Video and automated scenery are new areas of employment. Video can include the preparing of content and operation in performance. Automation operators are only the norm for West End musicals, but the job involves a working knowledge of the automation equipment. There is also work for electronic engineers with manufacturers creating the hardware, software and control systems for shows and permanent installations, such as powered flying. Few drama schools provide training: Automation operators have often been stage managers or worked backstage. Manufacturers such as Stage Technologies are often willing to train such people.
A production manager is responsible for putting the whole production together, working with the creative team and the construction and technical departments. A technical manager is likely to be based in a theatre, leading the technical departments and responsible for the building and equipment.
Get as much working experience of all aspects of production as you can. Could an apprenticeship start you off on a theatre career? They also tend to instigate projects. The writer has overall responsibility for the narrative of the play. A theatre may commission a play based on an idea pitched by the writer or, occasionally, a writer will be commissioned to write a script based on a format from a producer.
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A writer may also work collaboratively on a project instigated by a director. Writers may also receive rehearsal attendance fees and royalties. The director has the overall vision for the production, and is responsible usually in collaboration with a producer or artistic director for bringing together the cast and creative team. They lead the rehearsal process up to opening night, and return regularly to give notes on long runs they will often have an assistant or associate working alongside them.
Directors also get a royalty for commercial productions. It is not essential to have any formal qualification, and most directors learn by being an assistant, but an MA creates a bridge into assisting. The Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme runs placements across the country and has an excellent website detailing the various schemes: A production designer is responsible for the overall look of a production, and is usually responsible for set and costumes.
A designer creates a scale model of the set and detailed sketches of costumes for the production team to create. On fringe productions the designer may be expected to help build the design. Several art schools offer degrees in theatre design — notably Central Saint Martins and Wimbledon now both part of University of the Arts London. Lighting designers ensure the action can be seen, while creating atmosphere and helping to locate scenes.
The job is both creative and technical. A good lighting designer needs to be able to talk about the look and feel of a play, and dissect and analyse a script, as well as understanding the technicalities of a lighting rig.
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Most lighting designers come through a degree in technical theatre, specialising in lighting design from a drama school, or occasionally a university. Many lighting designers begin their careers as theatre technicians, often taking on fringe design work on the side, and assisting established lighting designers.
Ultimate beginners’ guide to theatre jobs 2016
Sound designers work with the designer and the lighting designer to create the world of the play — responsible for sound effects, but also creating atmosphere, helping to locate a scene, and composing soundscapes. Thanks to advances in technology, sound design has recently become much more ambitious as programmes such as QLab allow for much more control and flexibility.
On musicals the sound designer is responsible for mixing the production, finding the right balance between band and singer. They work closely with music directors and composers. There are a number of good technical theatre courses, but very few places to study the creative art of sound design. Choreographers play a key role in musicals, in which they are responsible for the staging of the musical numbers and work closely with the director. Choreographers or movement directors will also be used on many straight plays, and the role will vary enormously depending on the production, from being essentially a co-director, to coming in for a couple of sessions to choreograph a piece of period dance.
Choreographers on musicals earn considerably more — a fee closer to that of a director — and royalties on commercial productions. Most but not all choreographers start as dancers, and train on a dance or musical theatre course. A composer for a musical will share responsibility for the overall narrative, and may also take on lyric writing duties.
A composer for a musical will share a commission with a writer — usually split A composer of a musical would receive a royalty.
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Most composers come through music college. A talent for composition and an understanding of text is far more important than a qualification. A producer instigates a production, raises the money, and oversees the marketing. At other times a producer may be a general manager. A producer should not be confused with an investor, although sometimes especially in New York investors are given producer credits.
Anything from bankruptcy to becoming a millionaire. Casting directors know every actor out there. When a production is being cast they work alongside the director, producers and the writer to find the actors — they make suggestions, introduce the director to actors and they organise the whole casting process. There are no set routes into casting, nor any specific qualifications. Many casting directors come from other departments, and there is some crossover between agents and casting directors. Sometimes known as a literary associate or a dramaturg, this role focuses on writing.
This is particularly true for theatres with a strong ethos of producing new work, though a literary manager may also be hunting out forgotten classics or new translations.
He or she works with an artistic director to programme productions at the theatre. A degree in English or theatre studies would help. Artistic directors are almost always theatre directors, but they can be producers, and every so often they are actors or actors-turned-directors. An artistic director is in charge of the creative life of the company, often working with the executive director.
Usually also performing the role of chief executive or the joint chief executive, he or she holds an enormous responsibility: Most artistic directors start as freelance directors. Work can also be found in specialist sectors such as voice-overs, corporate role play or theatre in education. The different roles an actor can play, from lead and character parts to supporting roles and walk-ons, may vary considerably at different stages of their career and has a direct effect on pay levels. Although a relatively small number of high-profile actors get the bulk of publicity and press coverage, the reality is that many actors struggle — regardless of talent or experience — to earn a sustainable income from acting alone.
