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Take on too many jobs at once, and you will be overwhelmed – share the challenge and
you will have a stronger chance of sharing credit for a success. Who will you need on
your team?
Producer
The producer oversees all the business aspects of the production, coordinating
everything that does not involve the events on stage. If you are lucky, this
job goes to someone other than the director.
However, in many amateur organizations one person handles both tasks.
While it can be fun to imagine yourself as a neighborhood Hal Prince,
you'll get some princely headaches along the way.
Director
The director has the final say on all artistic aspects of a production, and
is in charge of everything that happens on stage. This person must be a
mixture of dictator, diplomat, artist, mind reader and drill sergeant.
Example: At Higgins High, brave Ms. Doolittle
is acting as both producer and director. (Ah, what fools
these mortals be . . .)
Assistant Director
Consider having an assistant director on your team. This takes pressure off the
director and means more than one set of performers can rehearse
at any time. While the director stages a new scene with the ensemble,
the assistant director can run the leads through sequences that have already
been blocked.
It is also a good idea for a director to have a production assistant to
coordinate schedules, organize papers, act as a go-fer, etc.
Example: Ms. Doolittle is not a total
masochist. She has enlisted one of her fellow English teachers to act
as assistant director. She also has a reliable student acting as a general
production assistant.
Musical Director
You will want someone with musical knowledge to conduct rehearsals and
performances. Your accompaniment can be a full orchestra or one person at a
piano. Some licensing firms now provide pre-recorded "rehearsal"
accompaniment for certain shows – even if you use these recordings, your
cast will benefit from having a capable musical director to guide them
through the often terrifying prospect of singing on stage.
Example: Mr. Pickering is the musical director,
and has a responsible senior who can play piano for rehearsals. His orchestra will
include some of his most talented students, as well as two friends who teach in nearby
schools.
Choreographer
If your show requires serious dancing, have someone
on hand who can make those dances look good, preferably someone with
professional training. You do not want dance numbers that expose your cast
to ridicule or possible injury.
Example: The dance requirements
for Big River are simple. Even so, Doolittle is bringing in a
choreographer with professional dance experience -- a local dance teacher who is
willing to work for a reasonable stipend.
Set Designer
Someone will have to design and build your sets or stage decorations. In some
theatre groups, the person in charge of sets is called "Technical Director"
and coordinates all tech teams. While I don't find this useful, see what fits your
team best. Make sure everything on stage is sturdy. This is a point of safety and
esthetics. Shaky sets will distract an audience and ruin a performance.
A word to set designers – do not let your creativity be limited by what
others have done. Scenery for any show can be as complex or simple as your abilities
and budget allow. My college director placed Camelot
on a unit castle set, with parapets and the all-important tree always in view
and the raked stage floor painted as a giant chess board. Set changes consisted of
moving a few small props (chairs, tables, etc.). It was a creative, visually
striking and affordable approach that added to the impact of the
production.
Example: The art department has come up
with workable set designs. The school's machine shop teacher is pitching in,
making the sets a project for his students. With some pointers from a book on set
building, they will create the backdrops and basic pieces
needed.
Costume Designer/Coordinator
If you have capable seamstresses and designers on hand, you are blessed. When your
show requires contemporary clothing, the cast can provide its own. If you have to rent
or borrow costumes, have someone coordinate measurements, costume selection, alterations,
and costume maintenance.
Example: Pickering and Doolittle have found
several mothers with decent sewing skills to create the costumes. One volunteer mom is
acting as coordinator. She is so enthusiastic that she's even dug up period illustrations
and photos of the original Broadway production to give her team ideas. The homespun,
pre-Civil War outfits will be easy to create. No hoopskirts or expensive fabrics
are needed. They may rent a few accessories, but most of the costume list will
be their own.
Lighting Designer
It takes tremendous patience to get the lights set properly and safely.
Have someone with technical expertise set up and maintain your stage
lighting system. If you have a qualified volunteer, three cheers, but note the
word "qualified." There is nothing more dangerous than the inspired
amateur. A licensed electrician should check out
your system to verify everything is safe.
Lighting Manager
This job may or may not be handled by your lighting designer.
It must be someone you can depend on to handle all the intricacies of
lighting every performance. For revues or small shows, you may be
able to get away with one simple lighting plan that merely turns on and off.
If so, enjoy it while you can.
Example: A local electrician with ties to
the school is willing to put in the time to hang the lights and train some
students in running them. He will also help out during the final
tech rehearsal, and all for a light $1000 stipend. For the
hours involved, he could be charging far more. (Don't be surprised if you have
to pay a higher fee for professional tech assistance.)
Sound Designer/Manager
If you are using any kind of sound system, you want someone coordinating
microphones and volume. This technical wizard will supervise the sound levels
during final rehearsals and performances, preferably from a command post in
the auditorium. A sound crew will be needed backstage to assist
with microphones.
Example: Mr. Karparthy, a teacher from a
neighboring school, is willing to help run the sound for Higgins High. Doolittle
and Pickering will owe him a favor when his next show comes around.
This is what colleagues are for.
