky to be born an optimist and I still am one. I bring that positivity and lightness to the set with me, which is very helpful in a stressful environment caused by the fear of performing well, whether that’s by actors or crew. I never say anything negative, I try to boost everyone’s confidence by finding something to praise before I ask for any adjustment. I tackle the big issues first, then move to refine the adjustments, getting more and more specific, until a performance or a shot is exactly right, giving praise along the way.

No matter how bumpy the road, no one will ever see me lose my cool. As a leader, it’s important to remain calm and above the fray. Everything will work out. It always does! And if any choice that I’ve made is squashed (for example, an actor I wanted to cast is now unavailable,) I find that the replacement is always better. Things work out the way they’re meant to.

And – most importantly – we’re doing something creative. Creativity should be FUN! It’s a joy to tell a story, no matter what function someone fulfills. I remind people to take a breath, remember that it all works out, and feel the JOY!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

To direct an hour-long drama, a director gets seven days to prepare. That is followed by a shooting schedule that generally is 7-10 days, (based on the difficulty of the script.) During that seven days, I live in my imagination as I do a process called “blocking and shot-listing.” That is, I imagine how a scene should play out in every aspect: what is the environment, how will the characters inhabit that environment, and what is the intention of each character – what has to happen in that scene? It’s an intense process in which I write down specifically all the answers: how each character moves, how they will achieve their intention, and how the camera will illustrate/show that. And then I edit it all in my head. In other words, I make the “movie’ in my head before I ever set foot on stage.

That process of living in my imagination – of exploring options, throwing them away, starting again, thinking of it differently, having ah-hah moments, trying something completely new – is beautiful. But then I get to actually bring that imagined work to life as we begin to shoot it. Creative JOY! And yes, there can be disagreements or things don’t go as well as I’d imagined. But that’s part of the creative process too. Pivot. Build on what others bring to the moment. Think of something that didn’t occur to me before. Be open to letting the light in and seeing the scene differently. Rally cast and crew: “This is going to be great! C’mon, everyone, help me make this scene become magical!” And it always is.

Contact Info:

• Website: bethanyrooney.com

Image Credits
Lori Allen/NBC (photo wearing green vest)