By Monice Mitchell

Director Michael Lembeck on the set
of Two Guys and A Girl .

"My dad, [actor/director] Harvey, taught me. Find the wise person on the set, let them know what you don't know and have them help you. He told me "Don't be afraid of what you don't know.'"

Armed with the knowledge that there was much he didn't know about directing, Lembeck, who most recently directed the pilot and subsequent episodes of What About Joan with Joan Cusack, methodically and aggressively began to take advantage of his position as an actor by observing other directors while on set.

"I was teaching an improv class and coaching individual actors as well when I had an epiphany that working with actors is something I loved to do. I realized that half-hour comedy was a perfect bridge between theater and film," said Lembeck, a theater veteran himself who lists veteran directors Alan Rafkin (Murphy Brown, Veronica's Closet), Jay Sandrich (Soap, The Cosby Show), John Rich (The Dick Van Dyke Show, All in the Family), Hal Cooper (One Day at a Time, Dear John) and Noam Pitlik (Barney Miller) as influences on his career.

"I knew I could work with actors, but I needed to educate myself on the technical aspects. I sat with directors I respected and spent hundreds of hours in the editing bay. I listened to why they chose certain takes, certain angles and staged the way they did. I also spent time with camera coordinator Ray DeVally and learned the geometry of camera blocking."

In 1988 his knowledge as a director was tested when he was hired to direct five TV episodes. Two of those shows were Coach, a sitcom about a college football coach, and the other three were Coming of Age, a half-hour comedy about a retirement community in Arizona. He said directing those shows were watershed moments early in his career because it was his opportunity "to learn in the workplace."

"Every day, I was asked 220 questions--200 of which I didn't know the answers to. Immediately, I started asking myself --'Why am I doing this?'" said Lembeck. "It was really challenging and frightening, but what saved me was my education. I knew how to do my job."

Lembeck has since gone on to direct many episodes for such shows as Friends, Mad About You, Ellen, Caroline in the City, News Radio and the pilot for Everybody Loves Raymond. In 1996 Lembeck earned an Emmy for directing the Friends episode "The One After the Super Bowl." His direction earned him two additional Emmy nominations for the Friends episodes "The One Where Everyone Finds Out" (1999) and "The One That Could Have Been, Parts 1 & 2."

Lembeck , who was recently elected as a member of the Western Directors Council, also credits his education to one of the masters of television, producer/writer Norman Lear. From 1977 to 1979, Lembeck worked as one of the ensemble on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and from 1979 to 1984 starred as Max Horvath in Lear's show One Day at a Time, a comedy about a single mother raising two daughters. The series, which ran for nine years, gave Lembeck a bird's-eye view into "how you make good television."

"Norman Lear was our leader. He created a working condition, style of work and a way to approach the work for directors, producers, writers and actors," said Lembeck. "Working on Norman Lear-produced television really taught me a lot about how I wanted to be treated, and, as a result, how to treat and respect other professionals."

It was during this time that he also learned that the director was the king of television. He fondly remembered the '70s and '80s when NBC, ABC and CBS were the only networks on the air and executive producers hired one or two directors for the entire season.

Lembeck directs Courtney Cox and Tom Selleck.

"It's become so business-driven. There is no training period now," lamented Lembeck. "Writers, showrunners, producers, directors, etc.--across the board--are literally thrown into the fray before they learn how to do their jobs. There is no premium placed on education anymore. It's a shame and it is killing our comedy business."

Lembeck feels that this overall lack of training has weakened directors' power and diminished the their crucial role in television production.

"Television has become a writer's and producer's medium, often at the expense of the director. If directors want to take their jobs back, they need to learn how to do their job. They need to learn what their creative rights are as members of the Directors Guild. Pre-production, casting, production, editing, interacting with producers, writers and actors--this is what a director does," said Lembeck. "Our Guild members are not learning these things early in their careers and it makes less of all of us. It dissipates our impact and our successes."

One of the first areas where this problem has become ironically apparent to him is during the casting process.

