Welcome to the MTG quick-start guide! This will serve as a one-stop-shop for basic terms and expectations to help you navigate the sometimes-esoteric and often-complicated world of MTG productions.

Responsibilities and Expectations

General: 

  • Arrive to all meetings and rehearsals ON TIME. We do not operate on MIT time here at MTG, so a rehearsal that starts at 8:00pm starts at 8:00pm, NOT 8:05pm. If you are running late notify the stage manager or producer leading that rehearsal/meeting ASAP (please include your ETA/reason for lateness as applicable).
  • If you don’t know what’s going on, ask someone! Your producer(s) and stage manager team are very knowledgeable about the production and about MTG standard-operation-procedures so please do not hesitate to clarify and ask questions.
  • Stay on top of deadlines (self-imposed or production deadlines) and please fill out forms and fulfill asks from other departments/producers in a timely manner. Please do not make the SMs or producers track you down to fill out a form that was due 3 days ago.
  • Failure to comply with the Actor’s Contract or chronic violations/disregard of the expectations outlined in this document may result in the inability to gain/renew MTG membership, loss of comp tickets, or limitations to future participation in MTG shows. 


Dir and Prodstaff: 

  • You are expected to read through your position’s guide/wiki and fully understand the responsibilities and duties of your position within 48 hours of being onboarded into the production. Please reach out to the producer or a senior MTG member who is knowledgeable about your position if you have questions about your position duties.
  • You must attend EVERY DIRPROD meeting unless you provide the producer(s) 24 hours notice along with your updates in writing. It is critical to attend these production meetings each week, even when you have minimal updates, as there may be other departments that need to update YOU. 
  • When working with cast, please make sure you are communicating clearly and providing documentation/forms when needed. You can also work with stage managers to help organize and streamline communications with the cast. 

Cast: 

  • You MUST comply with all stated expectations and deadlines outlined in the Actor’s Contract. If you have any conflicts or issues that arise, please communicate with the stage managers ASAP.
  • Rehearsal time is precious, please arrive on time and ready to work. Go over scenes or songs prior to rehearsal, bring your script/score with notetaking abilities. We understand that life happens and the T sucks, but if you must be late/miss rehearsal, please inform the stage manager(s) ASAP. 
  • All conflicts, barring emergencies, must be communicated at least a week in advance. In the cast of an IAP show, these conflicts should be communicated prior to the first week of rehearsal (ask your stage manager for specific deadlines). 
  • If you are having a communication issue or have a question, please ask your stage manager or the obvious dir/prodstaff lead of the department in question. If you are having an interpersonal conflict with a cast or crew member, please reach out to your stage manager (or a producer, if the stage manager is involved in the conflict). There will also be forms for reporting such issues to the head stage manager and producer separately.
  • Be a good theater citizen! Do not give notes to or comment on the performances of other actors especially during official rehearsal time; the only time you may do so is if you are also a part of dir/prodstaff and you may only give notes within the purview of your dir/prod position. Likewise, take notes from dir/prodstaff respectfully and in good faith. 
  • Do your homework and practice your lines/songs outside of rehearsal time: oftentimes, the rehearsal time we have together is not enough to satisfactorily memorize/internalize lines, harmonies, and blocking without additional practice!



MTG Glossary

Dirstaff - (also referred to as dirs) This term refers to the directing staff of a given production in MTG. The directing staff includes the Director, the Music Director, the Vocal Director, The Orchestra Director, the Technical Director, the Choreographer, the Stage Manager, and the Producer/Producing team. This also refers to any co- or assistants to any of these positions. The dirstaff generally are the highest level of decision making for any production.  

Prodstaff - This refers to the production staff of a given production in MTG. This typically includes design leads (Set Designer, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer, Properties Designer, Costume Designer, Hair & Makeup Designer, Scenic Painter), Master positions (Master Carpenter, Master Electrician, Master Stitcher), any co- or assistants of these positions, and will often also encompass our general crew (non-master Carpenters, electricians etc…). 

Dirprod - Dirprod = directing + production staff (i.e. pretty much anyone that does something other than be in the cast!). For example, dirprod meetings are our weekly production meetings where everyone on the directing and production staff will meet to give updates and communicate important show-related information. 

Crew - Crew most commonly will refer to anyone who is participating in an MTG production in a non-cast position (this will also include cast members who are pulling double-duty in a non-cast position). 

Design Lead - Design leads are the people in charge of designing the technical aspect of the production and leading their respecting crew members in builds to construct these technical features. 

