Hi All,
Dave here, I’m pleased to announce that we’ve got a shortlist of plays (see them at the bottom of the newsletter!) for Summer and that I’ll be the Producer for the upcoming play. “What does that mean?” I hear you ask, well, I’m glad you asked that question!
Basically it’s now my task to pull together the key members of the production crew and then liaise with those brave souls on behalf of No Drama to make sure the production gets the attention it needs and keep the committee up to date as necessary.
So without further ado, It would make my job a lot easier if you would put your name forward for one the following roles – Just send an email to contact@nodramatheatre.com , include ‘Summer production’ in your submission and send it by Wednesday 25th of February.
p.s. Please note the short summaries below are just indicative and are not intended to outline a complete list of responsibilities
Production Manager
As Production Manager, it’s your role to organise all the work that needs to be done and free your partner in crime (the Director) to focus on the creative stuff as much as possible – you organise people and put a plan together to match the Directors Vision.
You are in short, ‘The Boss’ when it comes to managing the day to day activities of the production.
Some of the responsibilities include:
– Recruiting the crew and maintaining the crew roster
– Preparing a budget for the play.
– Ensuring that there are no ‘gaps’ in responsibilities.
– Solving Problems!
If you’ve got good organisational skills and can get people motivated then you’re probably a great fit for this role.
Don’t worry if you don’t know what needs to be done for a play.. We’ve got plenty of experience and reference material – If in doubt you’ve also got the producer (aka me!)
Director
As the Director, you will choose the play itself from a shortlist selected by No Drama’s members. You will take those dry and dusty words and bring them to life! You are the creative force behind the production, you choose your cast to match your vision, you set the tone and are able to clarify what you want to see from the Set through to the Make-up. It’s entirely down to your own style as to how much or how little ‘Direction’ you actually give.
likely goes without saying but some responsibilities are:
– Interpreting the script
– Selecting an Assistant Director
– Casting
– Running rehearsals
There are a couple of additional criteria for director, we do require some experience here and we love to see that experience come from within No Drama, but all experience is considered.
I’d like to see candidate directors submit a script or play that they’d like to see produced as part of their submission, This is to give me an idea of the kind of things you like and you might treat the pieces from the shortlist.
Assistant Director
The assistant director is a second set of eyes, ears for the director and their sole purpose is to help the Director execute their vision.. the role varies a lot and is really determined by the Directors own style. It might be a creative collaboration or simply a sounding board, to protect the Director from anything that might disrupt or to act as a coach to the actors.
Typical responsibilities include
– Assist in Casting
– Maintain rehearsal notes
– schedule rehearsals/ rehearsal planning.
The Assistant Director role is a must for those considering directing. In my opinion there’s no better way to learn than to watch someone else direct and learn form their successes and failures.The choice of AD is first and foremost the Directors, so if you apply please there may be a slight delay in responses as we confirm the director first.
The Plays
The shortlist for the Summer 2015 production is:
‘The Power of Darkness’ by John McGahern
‘Circle Mirror Transformation’ by Annie Baker
‘Witness for the Prosecution’ by Agatha Christie
‘Blithe Spirit’ by Noël Coward
Caveat – we’re still awaiting rights confirmation on some of these
