Getting the preparation right for a theater play is half the battle in making sure that opening night goes as smoothly as possible. Double-check all areas of production so you know exactly what to expect and avoid any nasty surprises.
Instructions
1. Make a list of all the people necessary for the play. Include all technological support roles such as lighting direction and sound control. Move on to the design team to include costume designers and creators and people to implement the stage scenery. Finally, list all the roles involved for actors and substitutes and also the director and coaches. How exhaustive this list is will depend on your budget, setting and the type of play.
2. Recruit all your personal not forgetting to include back-ups in case of emergency. Assign a "leader" in every area of the production to begin initial practice and coordination such as someone for backstage, technological backup and a director for the stage itself.
3. Have an open dialog between everyone involved in the pre-production process, such as the director, actors, production team and designers. Fitting the different aspects of the play together is one of the most difficult tasks, so keep everyone talking and anticipate problems together.
4. Get each team and "leader" involved to rehearse as much as possible. This includes all the actors as well as the technological support group. Practice makes perfect is the key here, so have as many rehearsals as you can until everyone can perform their roles with their eyes closed.
5. Do several tech run-throughs to troubleshoot the equipment and iron out any problems with cues or timing. Make any changes sooner rather than later so you will have more time practice the finished version. Test all the equipment again prior to the actual performance to overcome any interim difficulties.
6. Perform several final run-throughs of the entire production with all the components working together. Have all the actors in costume and fulfill all the stage settings on cue. Ensure that you practice the production with everyone involved at least several times prior to the finale instead of just verbally inserting certain components.