"I know a lot of directors who don't go to casting," he said. "I know how hectic the schedule is, believe me. But directors need to be in the room. If you don't go, consult. Be involved somehow. Casting is so, so important. It's part of what maximizes your ability to succeed. Particularly because there's a tendency in casting sessions to always see the same ten people. For every audition I'm involved in, I bring in four or five people, non-ethnic specific, that the executive producers don't know. I like to cast people producers haven't seen that I know can deliver."

Because of his acting background, Lembeck also does his best to create a safe environment for the actors during the casting process.

"I've been there. The auditioning actors bear their souls. During the audition process, I want to make sure that they feel comfortable and when they leave, I acknowledge them. I want to let them know I appreciate them. Of course, I've gotten in trouble with some agents by doing this, because in acknowledging the actors they sometimes feel that they have the part when they leave. So I've had to scale back a little. But that's just the way I am. It has to be fun or I don't want to be there."

Lembeck admitted that directing television, though still challenging for him, was a more enjoyable experience in the past because as a director, he had more time to prepare. Much of that lack of preparation is directly attributable to a number of factors at work in today's television environment.

"When I began in this business, networks let the producers know early when they were going on the air. Writers were then able to get the scripts done early. At the beginning of the season writers might have 15 or 16 scripts already completed.

"In the last 10-15 years, that has changed," Lembeck said. "Now the networks take too long to order. That gives executive producers too little time to staff and that may leave only six weeks left to break stories and begin to write. You're fighting for your life and consequently writers are struggling for scripts by month two."

That struggle often creates tension between writers and actors. This last-minute dash has given the director less time to do his job.

"One of the director's jobs is to erase the line in the sand that is implied in the relationship. It's my job to make sure the cast knows that the writers want nothing more than to make the script work for everybody. Conversely, writers need to understand how hard the actors are working to deliver the material," said Lembeck. "I have to let both sides know that each one wants to maximize their abilities, each one wants to do their best. A lot of directors go down in flames playing one side against the other."

Michael Lembeck with AD Ben Weiss on the set of Friends

As an artist who has been on both sides of the camera, Lembeck makes it a habit to make sure his actors are ready to start the day by taking the emotional temperature of the room in the morning.

He said those few moments of observation and discovering "who needs to proceed slowly, who broke up with a love last night, who needs a bagel and who needs to be on the phone to help an agent close a deal" makes it easier for him to pinpoint and ease conflicts on the set from the very beginning.

"When I started in this business, rehearsal was at a premium. Now the sitcom schedule is sometimes three or four days. On day one of rehearsal, you read the script. The actors know there's going to be a big rewrite, so they think, 'Why bother?'" said Lembeck. "And we don't rehearse. On day two, when the writers go back to the writing room, I go with them and give my notes on the day's work. I offer solutions based on my experience working with the actors. The writers either take or reject them. I don't take it personally. I am not proprietary about any of it."

Instead, Lembeck concentrates on doing his job in this collaborative process called TV production. Whether he's ripping through a three-hour rehearsal for Friends or taking a seven-hour beat-by-beat approach for Mad About You, he said, the key ingredients are still the same--"listen, collaborate, be flexible, have fun, and create a safe environment and, of course, bring all your available skills.

"As a director, I'm constantly tested and every single moment is an audition," he said, offering advice for new, upcoming TV directors. "You are always earning it. If you don't know how to do your job well, then you won't know what to do when you don't get the script until the night before or following morning. And you have to be facile and not panic when you get 15 new pages two hours before you shoot."

Not knowing what to do on the set is the worst position a director can find himself in, he said. Vividly, he recalled shooting a 95-page double episode of Mad About You in New York City. Helen Hunt, the lead actress of the series, was simultaneously in a play at Lincoln Center so her time was limited, and supporting actor Hank Azaria got sick. Suddenly, Lembeck's production schedule got chopped to an impossible seven and a half days instead of ten.

"On the surface, it was terrifying. But in reality, the challenge of getting the work done was thrilling. Some days, I had to wing it. Other days, I was prepared," said Lembeck, who worked feverishly with the show's assistant director and unit production manager to coordinate the schedules and strategically maximize the limited time to get the necessary shots for each day. "What's that overused phrase --'That which does not kill you makes you stronger.' It's true. That, and assured guidance and great text from producer/writer Vic Levin."