Prod/Production Hours - Production hours (often shortened as prod hours) are a requirement for all cast members in a production to contribute a minimum amount of effort to the technical aspects of the show. The number and arrangement of these prod hours can vary depending on the production and is up to the discretion of the Technical Director. At the beginning of the production, cast members will be assigned to a tech department (Sets, Lights, Props, or Costumes) based on their preferences/experience; cast members will be expected to complete a certain number of their prod hours in their assigned department, but may opt to attend other department builds to fulfill their total requirement. Each department lead (i.e. TD/Master carpenter for Sets, Lighting Designer for Lights, Props Designer for Props, and Costume Designer/Master Stitcher for Costumes) should organize and lead builds regularly throughout the production period for cast members to fulfill their prod hour requirements (builds for Lights tend to operate differently from other productions and will be communicated by the LD as needed). If a cast member fails to complete prod hour requirements, they will not receive comp tickets and will not be eligible for/renew their MTG membership. 

Builds -  Builds are scheduled work time for design leads and cast/crew to work on technical aspects of the production. For example, set builds usually take place in our set shop in the basement of Walker Memorial and involve tasks like cutting wood, organizing existing setpieces, painting/building new set pieces, and more. Builds are scheduled and led by the design leads and ‘masters’ of the production staff of a show (i.e. set builds are usually led by the technical director and/or master carpenter, costume builds are led by the costume designer and/or master stitcher etc…) These builds should be scheduled with actor and crew schedules in mind: many hands make light work! Preliminary build schedules should be submitted to the technical director and producer before/around the same time as budget estimates so they can be added to the show GCal and advertised to MTG membership for guild hour opportunities. These preliminary schedules are not set in stone and you can always change/adjust but be sure to communicate these changes to the producer and your cast/crew team!

Prodweek - Prodweek aka production week is most similar to what you might know as “Tech week”. This is the week between put-in and opening night where we will integrate all of the technical elements of the show such as sets, lights, props, costumes, and hair/makeup etc… This is the all-hands-on-deck week where all cast, dirstaff, prodstaff, and orchestra come together to bring the show to life. A few notes about prodweek: the Stage Manager is GOD. They are responsible for deciding and enforcing all call times, preshow schedules, and calling the show. Additionally, the stage manager is the highest level of authority during “prodweek conditions” (i.e. when pre-show schedule begins to the end of post-show notes). Please see the associated descriptions of each ‘night’ of prodweek to see specific details of which departments get priority in calling holds 

  • Hold  - Hold is called to stop/pause an active run in order to address the following: missing cues, spike tape marking (spotlights, setpiece placement, etc…), fixing/addressing technical elements, active or potential safety concerns. Who can call hold? The Stage Manager can always call hold if they notice something that needs to be fixed (this should be used judiciously). Additionally, any person (primarily cast) who is experiencing an active safety concern can call hold (again, this must be an active and immediate safety concern that is directly related to what is happening in the run). Otherwise, details of department-by-department hold permissions are outlined in each “Night” description below. 
  • Sitzprobe - Sitzprobe (sit-down rehearsal) is a complete singthrough of the musical score with the orchestra. It usually occurs in the evening after put-in. Since this is not a run of the show, hold calls are not made. The Orchestra director/conductor and Music/Vocal director(s) are responsible for making and enacting the schedule/order for Sitzprobe. Depending on the musical, this schedule will simply be a top-to-bottom playthrough or it may jump around in the score to allow actors to leave early. Required personnel: All cast members who sing/perform with underscoring, all orchestra members, orchdir/conductor, music/vocal director, stage manager. Recommended personnel: Director, sound designer or engineer. All other crew/dirprod are also welcome but not required to attend!
  • Orch Night - Orchestra night is the first true night of prodweek. For orch night, the primary goal is to integrate the orchestra into the show. This includes any microphones/monitors/sound engineering needed for the orchestra and ensuring that all cast cues or technical elements that cue or get cued by the orchestra are ironed out. While this night is not oriented towards tech, as many technical elements that can be safely implemented into this run, should be. The orchestra director/conductor is the primary person who should call hold during this run, and these holds should be called mainly for orchestral cues or technical issues regarding orchestra, generally not for music-related issues. The SM or other technical departments (e.g. lighting designer or sound engineer) may call hold for egregious technical/safety issues or for cues directly related to orchestra cues, but should otherwise wait for tech night. 
  • Tech Night  - Tech night is the night where we integrate all technical aspects of the show. This includes complete lights and sound cues as well as all setpieces and props. In certain productions, this can also include costume pieces that may pose technical challenges (i.e. quick changes, tear-aways, loose pieces etc…). On tech night, the following people can call hold: Technical Director, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer/Engineer, Stage Manager, Run crew (usually only if there is a safety issue/backstage set change problem). If there are other non-standard technical design leads in this show (i.e. Video/projections, Practicals, Puppetry,) they may also gain the ability to call hold on Tech night. On very rare occasion, the director may call hold if there is a major issue in the way the technical elements are coming together, but another department lead will likely have already caught the issue and called for a hold. 
  • First Dress - First dress rehearsal is the night where we integrate hair/makeup and all costume pieces. All other technical aspects of the show should be finalized at this point, particularly any key cues, props, setpieces etc… First or final dress is also a good opportunity to bring in your photographer for show pictures. The costume designer/stitcher and HMU designers may call hold, but this happens rarely and should only happen for major mishaps like missing key costume pieces or a particularly difficult quick change (but ideally, these should all be preset and/or practiced prior to the show run). 
  • Final Dress  - Final Dress Night is where the show should be run with exact show performance conditions. This means that the pre-show schedule should be finalized with no additional changes/modifications and should be followed as precisely as possible. This should include an accurately simulated “actors to backstage”, house open/close, and pre-show announcement sequence and full intermission (if applicable). There also should be no holds called during this run, with the only exception being for immediate safety issues. The rest of the dirprod/crew should be invited to act as a pseudo audience to react to the performances.

