We all know that imaginative directors create enjoyable shows. Theatre is an art form after all and should be approached with innovation when forming an artistic vision for your school musical. However, even the most creative ideas can fall flat without clear communication to students, parents and your entire production team. Every musical director on the planet has more to do than hours to do it in, but take the time to grow these relationships by being consistent, clear and concise with emails and documents.
Communication Keeps 'Em Happy
There are plenty of people that you deal with when directing a musical for your school:
Parents
Students
Administration
Your therapist
Happy parents are supportive parents. Parents who have to wait in their car for thirty minutes twice a week because you didn’t communicate a rehearsal schedule change become frustrated ones. Students who have hours of homework a night and chronically have to wait over an hour at rehearsal for you to get to their part become stressed out and may resent the process. This goes for your administration as well. A principal who knows what is going on and gets to deal with these happy parents is a principal that might find room in the budget for that new fog machine.
Being Prepared Lets You Communicate Clearly From the Get-Go
An efficient rehearsal schedule definitely falls in the category of good communication. Don’t create a schedule that has students waiting around all the time. There are tools that you can use to help build as efficient of a musical rehearsal schedule as possible. If you show the students respect by not wasting their time then they reciprocate that respect by showing up on time and ready to work. Yes we have to make changes on the fly when a student doesn’t show up or your musical director’s car breaks down, but have a plan to communicate changes to students and parents and do it as early as possible to avoid a behind the scenes coo of your production.
Volunteers and Production Needs
Communication is key when approaching volunteers and production needs. This is also known as “favors.” Send out your requests, needs and volunteer schedules early on. It doesn’t matter how desperate you are. No one is available for a Saturday set build when you ask for volunteers the day before. On the other hand, you will be amazed at how many donated meals and props that show up when you send out these dates and lists the first week.
The only negative to having too many volunteers is if you lack in your communication and planning. Nothing destroys a volunteer relationship faster than wasting their time. Don’t have more people than jobs to do. You don’t need six people to sell water. Online signup sheets that everyone can access work best. You don’t want to have Mrs. Fenalli to show up with her famous lasagna for a cast of forty only to have Mr. Bennson already there shoving Subway sandwiches down their throats.
Truth be told, no matter the proficiency of your communication skills, your opening night may still get a standing ovation, but if the process in getting there was as painful as having your legs waxed, you may find a lot less kids at your next audition and fewer parents willing to sell cookies in the lobby.
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Getting prepared so you can communicate needs and expectations efficiently can be made way easier with our free resource: the Character Breakdown Spreadsheet. It is pretty much the ultimate planning tool. Check it out.
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