Recuiting

This is a very important aspect of your preproduction role.

The Little Theatre committee should be able to suggest people who can help in the following areas of responsibility but like in all matters to do with your production you need to be comfortable with the choice of your crew and ultimately it is your choice who you take on board.

In most cases you will need:

  • Production Manager
  • Director’s Assistant
  • Stage Manager
  • Prompt
  • Properties Coordinator
  • Costume Coordinator
  • Makeup Coordinator
  • Publicity Coordinator
  • Lighting Designer and Operator
  • Sound Designer and Operator
  • Set Designer
  • Set Builder and crew

The Stage Manager will ultimately take control of your production from the final dress rehearsal to the conclusion of the play. At this stage you will have done your job and it will be time to sit back and hopefully enjoy. However in amateur theatre it is more likely you will want to comment on the production but any communication with the cast or crew should be made through the Stage Manager.

The Production Manager will be your right hand throughout the pre-show period being responsible for keeping a cast and crew list complete with all their and being in contact with the committee on all matters related to the production of the show. You may want a Director’s Assistant to help you out during the rehearsals for keeping notes of anything you have indicated during a rehearsal that you want the cast to do, particularly in connection with movement on stage. This will help you focus on watching and directing a rehearsal without the worry of missing anything while your head is down. You may get your Production Manager to do this job for you instead of having a separate person.

You will soon realise the importance of choosing an efficient and organised Production Manager. Generally speaking the Production Manager should be at all rehearsals in order to report back to the committee on the progress.

The Properties person will also be crucial to your production. He/She will be responsible for finding all the properties (props) in the play. This person will read the script from start to finish and create a list of all play properties (personal and otherwise) that will be needed for your production. This will have to be confirmed with you as director as you may decide to change some aspects of the play and therefore you may require a slightly different props list to that listed in the script.

A good props person will provide props early in the rehearsal schedule so that actors can get used to handling them naturally although they may not be exactly the props that will be used inthe finished product as sometimes they are hard to get particularly with regard to period pieces, furniture and the like. No properties should be bought when they can be borrowed and with bigger properties, like furniture, a thank you should be printed in the programme.

Once you have got your production team in place to your satisfaction treat them like gold. Always remember they are crucial to the success of your play.

I am a great believer in delegating these responsibilities to the selected personnel and usually go along with suggestions they make with regard to things like set design and costume but always remember that you have the final say in any decision relating to you production.

You should schedule a regular production meeting outside rehearsal hours in order for your team to bring you up to date with what is happening in each head of department’s area.