Play Director's Survival Kit: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Producing Theater in Any School or Community Setting [Paperback]

James W. Rodgers (Author), Wanda C. Rodgers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0876285655 | ISBN-13: 978-0876285657 | Edition: 1

This expansive guide covers the where, when, and how for every step of school play production, including play selection and adaptation, auditions, casting and dealing with disappointed students, budgeting, coaching actors, setting up a production team, rehearsals, publicity, and promotion.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

For new and veteran play directors, here is a comprehensive guide to producing student theater packed with tested tips, timesavers and problem-solvers gleaned form the authors' experience in directing over 120 full-length plays or musical!

Step by step, the Kit takes you through every phase of play selection and production in six sections. Each section is complete with ready-to-use checklists, diagrams, and samples. And, as an added enhancement, each carries a subtitle that's also a song title form a musical and includes interesting facts about its Broadway opening, original cast, and number of performances.

The following identifies the six sections of the Kit along with some of the specific topics and reproducible aids included in each major part:

PROLOGUE: What kind of help can you expect from this resource

ACT ONE: PLAY SELECTION — Your role as play director ... Getting started ... A Director's Checklist of Responsibilities ... Production options ... Stage Manager's Checklist for Touring Productions ... How to select the right play

ACT TWO: PRE-PRODUCTION CONSIDERATIONS — How to unravel a play's meaning ... How to lay out a rehearsal schedule ... Layout for a Typical Rehearsal Schedule ... What you need to know about stage properties, lighting, sound and special effects, costumes and makeup ... Property Inventory List ... Director's Costume Notes ... How to conduct auditions ... Sample of Audition Form ... Layout Form for Call Backs ... How to make intelligent casting decisions ... Sample of Cast Announcement

ACT THREE: REHEARSALS & PERFORMANCES — How to get the most out of rehearsals ... Standard Set of Warm-up Exercises ... How to help actors develop character ... Working with actors ... How to direct period plays ... A Selected List of Standard Period Pieces ... How to direct your first musical ... Where to Obtain the Rights for Musicals ... How to run a smooth productions ... Backstage Etiquette

ACT FOUR: AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT — What you need to know about tickets ... A Box Office Checklist ... How to sell your production ... Preparing posters, press releases, and programs ... Checklist for Program Copy ... Sample Program layouts ... What you need to know about audiences

EPILOGUE: DIRECTORY — Acting/Directing Terms ... Odd Names for Technical Terms ... Stages of Production Process ... A List of Theatrical Forms ... List of Contemporary Play for Beginning Directors ... Players in Commercial Theater Organization ... A Selected Reading List for Beginning Directors

Included are over 55 full-page checklists, diagrams, forms, fact sheets, samples and other aids you can use as is or easily adapt to your particular needs. And all material is printed in a handy 8 ?" x 11" format for easy photocopying!

Whether you're directing a first play or your25th, at the planning stage or in the midst of the production process, you'll find PLAY DIRECTOR'S SURVIVAL KIT invaluable. It will not only relieve you of some of the stress in producing a play but, at he same time, give you greater confidence and enjoyment in your theatrical endeavors.

About the Author

James W. Rodgers, Ph.D., teacher, director, and published playwright, has taught for more than 35 years and serves as a department chair in colleges and universities in Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, and Kentucky. He is currently a full professor at the University of Kentucky.

Wanda C. Rodgers has taught in five states and in a variety of schools. She is currently teaching Drama, English, and Communications at Woodford County High School in Versailles, Kentucky, where she has been names Outstanding Teacher of the Year for Woodford County.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (November 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876285655
• ISBN-13: 978-0876285657
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.7 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the unorganized or inexperienced director March 18, 2000

By Dan-Ski

Format:Paperback

Survival Kit is the perfect name for this book. The Play Director's Survival Kit has been in great demand no matter what community or regional theater I've worked in. Everyone is borrowing it. Time to buy your own kit. The kit is perfect for the person who may be slightly unorganized (as creative people can be) and will take you through step by step to get your production to a successful conclusion. It's hard to forget anything when you have this kit by your side. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is directing for the first time or who has found that they are not quite as organized as they thought.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything a director needs to know gathered in one place. May 14, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I discovered this book through a fellow theatre professor and was immediately impressed with its scope of information. So impressed, in fact, that I'm planning to adopt it as the textbook for an advanced directing course I teach that culminates with the production of a one-act play.

The authors have covered everything a director needs to know, from selecting the play through rehearsals, peformances,and marketing. This book would be especially helpful for high school/community theatre directors, or those in similar situations where the director is expected to assume some of the responsibilites usually handled by a producer. (The sample forms are especially good for these organizations.)

Although not a substitute for a more thorough book on the pure basics of directing (blocking, composition, etc.), this is an excellent supplement that reviews those basics and enhances them with elements that often aren't covered in directing classes but are faced in production (putting together program copy, for example). Although I've been directing professionally for over 12 years, I immediately ordered a copy for myself after examining it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish.... July 8, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I wish someone had recommended this book before I directed half a dozen musicals and learned its contents the hard way...trial and error. While the information is largely common sense, the organization saves the time of having to figure it out yourself. I recommend it highly...especially for school and community theatre.