Overview
The producer is to the production as the chair is to the Ensemble. The producer is ultimately responsible for all non-artistic decisions for the production. S/he selects a production staff, facilitates all logistical matters, and runs all production meetings. If a production team member becomes unable to complete their position, the producer must either replace them or complete the position him/herself. The producer is also the final authority on the production. If something makes the producer uncomfortable for safety or other reasons, s/he may veto it. Additionally, the producer is responsible for handling interpersonal conflicts.
It is important that the producer be organized, accounting for all miscellaneous tasks involved in the show. The producer must frequently take initiative and be extremely adaptive.
General Comments
Define people's jobs.
Make sure people are doing their jobs.
Get them to do their jobs.
Pre-Production
Before Auditions
- Set up Callboard
- Contact Tech and Technique early for photos
Auditions
- Schedule auditions with the director, SM, and Ensemble.
- Finalize audition forms and make sure all dates/requirements are correct.
- Ensure that a readthrough has been scheduled.
- Set up the online audition form as soon as possible. See webmaster for details.
You should always actively go out and encourage people to audition, especially if they are on the fence.
Actor Management
- Get actors out of any show conflicts (tests during tech week)
- Replace actors should they decline their parts
Finding and Keeping Prod Staff
Finding a good prod staff is the most important thing you will do as Producer. Think very carefully about your decisions! A good prod staff makes a stress-free show. When working with new freshman, you may will either need to assign them as assistants or give them a full position with a mentor. If they show motivation and willingness, you should definitely give them the full position.
- Find an SM by auditions
- TD, SD, and ASMs are high priority
- Lights, Costumes, Sound, Props, Publicity are all important
Meet with all production staff (this can be the first prod meeting) - be sure they understand the calendar and what is expected of them. Go over contract with each member of the production team.
It is important to check in regularly with prod staff to make sure that everyone is doing their jobs. If anyone is not on top of things, consider monitoring them more closely. For example, drawing up a very detailed schedule of when everything needs to get done can be effective for people who are unorganized. If a problematic member of the prod staff continues to cause problems and fail to do the job assigned, you can consider replacing that person as a last resort.
Production Meetings
Meeting 1: Contracts, deadlines, budget, schedule, readthrough, designer run, prod hours, parade, put-in, papertech, q2q, tech week, vision
Set up and run preliminary prod meeting to determine the production calendar, introduce the designers, talk about the director's vision, go over the budget, and schedule all future prod meetings. In the spring, prod meetings start during the first half of IAP. In the fall, the prod meeting should happen at least one week before reg day, or as soon as possible before that, even if not all of the prod staff are on campus.
Contracts
Production staff contracts can be found in the ensemble locker: /mit/ensemble/Private/Contracts/Current. Edit the due dates as necessary.
Director Prepping
Create and go over contract with Director. Go over casting policy and rehearsal time maximums with Director. Make sure the director has scheduled a read-through. It can be very useful to meet with the director before the first prod meeting (even very soon after they hired) to familiarize them with various ensemble practices (e.g. what prod positions we have, how prod meetings work, the timeline for prod/auditions etc, lines of responsibility between director/producer/SM etc). The first director check should be delivered at the first prod meeting.
Auditions
Assist the SM team and the director with the audition process. Create and go over actor contracts with all auditionees. Ensure that auditions adhere adhere to the Casting Guidelines stipulated in the Constitution.
Rehearsal Period
Run all production meetings (usually weekly, more frequently if necessary). Say NO to the director if a task is not feasible - if you are not sure, ask the TD/officers/designer. If you're still not sure, ask Rinaldi. If you're still not sure, say no. Check in at least weekly (not just at prod meeting) with design/building staff. Check in at least every other day with director and SM teams. Try to get and idea of what run crew (dressers, stagehands, etc.) will be needed as early as possible and start looking for them as soon as possible, as they are usually difficult to find. Make sure to schedule a meeting with Chris Nayler (nayler@mit.edu) to discuss the set and the light plot, to make sure that there aren't any safety issues. Make sure this happens well before put in is scheduled to ensure that the set can be changed in the unlikely event of a safety issues.
Registering the Show
Obtain entertainment licenses from Cambridge city hall. Register the event with CAC. Remember, we only have 99 guests. On an unrelated note, shows with 100 or more people need a police detail. Remember that the entertainment license costs a large sum of money- make sure you have your $240 (or whatever sum) in cash or money order when you go to city hall.
NAYLER MEETING
PRE-SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT
Prod Week
MISCELLANEOUS TASKS
RUN CREW, HOUSE/BOX MANAGERS
RUNTIME JOBS (ex. LAUNDRY) - SM
Assist as needed. Catch all the balls that are dropping. Help out the stage manager(s) in any way you can. Make sure that runtime jobs have been assigned to everyone (washing clothes, sweeping and mopping the stage, warmups, morale, cleaning the house, water/candy for actors, etc.) At that point your job will be mostly over, but theirs is just beginning. Making their life easier makes everyone happier.