Many supplement their income with other jobs, ranging from table waiting and call centre work to temping or teaching. Finding paid work is significantly harder than getting unpaid work. Full-time training is expensive and entry for the top drama schools is highly competitive, so part-time training is a route taken by many. Relevant subjects include performance studies, contemporary theatre and performance and musical theatre.
Singers in the charts or headlining West End musicals represent the tip of the iceberg in terms of the profession as a whole.
In addition to the many singers performing solo in venues from opera houses to cruise ships, those employed most regularly are often backing vocalists and session singers. An experienced vocalist playing functions or corporate events can earn significantly more for one booking — although the responsibility of sourcing and paying the musicians is often part of that fee. Proper vocal and performance training is important, from a health point of view as much as from an employability perspective. Singers who wish to specialise in a particular field, such as musical theatre or opera, can pursue a formal qualification at a drama or music school.
Private vocal coaching is also an ongoing training option and one that even experienced singers sometimes return to, either as a refresher or in preparation for specific auditions and roles.
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For singers whose ambitions include musical theatre, additional dance and acting training is also advisable. Due to its physical nature, there is often a limit on how long a dancer can sustain a performing career. While not every professional dancer started as a child, it is probably the hardest career to get into if you have not been practising from an early age, particularly in disciplines such as ballet. Although many dancers specialise in a particular style, versatility, teamwork, reliability and being a fast learner are the key skills needed to attract regular employment.
As their career develops, many dancers branch out into related fields such as choreography and teaching and continue in these roles once they hang up their dancing shoes. Although many dancers are freelance, there are some opportunities for full-time work with companies. Most dancers take classes from childhood, often taking graded exams from awarding bodies such as the British Ballet Organisation or the Royal Academy of Dance, before moving on to vocational training at a dedicated dance college or on a musical theatre course. The training route into the commercial dance industry can be less formal but regular classes and ongoing training are a key part of all successful dance careers.
There have been many great self-taught musicians, but in order to make a living in theatre, most will need to be able to read music as well as to play with other musicians in an orchestra or band in a variety of different styles. Unlike in the music industry, the role of a musician in theatre is often an invisible one, whether playing in a West End orchestra pit, in a resident band on a cruiseliner or as part of the studio orchestra for recordings and broadcasts. Formal training and qualifications are available in a variety of musical styles and in specific instruments. Given the increased role of technology in music production, many professional musicians advise students to undertake training in technology and business along with more traditional music studies.
Very few last the course.
Although stand-up is the most common comedy format, improvisation and sketch groups are flourishing, many of which include trained actors, and regular comedy circuit performances can include everything from ventriloquism and magic to poetry. Access to the lucrative corporate, stadium or theatre circuits usually requires TV exposure via promotion from specialist agencies with a track record in this area. There are many other ways in which people with a wide range of talents can be professionally involved.
The agent should be in the theatre to support his or her clients at the opening of their shows although the agency office is, obviously, elsewhere. Consider the topic-specific pamphlets from this text, also independently available thru JAC: To order more than one book, please call to get the best shipping rate available. In this book you will find pages of: A basic methodology to aid you in the nurturing and training of young actors Tools forms, checklists, speeches, calendars, etc. Tips and examples Production methods Funding and support recommendations Directing techniques Encouragement You will, at times, be informed and guided by the irrepressible producer and director of theatre by and for youth, Dot Baldwin.
Selecting a Script Book 2: Creating a Production Team Book 3: Youth Theatre Safety Book 8: Getting the Best from Young Actors Book Order via This title is also available for. Creating a Production Team. Getting the Best from Young Actors. Lane Riosley is a writer living and working in Houston, Texas. She is the winner of the Roger L. As a result, thousands of children and teenagers have grown in performance skills, self-esteem, knowledge of American and international cultures, and have learned important truths about living honorably with passion and courage to face the challenges of the future.
However, to some degree, there is still a misconception, even a snobbery in our profession which assumes the directing and production of youth theatre is an easier and less important artistic endeavor than the production of adult theatre. This misconception is based primarily in the assumption that poor or mediocre work will be overlooked by both the actors and their audience.
It assumes that really fine work is unnecessary for the young.
This attitude is totally without merit and is insulting to both current and future audiences. Not all adult theatre will engage the attention of children, but theatre good enough to earn the attention of children will entertain an adult. Youth theatre must be exciting and often boldly theatrical with high performance and visual standards. Youth theatre must be based in adaptations of great literary works or in original works with vision, literary merit, wisdom and the possibility of joyous response and the discovery of ideas.