Overview
Responsibilities
In general, the chair is responsible for running meetings and keeping an eye on everything happening in the ensemble. It is good to either be familiar with most ensemble processes or know someone who is. Making sure everyone is doing their job can be tricky at times. Ultimately, you will develop your own style. There is also some advice on this page. First and foremost, remember to be organized and prioritize.
Oversight
There are a lot of processes you will want to be familiar with and keep an eye on:
Top Priority:
- Term Show!
- Recruitment
- Room Reservations
- Finances
- Event Registrations
- Director Interviews
Other Administrative:
- Ensemble History
- Mailing Lists
- Ensemble Calendar
- Membership Requirements
Other Procedural:
- Retreat
- Small Shows
- Large Ensemble Events (ex. Picnic)
- Community Events (ex. CAST)
- Classes
- Play Choice
- Office Cleans
- Special Projects (ex. Sonnets)
Term Shows
It is imperative that you select your Producer, SM, and TD carefully. They will set the attitude for the show. While it is difficult to be Chair and Producer simultaneously, it is worth considering. Technically, the term show is not your responsibility once a producer is selected, but it is always good to keep an eye on it. You should be using your knowledge of ensemble history and your awareness as an officer to predict what could go wrong and make sure the right people have it on their radar. As the chair, you theoretically have access to all the ensemble's information. The producer and/or SM might not. You should make sure that communication is open, that people have the resources they need to do their job, and that the ensemble as a whole is as coordinated as possible.
Meetings
Officer Meetings
- At the beginning of each semester, choose a time for weekly officer meetings. Keep in mind that most of the officers will have rehearsals. In the past, 5pm has worked reasonably well.
- Budget an hour for the meetings. If meetings are consistently running too long, try handling simple administrative reminders via email. Alternatively, schedule meetings when everyone has two hours free.
- Make sure to send a reminder to the ensemble at least a day before the meeting. Include a rough agenda. You may also want to encourage a specific member to attend if the business pertains to them (ex. producer).
- It is occasionally reasonable to reschedule or cancel these meetings around tech week or holidays or if there is very little business to discuss. Try to avoid canceling two meetings in a row.
BOT, Retreat, EOT
- At BOT, assign term jobs, talk about the upcoming show and major events. If you would like, you can set goals for the semester.
- Think carefully about term jobs. Giving difficult jobs to responsible people will make your life easier.
- At EOT, recap the show and spear new members. At Fall EOT, get people to find locations for Spring retreat.
- Try to avoid contentious discussion and keep the meetings short, especially BOT and EOT. If there is a tough matter to discuss, try to limit it to just the relevant people.
- Retreat should be reserved for discussions which can be productive with a large group.
- Even if it has been in the past, retreat does not need to be long.
- Be pragmatic. If you discuss something, try to drive the discussion towards concrete action items.
Advice
Organization
Organization is key. You probably already have your own way of keeping organized, but I recommend keeping a list of everything that needs to get done in the ensemble (at present) and highlighting those that you need to take action on. Typically, there will be three to five categories of things and three to five tasks in each category. You will probably have three to five things you are directly responsible for at any given time, though if you are spending more than four or five hours a week on Chair responsibilities then you might be doing too much. You can use the list above for inspiration. While some projects may sound fun, they can be difficult in practice. Keep an eye out for these. It is your prerogative to say "No." Make sure people in charge of various things keep you up to date. Check in with them frequently. If things are out of control, decrease their size and scope.
Whipping
When people are not doing their jobs, you need to think carefully about your response. Sometimes, a simple email will do the trick and get the person back on track. That said, if the tone needs to get harsh then it is best to do it outside email. There is really no substitute for talking to someone in person. Consider a person in the context of all their commitments to the ensemble. If they forgot their term job but were diligent in their production position, you might want to let them go depending on the circumstances. If you do need to take action to a person, try to meet with them in person and explain very clearly what happened and understand why it happened and what can be fixed in the future.