Put-in - Put-in is the day (occasionally several days) we move into our theater space. Put-in is typically on Sundays from 9am-5pm, and starts even earlier for lights crew (often at 7am). The technical director (TD) is responsible for organizing the day and people involved (and the UHaul to bring set pieces over!), and will typically have cast and crew fill out a form regarding what they are willing and able to do during the day. Department leads (sets, lights, props, costumes, etc) will bring in all their equipment, set it up, and organize everything in preparation for prod week and shows. Sometimes, if we have the space booked earlier, we may do several rounds of put-in and/or spread it across multiple days, but this is not always the case. Everyone should be at put-in. Come prepared for a long, tiring day (and for cast and relevant crew, this will be followed by Sitzprobe Sunday night).

Papertech - Papertech is when the director(s), choreographer(s), music/orchestra director(s), SMs and technical department leads all sit down together and go through the show line by line, listing out what cues need to happen when and who will be cuing who. While things may change during prod week, this is the big event that allows crew to best understand how the show will actually be running and where departments will figure out any issues (i.e. will lights be cued by orch or by the actor, when should sound do something, what props are needed, etc.).

Strike - Strike is reverse put-in– when we take everything down! Strike is the night of the closing show; it starts about 10-20 minutes after the show ends on Saturday night and goes until we’re finished and out of the space. Similarly to put-in, the TD is in charge of organizing people and the process (as well as the UHaul!) and each department is responsible for striking/taking down their equipment. The space should be left as empty as it started before put-in. Depending on the space reservation and status of completion, some departments (typically lights) may come in the next day to finish strike. Everyone should be there at strike. After strike, the entire show cast and crew gather for strike party (where we eat classic food such as mac & cheese, dino nuggets, pizza rolls, etc.) and finally close the show together.

Off-Book - This is the day that actors should be fully memorized for the script. Occasionally, there will be an off-book date for non-musical content and then a later date for music-content or some other split of material memorization. This will be enforced by the stage manager, and after off-book date, there should be no actor scripts in hand during rehearsals, unless there are complicated blocking notes that need to be taken. For actors: if you forget or miss a line, call LINE (as in-character as possible) and the stage manager running that rehearsal will feed you your line until you remember. Stage managers will take line notes and distribute them after each run. 

Full Runs - Full Runs are rehearsals where the entire show (or 1 full act) is run without the majority/any technical elements (some stand-in setpieces and props may be incorporated for safety or practice purposes). These usually occur in the week leading up to Production Week. For a typical 2-act musical, it is suggested to have a run+review of each act separately, a full show “stumble-through” (i.e. the director will prompt certain entrances or there will be some stop-and-start between large numbers) followed up 1 or 2 true full-runs as rehearsal time permits. Ideally, actors should be off-book or getting off-book during the act runs, so plan off-book date accordingly. Design leads, especially lighting designer and set designer/technical director should be invited to watch at least 1 full run rehearsal to see all the blocking and non-technical elements in person.

Brushup - Brushup is a rehearsal that takes place between the first and second weekend of show performances. This is done to make sure that blocking and lines stay fresh for the actors during this break, and often is a chance for actors to have a bit of fun with the run-through. Typically, brushup does not include orchestra or tech, and functions more like a casual full run than a prod week run. Required people: Actors, rehearsal pianist/keys, and an SM. Optional but good to have: Director and Music/VD (and choreo if it’s a dance-heavy show). 


  • No labels