There you are in the theatre after the last show—the applause has faded, and the crew has struck the set. Excitement bubbles in your heart as you consider what’s next. For a moment, in that delightful afterglow, anything seems possible. Then reality raises its head: you’re thinking of your students, the school administration, the families of your students, and even the next audience.
How do you make them all happy?
Choosing your next show or planning your theatre season offers some unique challenges. But by weighing your options with specific criteria, you can make choosing your next show a bit easier. For starters, remember you can tap into the hive mind of EdTA’s Theatre Education Community for input from experienced theatre educators and troupe directors.
Additionally, consider these tips to make the selection process easier.
1. Ask Yourself Tough Questions to Narrow the Selection Process
When considering what show to do next, the easiest place to start is by doing what you do best: asking the tough questions.
- What’s the goal of the next show?
- What do you want to teach your students or have them experience?
- How many people are available to work on the show?
- What are the actors’ strong suits?
- What type of production(s) can your performance space support?
- How much money is in your budget?
- What parameters does the school administration impose on show themes?
- What will bring in a paying audience?
2. Consider What Matters Most
The answers to the above questions are all important and yet, as educators, your students come first. Perhaps the most important question to consider is: What can you teach your students or help them experience with the next show?
You want to offer challenges for our Thespians because you know that within the challenges there will be growth. So approaching your selections as a balancing act between what you hope they’ll learn and what you think they can perform well is a good methodology. You want them to develop and shine.
Sure, some actors are great at dramatic roles, but is it time for them to practice the intricate timing of comedy? Letting your students hone new skills in the safety of high school theatre is a gift. That can take on various forms depending on the skills they already possess. Maybe they’re adept at working on scripted material, so a devised performance or improv showcase would stretch their creative abilities in a different direction. Or maybe it’s time to tackle a musical after a string of successful plays and one-acts. Being in touch with your students’ developmental needs is key.
3. Remember the Hard Facts that Limit Options
It’s OK if your inner child wants to scream “No fair!” to the budget you’re given to finance the next production. Or maybe you’re blessed with more than enough money in the budget. Either way, the reality is it costs money to put on a show and in many cases, the money guides decisions. But the reality is: boundaries are freeing.
First, know exactly how much money you have before making any decisions, or you may soon find yourself broke before you have what you need. Knowing where the limits lie before you get started is key to opening up the freedom to create inside those boundaries.
Second, create a zero-bottom-line budget—one that is on paper or a spreadsheet so you can see exactly where every dollar is going. A zero-bottom-line budget accounts for every dollar before you begin spending. By creating a budget that includes every cost, you have the chance to decide where you can move money around to best meet your needs. You don’t have “a couple hundred dollars” just floating around unaccounted for—that creates a false sense of abundance and leads to overspending.
Third, if you’ve never created a theatrical budget, our friends at TheatreFolk have a detailed post about what you need to consider . We know this part of the process is hard; for creatives, dealing with financial details can be sobering and challenging. You can do it!
In a nutshell, here are the line items you must consider. You may be able to come up with creative ways to pay for some of them, but consider them all before spending a dime:
- Performing rights for the show. Copyrights in theatre are a real thing and it’s illegal to perform a show without the rights. Don’t do it. If this is a barrier you don’t have the resources to overcome, consider that devising unit or improv showcase!
- Scripts and scores (including shipping costs)
- Venue rentals (often more of a necessity for community theatres, but consider it)
- Insurance (check with school administration as you may already be covered in this area; but safety first!)
- Costumes
- Sets
- Props
- Lighting
- Sound
- Hair and makeup
- Special equipment rentals (for tech elements, musicians’ needs, etc.)
- Salaries or stipends for experts you may need (like a fight or intimacy coach)
- Printing
- Publicity (read this for marketing tips)
- Miscellaneous
4. Aim to be Relevant and Thought-Provoking
Theatre students are passionate storytellers, whether they’re performing in the spotlight or working behind the curtain to convey the play’s message. Thespians often feel things deeply and strive to help their audiences have a meaningful experience.
This is an excerpt from the Educational Theatre Association’s Freedom of Expression statement that may inspire you to consider certain shows:
Theatre and speech & debate educators along with their students work at the confluence of two of the foundational values that support a free society: freedom of expression and the unfettered pursuit of knowledge. Despite the well-documented research that affirms the value of both learning experiences, too often teachers and students are confronted with external attempts to draw boundaries defining acceptable content leading to acts of censorship that have the effect of stifling free expression and stunting the educational process.
We do encourage you to remember the power of theatre to facilitate community dialogue and to share relevant ideas in ways that may help audiences view topics in a new light. As the person on the ground in your community or region, you are the best person to decide what’s worth fighting for if you encounter pushback on a production. (And in cases where a timely topic is being discouraged, you can reach out to the Educational Theatre Association for support and feedback on how to proceed.)
Whether you’re a high school, middle school, or elementary theatre educator, you know there are different levels of tolerance on various topics for your students’ productions. We’ll leave it in your capable hands to know what approvals you need from the school administration and school board leaders as you select your show.
5. Time: The Most Valuable Commodity?
There are only so many hours in a day and students at every level of learning are involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities. You absolutely must know how much time you have for every part of the production process.
Again, just like doing the work of creating a detailed budget, creating a detailed production calendar helps you know how much time you have before opening night. Once you know the amount of time available, your options for shows will expand or contract accordingly.
Here’s an in-depth article that includes a downloadable production process outline on how to get started. A production calendar “will include not only obvious things like dates for auditions and rehearsal but also for costume fittings, building sets, taking cast photos, loading into the venue (if you’re rehearsing offsite), hanging and focusing lights, and even when set and costume designs are due to the director.”
Streamlining Your Theatre Season Planning
With a little planning and some intentionality, you don’t have to worry about feeling overwhelmed about starting the next production as soon as the current one ends. Considering factors like what you want your Thespians to learn, the conversations you hope to foster with your community, and the budget that can limit your options all help to refine your selection process.
“It takes a village” to put on a successful show, and we hope this article and its links give you the framework you need to plan your next theatre season with ease. Break a leg!
Patty Craft is a regular contributor to the Educational Theatre Association.
