Direction is a sometimes thankless job. But anyone that says that directing is easy has never either never tried it or did it poorly. A director is the bridge between what the writer creates and what the people see. They carry the vision forward, and then add their own touch while still retaining the core of the writer's vision. They lead the actors in the direction of this overall vision into a performance that will enlighten and entertain.
So, yeah. That's easy, all right. And good luck with doing it in twelve hours.
Directors during the play festival will have all of the normal challenges of directing with the added burden of being on the clock. Because of that, there are some special items they should consider. I openly admit that directing is the one aspect of theater that I have the least experience with, but I also admit that, having worked with different directors over time, I should have some sort of insight on how this works.
Keep It Simple, (Not So) Stupid - Setting the Stage
It goes without saying that no one expects a miracle out of you. If you get the show on, you've pretty much done your job. Your best bet for doing this is making the goals you set for yourself be believable ones.
Every director that I've ever worked with starts with a vision of what they ideally want. Then slowly over the course of time, they pare that vision down into what is possible. To survive the play fest, you should embrace the "what is possible" phase as soon as possible, if not immediately.
You're going to have limited resources. Basically, all you have on tap is what may be at the theater itself and what you can grab or pin down within the course of a few hours. It's not all bad, though. The modern age provides you with access to the internet, and through it any of a number of music and audio clips to make use of.
Although again, I would say to keep it simple. The fewer sound and light cues you have, the easier everything will manage to be.
The same principle will work with regards to set pieces. Again, less is probably more. Your best bet is to rely on the basics of tables, chairs, small props and assorted coverings. If you're lucky, your writer(s) will have given you enough slack to make this stress -free. If they haven't, then you're going to have to make the call on how much of a hoop you plan to jump through for them. Again, my personal opinion is that less is more. Let you actors help you paint the scene. Speaking of which...
Keep It Simple, (Not So) Stupid - Managing Your Peeps
I'm not going to say that you should be hands off with your actors. There should be enough time to manage blocking and giving some motivation/direction notes if need be. but I will say that you do need to be aware that they too are under the gun. If your actors get their lines remotely down and can manage to add anything beyond that, then more power to them.
Do not make the mistake of trying to micro-manage your performers. Know when to wrangle them in, and then know when to give them space to work on their own. And believe me when I say that you'll have plenty of other things that you can focus on in the meantime.
