"I DON'T NEED TO STOP AND ASK FOR DIRECTIONS!"
Famous last words... I’ll never forget my first full-time directing and teaching job in the Midwest. I was young and full of ideas and I had A LOT to prove. I quickly made friends in the new city and none of them were in the theatre world.
When we would get together, they would always ask me, “What crazy problems do you have to solve this week?” I would reply with tales of trying to get machines to blow up on stage, pumpkins turning into carriages, or the giant feat of designing a show with 23 locations with a budget of $1,000. They always laughed and replied, “Your job is crazy.”
Being a theatre director is like a giant game of whack-a-mole
As soon as you solve one problem, a new one pops up. It’s part of why I love my job, but also why I don’t sleep at night. These problems are inherent for putting on a production, but there are two ways of going about solving them.
You can have a huge ego, try to do it on your own, and curse…a lot.
You can surround yourself with helpful people and resources and learn from those who have been doing it way longer than you and solved similar problems before.
We all have Broadway-style taste on a shoestring budget, but if we learn from other’s successes and failures we can make magic happen without pulling our own hair out. Let’s keep premature balding off the list of things we need to be worrying about.
Assuming you followed the sarcasm toward doing it alone, you have decided to journey with me into the world of asking for help. Whether you have a team of amazing people you work with already in place or a tiny program where you are the captain, crew, and the maiden in distress, there are resources for you out there.
STEP ONE: GO WITH WHO YOU KNOW
I have worked in two types of programs. One where I had an amazing team on the payroll and one where I was the captain in a sea of independent contractors. In both scenarios, I developed an atmosphere where we came to each other with problems and we solved them together.
This is one of the main reasons it is important to build in those production meetings we’ve talked about...
Sure I always had ideas on how I thought we could solve someone falling through the floor without a basement under the stage, but I WANTED to hear the ideas of my team. Between the six of us we had over 500 productions under our belt. You don’t produce that many shows without learning a few things. We brainstormed and found the plan we would try first. I’m not the first to solve this problem on a tight budget and I won't be the last.
STEP TWO: HAVE A COLLEAGUE EXPEDITION
Whether you have a team on payroll or not, build a network of colleagues outside your theatre or school. One of the best things you can do is go see shows at other schools or theatres and begin to build those relationships where you can share resources, but also ideas.
I am always getting emails and texts from fellow theatre directors asking, “How did you do this when you did that show?” And I am ALWAYS willing to get on the phone and explain it. I get the same support when I reach out.
Just because you may be the only theatre teacher at your school, you have an abundance of other teachers and staff who have expertise. Ask! I once had a maintenance worker upgrade a motor for me to make a platform move. There was a math teacher who had a scene shop in her garage and knew how to make all sorts of props do magical things. You never know unless you ask. When filling up your coffee in the mailroom…talk about your whack-a-mole that day. It may surprise you.
STEP THREE: PARENTS AND STUDENTS CAN HOLD THE KEY
Students are there to learn and often think outside the box. Be sure to include them on these problems. I would say that 50% of the time I alter a plan based on an idea that a student has.
They also have parents and guardians that know stuff. I don’t typically run to parents with every problem, but I have my “go-to” parents who like to help and “know people” who can often get me that old golf cart motor I need from their uncle Jerry’s mechanic shop. The bigger the challenge, the more people I include.
STEP FOUR: LOG ON AND GET ANSWERS
In today’s world you should never feel like you are on an island. There are online resources and chat groups everywhere. *Shameless plug for our own online mentoring sessions.
Some productions have chat groups on Facebook for that production. I also belonged to theatre educator groups where we often asked for help and shared resources and ideas. You can also find online help through some of the licensing companies.
Some of them have online chat groups built into your account. Login and explore. If all else fails…we all have a Google search bar.
The bottom line: theatre is considered the most collaborative art form in the world for a reason. So DO IT! Collaborate your butt off. Build a network of people you can text, email, call, visit, and chat with online. Solving problems on an island of “one” should be left to the shipwrecked…and even Tom Hanks found Wilson to bounce his ideas off of.
Especially if you feel like you need a little help, you seriously should consider the virtual mentoring for directors that we offer. And check out our complimentary resources, like the Character Breakdown Spreadsheet, the Budget Template, and everything else in our Resource Center.
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