Stage Manager
The SM is the director's right hand, assisting at rehearsals,
setting up materials and keeping the script on hand to call out any
forgotten lines. The SM also makes sure everything backstage goes
smoothly during performances. In fact, once a performance begins, a
director's works is done and the stage manager is the one in charge.
The SM orders the curtain up and down, and makes sure all lighting
and stage effects go off on cue. In many instances, the SM or an
assistant sits in the wings through each performance, ready to quietly
call out a line if one of the performers goes blank.
Example: Miss S. Pierce (one of Ms.
Doolittle's students) is organized, level headed, and well liked by her classmates.
She is a no-nonsense person who inspires respect, even from trouble makers –
the perfect choice for stage manager.
Stage Crew
It is not enough to line up some brawny volunteers to move sets and
work the main curtain. The stage crew has to be intelligent and mature. Their
backstage behavior can make or break a performance, and their attention to detail
is a major safety issue. The old rule that only men or boys belong on a stage crew
is way out of date – this is definitely a co-ed department today.
Example: A few seniors well known for
hell-raising offered their services, but were politely turned away. Pierce and Ms.
Doolittle quietly put together a team of boys and girls who they feel comfortable
with.
Property Master
The prop master and his/her team are in charge of obtaining and keeping track of all
hand-held properties – swords, suitcases, books, etc. What they cannot obtain, they
will have to manufacture. Props can be misplaced backstage, never to
reappear. Prop stations belong on both sides of the stage. Have the prop team at all
dress rehearsals to work out prop placement issues. If King Arthur is entering stage
right but Excalibur is waiting stage right, key scenes in Camelot will be
jeopardized.
Amateur productions often expect cast members to create and care for their own props,
and the results can be embarrassing. My college theatre group had no prop team, and every
run was plagued with misplaced props. In our production of Carnival, I had to set
off a flash paper effect with a lit cigarette. On opening night, I discovered the stage
crew had inadvertently smoked my (I had thought) well-hidden pack, and my entrance cue
was in progress! In desperation, I grabbed the flash paper and ate it, in full
view of the audience. I swore I'd never put an actor in the same position, and I
haven't.
Example: A student with a knack for
details has volunteered for this job. Her father is a professional
carpenter, which won't hurt if she needs to construct some period items.
House Manager/Ushers
The House Manager is more than a head usher. You want a level headed "people
person" in charge of seating the audience. Even if you do not have assigned
seating, have ushers on hand with flashlights to help seat latecomers and find
items lost in the dark. If you are selling reserved tickets and your seats are
not pre-marked, the house manager is in charge of labeling the seats and rows.
Some magic marker on masking tape will do the trick. The train the ushers to
know the seating system in case any wise guys try to move the seat markers
around.
During performances, the House Manager keeps track of
everything that happens on the audience's side of the curtain, including box
office activity, seating, and letting the stage manager know when the audience
is ready for the performance to begin. If someone in the audience has a
complaint or becomes ill, ushers alert the house manager – who will call 911 if
needed.
Once, I was musical director for a school show and did not have a house manager.
On opening night, four people who had a grudge against one of the performers
started a disturbance. I had to stop the performance and herd the
troublemakers out of the auditorium. The audience cheered and the show went on, but
I made sure we had another teacher acting as house manager for the next day's performance.
Example: Students will act as ushers,
with a senior as house manager. The assistant principal has promised
to be on hand during performances to provide back up.
Publicity Coordinator
Once the posters, flyers and any similar items are ready, a publicity coordinator
will see to their being posted and/or distributed. This person must make sure all
postings are legal and authorized. Most store managers will agree to
allow a poster in their window or inside their business, but an unauthorized
posting will just engender bad feelings. Outdoors, posters should be placed
in accordance with any local regulations. No show benefits from flyers torn down
by angry property owners.
Example: Enthusiastic senior Freddy Hill
and a few volunteer helpers will get the posters and flyers onto bulletin boards
and into shop windows, reaching potential ticket buyers on the streets where
they live.
Program Coordinator
A theatre program can be a simple sheet listing your cast and crew, musical numbers,
authors, etc. However, if you have someone with a talent for organization and a flair
for sales, advertisements can turn your program into a source of income. Many local
businesses, community groups and politicos can be persuaded to buy program ads.
Family and friends of the cast also buy ads to wish their loved ones luck. At the
very least, this means you can have a handsome program that pays for itself –
with luck, it can pay for far more.
Do not use the black-on-yellow "Playbill" logo
on your cover – it is protected by copyright, and the folks at Playbill do not
take infringement lightly. Think they'll never find out? If you or any member of
the cast or crew has an enemy, or if your community includes as least one
righteous troublemaker, a copy of your program will land on a desk in New
York.
Example: Alfie, an enterprising Higgins sophomore
with a flair for sales, is canvassing local businesses and selling program ads at a healthy
clip. The art teacher has designed the program layout on her computer, and the folks in the
office will print it up on school equipment. Alfie is coordinating their efforts, and expects
the programs to turn a profit . . . with a little bit of luck.
On to: Fundraising
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