Grinder's Grumblings

All theatre, be it community, professional, educational or anywhere in between, has a bureaucracy, an imperfect organizational structure that everyone involved in a production must participate in to some degree in order to do their jobs. Unfortunately job titles and the duties assigned to them vary wildly from company to company, and of all the jobs listed...(click here to read the rest of the article)

Production Schedules are vital to the success of any production. They provide everyone with an “at a glance” view of the entire production. Despite the temptation to do so in smaller companies, Production Schedules and Rehearsal Schedules should not be economized into the same document, as this tends to be confusing for actors who... (click here to read the rest of the article)

How you analyse a script has a lot to do with what job you’re doing on the production. This analysis is meant for stage managers and technicians, and should form the starting point for their work on the production. The break-down below shows a common method of organizing the information gleaned from the script. These lists can be added to or modified...(click here to read the rest of the article)

Few theatre companies, amateur or professional, have one person for each and every job that needs to be done on a production – most people wear two or more hats. In the professional theatre there are some union jurisdictional lines that can’t be crossed, but in amateur productions it’s not uncommon to see the actors helping to put up the set, the person doing the lighting design also running the sound board, and the director handing out programs. The list that follows of positions on the production team is extensive, but it is by no means exhaustive... (click here to read the rest of the article)

This is where the study of the play begins to differentiate based on what role you are playing in the production. Since most people begin their theatrical journeys as actors, I’ve decided that an actor’s primer for highlighting lines would be as good a place to start as any. Why highlight your lines? You’re not going to have the script in your hands when you step on stage... (click here to read the entire article)

Okay, I’ve read the play. I know what happens. I have experienced the play as much like an audience member as I can without actually seeing a production. Now what? Read the play again. Why? Because now I need to understand the play, and everything it contains. This time... (click here to read the full article)

Every piece of theatrical advice and instruction that I have ever come across always begins with the same three words – read the play. It seems so obvious – how can you possibly act, direct, produce or stage manage a play that you haven’t read? Yet there are a great many people who call themselves theatre professionals who don’t bother to read a play before they begin rehearsals or start working on some technical element. These are often the people who... (click here to read the entire article)

Thank you for joining me on my journey. You can learn more about me and about how this project came into being by checking out my expository little epistle, How it all started . This website is devoted to the pursuit of knowledge about theatre. It’s for everyone who makes theatre, from writers to actors to directors to the person running the follow spot, and everyone in between. It’s for amateurs and professionals, students and teachers, and even audiences. It is for anyone who has to courage to honestly admit that they still have something to learn when it comes to theatre and stagecraft. The site is broken down into the broad topics of theatre... (click here to read the complete article)