Performance
Assist as needed. In the past it has been required that the person who registers the event with Cambridge/CAC be present at all performances. If this is not the case, you should probably be present anyway in case of major emergency and/or just because it makes everyone else feel better.
After Closing
Ensure that all prod staff have fulfilled all their obligations (i.e., returned borrowed equipment). Set a deadline for all receipts to be turned in. Submit a final budget (based on receipts turned in). Schedule and run the post-production meeting to discuss the production (what went wrong, what went right, etc.).
Miscellaneous
Interpersonal Stuff
You get to deal with all of the drama that might effect the show, lucky you. From conflicts between designers to angry actors to broken up couples to the inevitable conflagration between the SM and the director, you need to get the parties back into a state where they can work together and fulfill their responsibilities. Remember, especially as the show approaches, everyone is hosed, everyone is tired, everyone is looking for an excuse to start screaming, and much of the time squabbles are born more of general frustration than of real interpersonal problems. You should make it very clear to the actors, prod staff, and director at read through/the first prod meeting/routinely throughout the production that you are there to be a shoulder to cry on, to mediate, and to make sure no one dies or kills anyone until after strike.
Buying/Renting Weapons
For Romeo and Juliet in Spring 2011 we required the use of Rapiers. The ensemble owns both bastard swords and foil-type swords, neither of which was perfect. We therefore rented rapiers from [[http://www.weaponsofchoicetheatrical.com/|Weapons of Choice]]. If they are no longer around, contacting either MIT theatre arts or perhaps Ted Eaton (our R&J director) to find another place. Prices can get expensive - it's probably around $30 to $40 for each weapon for the run of the show, but that have a quite good selection. For R&J our director found a contact who gave us money to pay for the renting, but if we were willing to skimp on other areas we should be able to rent 2 or 3 ourselves. Shipping will take about 5 days, so rent them a bit before you want them to show up.
A couple general notes about renting weapons:
Keep the packing material around so you can pack them up neatly for the return trip.
Take care of them. They aren't ours and we don't want to be on the hook if they break.
Keep them safe. Make sure they stay in the office and people don't play with them. This can't be emphasised enough.
Make sure to rent one more than you need. Weapons do have a way of breaking we you least want them to.
If you're renting them for spring semester, the buffer for returning them can creep up fast. Either do it before leaving for spring break or right after you get back.
Organization
Organization is good. Keep a calendar of all deadlines. Email out upcoming deadlines before every prod meeting, and keep in touch with designers regarding progress and likelihood of missing deadlines. If designers are behind, help them create action plans for getting the job done, or point them toward mentors/obi-wans/Rinaldi/assistance. Request and update a spreadsheet that has at minimum the following information for each scene: each actor in it and who they are playing, props needed, set, time/day, and any special effects (projection, blood). This helps figure out where quickchanges, set changes, or other technical elements may become problematic. An idea is to do this as a Google Spreadsheet that only the producer can edit, shared with the cast and crew by a link from Callboard.
Things You Should Make Sure Happen
Auditions
Read Through
This is the first rehearsal, sometimes preceded or succeeded by a cast/crew bonding event (such as Theater Games or a meal). This is generally scheduled by the SM, and if possible should be announced in the audition packet, and again when the cast list is announced.
Papertech
Papertech is when cue names, numbers, and timings are established by progressing from cue to cue through the text around a table. Minimum attendees are SM, Director, Lighting Designer, and Sound Designer. Costumes Designer, Set Designer, Props Designer, TD, Producer, and others should also be there depending on circumstances. Papertech is generally scheduled for the Saturday before the show opens, but this can be shifted slightly if necessary. The producer should make sure papertech scheduling is accounted for. Papertech is generally run by the SM. Run plans by the TD to make sure you are working in complementary strides with put-in.
Q2Q
Q2Q is the domain of the SM. It is either the evening at the end of put-in (Sunday before the show opens) or the next night (Monday). The more cues are written before Q2Q, the happier everyone will be. There is frequently (depending on the designers and other people involved) no point in having a Q2Q if less than a critical percent of the cues have been written. Actual actors are necessary to get heights and skin tones accounted for.
Put-in and Strike
This is really the responsibility of the TD, but make sure that put-in and strike are on track to happen in an efficient and effective fashion. Make sure that the space is available very late on closing night for strike, and also that the cast will not get kicked out of space during tech week and performances. Chris Nayler (nayler@mit.edu) is the person to contact if the space is not available for the time needed for strike/rehearsal. Do NOT contact the CAC e-mail address, as they tend not to be very helpful.
CAST AWARDS, CUT-TO-CUE
ALUM RECEPTION, BRUSH-UP
PHOTO/VIDEO
Other Topics
HOW TO STAY ORGANIZED (GOOGLE DOC LIST OF TASKS, GOOGLE DOC TO COORDINATE PRODUCTION STAFF SETS/COSTUMES/PROPS)
INTERACTING WITH THE DIRECTOR
TRANSITIONS