Directors' Page

• The Proposal
• Some Tips
• Eligibility and Requirements

The Director's Proposal

Proposals are due electronically to ds_officers or, if you prefer, in the Dramashop Office (W16-018, in the basement of Kresge Auditorium).

We have recently changed our selection process and consequently our criteria for director's proposals. To get a good idea of the new selection process and the changes to this year's One Acts, check out how a submission becomes a production.

We realize that the details of how and why we select scripts and directors can be confusing, so we encourage you to email the ds_officers with any questions you may have. We would like to do everything in our power to clear up any confusion.

Keeping in mind the new order of selection - directors first, then scripts - here are some necessary components to a director's proposal.

The proposal should give us a good idea of the director's previous experience in theater. In addition, we need to know that the director will be able to work with the low-tech requirements of the production.

While it is impossible to write a detailed proposal for every submitted play, the proposal should include ideas for at least one play specifying how the play will be accomplished - the story told and the message related to the audience. This proposal will also show what kind of interpretations you are capable of, your directing style, as well as your ability to make something worthwhile despite the low-tech requirements (which will be enforced rather strictly this year).

To summarize: a proposal should consist of brief ideas and interpretations of three or so plays and a more in-depth discussion of one of them which covers the technical challenges and how they can be overcome. Keep in mind that the more varied the selection of plays discussed in your proposal, the more confident we will be that the play selection process will go smoothly and the more likely we will be to pick you as a director.

Other things that might be worth mentioning: in which of the plays do you think rewrites are necessary before they can be staged? What relationship do you want to have with the playwright? Do you want an intimate collaboration or a more distanced relationship?

Here are some questions that might be useful when writing a proposal. Don't feel you have to answer any of them! (If you answered all of them, your proposal would be more than two pages, and we wouldn't accept it!) These questions are only to get you thinking.

Play

* What is the climax of the play? What should be the effect of the climax on the audience?
* Does the play fit into a genre? What would be the style of your production?
* How is the play structured? How does each scene flow into the next?
* Are there any rewrites you would like the playwright to make?
* What relationship do you want to have with the playwright? Do you want an intimate collaboration, or a more distanced relationship?

Actors

* How many actors will you need? What are the most significant roles, in your estimation? Will any roles be doubled?
* Will the acting be stylized? In what way?
* What special talents or experience might the actors need?
* Do you have any actors in mind? (If so, can you convince them to try out?)

Technical

* What kind of set is necessary? How much would it cost?
* How will sound and lighting design feed into your production?
* Do you have anyone in mind for particular technical positions?

General Tips

First and foremost: Directing is fun! It's challenging, but also exhilarating: a chance to put together some wonderful work for full-house audiences to see and love.

The most important skills for directors are probably not the theater-related ones. Some great actors are terrible directors, and some terrible actors are great directors. What's more important are people skills -- the ability to communicate what you want to others; organizational skills -- the ability to pull many disparate people together and make a production happen; and, of course, a theatrical vision.

This is nowhere near as overwhelming as it may seem.

Take "people skills", for example. We don't force you to communicate in any specific way. While some of our directors have been very verbal, other great directors would often just say "Um ... yeah" with some hand gestures.

Both your stage manager -- an indispensible part of the production -- and the Dramashop officers are there to help you organize the show.

And finally, if you have a feeling about a play, or a reaction to it, or an idea of how it should be shown, that's really a vision waiting to be born. All it needs is commitment and conviction to turn it into something beautiful.

The one-acts are a wonderful collective experience for Dramashop. The directors, playwrights, and actors; the Dramashop officers; the faculty mentors; and the design staff consultants are all working to make the show happen. We are all there for the directors to consult, to bounce off ideas, and to listen to complaints. It can be great: supportive and open for everyone.

What's important, though, is that everyone is willing to listen. The Dramashop officers are not there to compromise a director's vision, but we will step in to resolve disputes. There's always some friction between different conceptions of a play at its first performance, and first-time directors (or actors, or playwrights) inevitably step on some toes. We smooth this out as much as we can, but it only works if everyone bends a little.

Finally, remember that directing is a major time commitment. A director must attend the auditions, the performances, and, of course, every rehearsal. If you have serious time issues, please consider working with an assistant director. This would be someone you know well who'd be willing to share the responsibility of directing with you. (Of course, you'll have to mention this person on your director's proposal, and we'll want to interview you together.)

Director Eligibility and Requirements

While passion, drive, and a visionary spirit are perhaps the most critical characteristics of a director, some experience with theater (and theater at MIT in particular) certainly helps to solidify all that fervor and enthusiasm into a fully realized production. Working on a Dramashop show in any capacity, directing with other MIT theater groups, and taking theater classes here, while not necessary to be successful, all help to deepen your understanding of theater and further your artistic vision as a director.

Bureaucratically, however, priority is given in the following manner, with the last group having the least priority:

1. MIT and Wellesley Undergrads
2. MIT Graduate Students
3. MIT Alums and Staff
4. General Public

Priority means that as long as an MIT or Wellesley undergrad is interested and sufficiently experienced as a director, he or she will be picked over other candidates. The Dramashop officers reserve the right to override this priority in extreme circumstances at their discretion.

A director will be expected to comply with the low-tech reality of the show. Limits on sets, lights, and props will be clearly stated and strictly enforced, with exceptions decided upon by the producer. We are not trying to be mean, we just want to make sure that we avoid the many problems that we have run into in past years. See Design Information for more information.