If you are putting on a musical, you will also need to buy or compose the score (a document containing music that goes with the play). To find potential scripts, visit the Plays section in your local bookstore. You can also search online for free scripts. You can save money by putting on a play that was written over a hundred years ago, such as a play by Shakespeare. Such scripts can be found online for free, and are not owned by a publishing house, meaning you do not have to buy the rights to produce them. [2] X Research source If you are putting on an improvised play, or a play with no words, you will still need to write down the basic ideas of your play, and note things like scene changes and number of actors involved. Obtain copies of the script your every member of the cast and crew, and get a few backups.
To get a quote, provide the publishing house with the play’s title, the intended venue and its seating capacity, the organization that is producing the play, the projected ticket prices, and the performance dates. Make sure to indicate whether or not you are a for-profit group, and if you are in the actor’s union. You will be contacted with a quote and a contract, or simply an invoice. You will have to purchase scripts and scores separately.
Public and private schools, colleges, churches, and community centers often have theaters that can be rented. Consider staging in an unorthodox location, such as an empty warehouse, a park, or a private home. When picking unorthodox locations, aim for a place with good acoustics, the right amount of space for the action you imagine, plenty of comfortable seating for your audience, and access to restrooms. Consider: how will you control the lighting in your space? Will you need to rent equipment? What will serve as your “backstage” area? Where will actors go when they are not in the action? Consider finding a venue you can also rehearse in. If you cannot afford to rehearse in the venue you have chosen for the performance, find a separate venue to rehearse in. This venue should have an area about the same size and shape of the stage you will eventually perform on.
Depending on the size of the production, you can have different people for each of these roles, or just a few people with overlapping roles. A large Broadway musical might have a crew of hundreds, while a school play might have a single person acting as producer, director, stage manager, and costume designer.
Be sure to list how many actors you are casting, whether or not you are offering compensation, how frequent rehearsals will be, and when the play will be performed. List where and when auditions will be held, what the actors should bring, and your contact information.
You may need to read the lines in between, or you may want to have another actor on hand to read with the person auditioning. Get the contact information of each actors so that you can inform them whether or not they got the parts they wanted. Once you have a few options for each roll, offer callbacks. Callbacks are a separate audition in which the actors you are considering for the part return and audition again. Once you have cast the play, contact all the actors and let them know if they are in or not. If you have bit parts (small roles with no lines or just a few lines) available, ask the actors you did not cast if they would be willing to play these parts. Bit part actors do not always need to come to every rehearsal, but still get to enjoy some time onstage during the production.
Discuss the characters. Talk with each actor about the character he or she is playing. Have this actor think up a back story for the character, and establish how the character feels about the other characters in the play. [5] X Research source Explain the cast what the set will look like. Agree on a rehearsal schedule, and set expectations for when lines will be memorized.
If you are producing a musical, you will need a choreographer who designs the dances for each song. This blocking is much more involved. When blocking, consider the set design. Put tape down on the stage where the curtain will be, where the set pieces will be, and where spotlights will be, and make sure all the actors what part of the stage is what.
For example, instead of saying “Romeo, you aren’t acting like you’re really in love. You look bored onstage,” say “Romeo, we need to work on body language. When Juliet is on stage, you should always be facing her. Don’t take your eyes off her—she is totally captivating to you. " Run through scenes that aren’t going well, giving actors specific tips. For instance, after giving Romeo his notes, have Romeo and Juliet go onstage to run just the few lines that weren’t going well. Block detailed movement to guide lackluster acting: “Okay Romeo, when Juliet moves, follow her movements. Juliet, I want you to lift your arm on that line—okay, Romeo, take a step in that direction when she lifts her arm. Imagine you’re a puppy playing catch!”
Have a separate tech run-through in which the stage manager gives the cues for each scene change, and the technical crew performs the light and set changes necessary. Do a few of these to ensure speed. Have several dress rehearsals in which you stop the action to give notes and work out problems with sets, costumes, and lights. Once those things seem to be working, do one or two full run-throughs in which the whole play is performed, start to finish, with no stopping. If there is an error in staging, lighting, or acting, the cast and crew must work to cover it up, just as they will during an actual production.
Go through the script with your props manager and write down every object that will be needed. Make note of when it will be needed. Make sure the props fit into the time period and social class implied by the script. For instance, when Romeo drinks poison, he shouldn’t drink it out of a plastic water bottle, as those did not exist in the 1300s. Make sure your actors know when in the script they will be handling certain objects, and have them rehearse with them or with stand-in objects when possible. Your props can be purchased, built, or donated. During the performances, actors can retrieve their own props, or members of the props crew to bring the actors what they need. The props manager should keep track of where the props are at all times.
If you are performing inside, your set might include painted backdrops or a screen that images are projected across. Your set can also include furniture and built objects that actors can stand or sit on. Romeo and Juliet, for instance, requires a balcony.
Members of the costume crew may be needed to help effect rapid costume changes between scenes. If a costume must be changed quickly, consider investing in costumes that can be removed quickly, using zippers or velcro rather than laces and buttons.
Send actors in full costume to local schools, retirement communities, or public places to perform bits and pass out flyers. Make sure your advertisements say when the play will be performed, and where. If you are having multiple performances, indicate this prominently. Consider offering a matinee, or daytime performance, with discounted tickets for children and the elderly.
Designate someone to sit at the door and sell tickets before the show starts.
Consider selling concessions. If your show has an intermission, sell the audience members candy, chips, coffee, and, if you have a permit, alcoholic beverages. Make sure you have permission from the venue to sell concessions. Consider hiring ushers to help audience members to their seats. Ushers can also pass out flyers and direct people to the restrooms.
After each performance, or before the next performance opens, give notes to your cast and crew. If you are only doing one performance, skip the notes and just dole out praise and thanks.
