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The producer is to the production as the chair is to the Ensemble. The producer is ultimately responsible for all non-artistic decisions for the production. More specifically, sS/he selects a production staff according to Ensemble guidelines, facilitates all logistical matters, and runs all production meetings. The producer can be thought of as the "last line of defence"; if If a production team member becomes unable to complete their position, the producer must either replace them or complete the position him/herself. The producer is also the final authority on the production- if . If something makes the producer uncomfortable for safety or other reasons, s/he is well within is right to may veto it. Additionally, the producer is responsible for handling interpersonal conflicts between anyone involved in the production.
DECISION MAKING AND PREROGATIVE
MISCELLANEOUS TASKS
General Comments
Define people's jobs. Make sure people are doing their jobs. Get them to do their jobs. This does not mean that you should be doing the work for them when they slack.
Pre-Production
Prepping for Auditions
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- Schedule auditions with the director, SM,
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- and Ensemble.
- Finalize audition forms and make sure all dates/requirements are correct.
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- Ensure that a readthrough has been scheduled.
- Set up the online audition form as soon as possible. See the webmaster page for
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- details.
CALLBOARD
RESERVATIONS
TECH, TECHNIQUE
TEST CONFLICTS
ACTOR REPLACEMENT ISSUE?With the SM, finalize audition form and make sure dates/requirements are correct. Make sure the director has scheduled a readthrough.
Finding and Keeping Prod Staff
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It is important to check in regularly with prod staff to make sure that everyone is doing their jobs. If anyone is not on top of things, consider monitoring them more closely. For example, drawing up a very detailed schedule of when everything needs to get done can be effective for people who are unorganized. If a problematic member of the prod staff continues to cause problems and fail to do the job assigned, you can consider replacing that person as a last resort.
TECHNICAL MENTORS
Production Meetings
Meeting 1: Contracts, deadlines, budget, schedule, readthrough, designer run, prod hours, parade, put-in, papertech, q2q, tech week, vision
Set up and run preliminary prod meeting to determine the production calendar, introduce the designers, talk about the director's vision, go over the budget, and schedule all future prod meetings. In the spring, prod meetings start during the first half of IAP. In the fall, the prod meeting should happen at least one week before reg day, or as soon as possible before that, even if not all of the prod staff are on campus.
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Obtain entertainment licenses from Cambridge city hall. Register the event with CAC. Remember, we only have 99 guests. On an unrelated note, shows with 100 or more people need a police detail. Remember that the entertainment license costs a large sum of money- make sure you have your $240 (or whatever sum) in cash or money order when you go to city hall.
NAYLER MEETING
PRE-SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT
Prod Week
MISCELLANEOUS TASKS
RUN CREW, HOUSE/BOX MANAGERS
RUNTIME JOBS (ex. LAUNDRY) - SM
Assist as needed. Catch all the balls that are dropping. Help out the stage manager(s) in any way you can. Make sure that runtime jobs have been assigned to everyone (washing clothes, sweeping and mopping the stage, warmups, morale, cleaning the house, water/candy for actors, etc.) At that point your job will be mostly over, but theirs is just beginning. Making their life easier makes everyone happier.
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This is really the responsibility of the TD, but make sure that put-in and strike are on track to happen in an efficient and effective fashion. Make sure that the space is available very late on closing night for strike, and also that the cast will not get kicked out of space during tech week and performances. Chris Nayler (nayler@mit.edu) is the person to contact if the space is not available for the time needed for strike/rehearsal. Do NOT contact the CAC e-mail address, as they tend not to be very helpful.
CAST AWARDS, CUT-TO-CUE
ALUM RECEPTION, BRUSH-UP
PHOTO/VIDEO