It's also true that Lembeck displays one of his strengths as a director before he steps on the set. When he is hired to direct an episode, he does the standard research of watching a few episodes to get a feel for the show, but he also doesn't hesitate to ask questions. Lots of them.

"Whether it's year two or you're working as a guest director on a new show, you have to find out how the show works. My advice for new directors is--meet with the producers and ask a lot of questions. If you're going onto the show as a guest director, talk to the executive producer of the show. Find out how they like to work. Find out who needs what," he said. "You can't impose yourself on the actors, writers and the producers. It's not your show. You have to adjust according to how they work."

Depending on the show, the adjustments can be enormous. "Mad About You--a two-character-driven show, was simple in that its four camera coverage was basic and not overwhelming as a result of its small cast," he explained. "On the opposite end of the spectrum, the long-running ensemble show, Friends, demands an enormous amount of camera coverage. Friends is a technically tough show to do. The producers expect a lot of coverage and the director has to very often cover six people in scene after scene. And it needs to get done in two takes.

"Each of these two shows goes about what they require in each take differently. Mad wants masters, intermediates and tight shots both takes. Friends wants a tight pass first, then a looser pass. That's one of the things when you're hired onto a show that you need to find out... What's the pass of choice? Tight or loose? You can't go in cold and not do homework about how producers like to see it. At the same time, when you get to editing you want your cut as you want to see it. Just make sure you have enough coverage for the producer's cut or you'll never be asked back again."

Lembeck said often it is that paralyzing fear of losing a job, or of not being hired again, that makes new directors surrender their rights in the editing room.

"Our basic contract says we're supposed to edit. There are those who don't know they have that right. The truth is you stage a show with a game plan of how you will be editing that show, so why wouldn't you want to edit it? I do my first cut. Producers can tear it apart. They come in and that's the end of it, but as the director, you still have to have your vision of the show.

"The reality is," he added, "if a director is too fearful to articulate or suggest his vision then he isn't doing his job. Nor is he doing his job if he is not fulfilling his obligation to cast and edit. Today many of our new directors are working totally in fear. Fear of paying their mortgage. Fear of failing."

Lembeck, a self-proclaimed comeback kid, knows all about that fear. He was once fired and blackballed at a network. "At Guild meetings, I ask, 'How many people have been fired?' All of us veteran directors, including myself, raise their hands. The new people see this and it lets them know it doesn't mean anything. You're going to be fired. So you can't let fear stop you. You have to have a point of view. If it costs you your job, then so be it. You'll get another one."

Actress Traylor Howard with Michael Lembeck on the set of Two Guys and A Girl.

"I left the Joan Cusack show to direct the movie. I was so ecstatic to be in the wildly creative dynamic that is pre-production when they decided not to do it," he said. "I got depressed and I didn't know what to do next. So, I wrote a book I've always wanted to write."

The book, Look at What I Get to Do, is a celebration of Lembeck's experience as an actor and director. In it, he describes the highs and lows of his professional journey in hysterical fashion, and how his career has affected his personal life and how his personal life has impacted his career.

"Over the years, my priorities have really gotten tested. And I have learned one cold, hard lesson. We creative artists are what they call--a piece of business. I understand that, and I truly do love my job and my work. But I know at the end of the day, the only people who really care about me are my family and friends," he said. "That puts it all in perspective for me. I can't control anything else. And the other thing is, no matter how skilled, how good you are, you still have to be lucky enough to be picked. I feel so very lucky.

Lembeck said he feels fortunate that he is chosen for jobs. And each new experience brings him that much closer to becoming the wise person on the set that his father told him to always seek out.

"I've been on both sides of the table. I've been the poppa that people have to follow and the rookie," said Lembeck, who's also venturing into a completely new territory of directing commercials. "I don't know what I'm going to learn next. That's the fun of it. Each day you find out what you don't know. For me, I enjoy the challenge."

Monice Mitchell is a freelance writer who contributes to DGA Magazine on a regular basis.

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