In her 2023 memoir, Barbra Streisand says of Jerome Robbins, (FUNNY GIRL, THE KING AND I, GYPSY, WEST SIDE STORY ):
“Jerry had a brilliant theatrical mind... He could expound on a character’s motivation, or pinpoint the wrong gel on a particular light.”
Robbins was an enigma on many levels. He was widely known for his directing and choreography, but, as Streisand points out, Robbins was also knowledgeable in the technical arena. Expertise in technical theatre does not typically go hand-in-hand with world-class directing and choreography skills, but is it often expected in theatre and music educators. This is why FBSM provides repertoire that can be meaningfully performed with minimal tech requirements. The work can be fully produced but does not require complicated technical support.
For those who are primarily directors, the key to success is the same as what is employed by effective leaders in any field: They surround themselves with experts. We know that most directors do not have expert theatre technicians at their immediate disposal, but there is a way forward.
In this blog, we’ll discuss three factors to consider when executing the technical aspects of a show:
Identify the Right People for Your Technical Theatre Support.
Keep It Simple.
Anticipate and Minimize Negative Situations.
1. Identify the Right People for Your Technical Theatre Support.
The capabilities of your tech crew members can vary from “teachable novice” to “experienced professional”. In the digital age, training and education is highly accessible through manufacturer’s websites, YouTube videos, blogs, online classes, etc. The secret ingredient, however, is not ability but teachability. Below are some starting places for finding your tech team:
Look for teachable students and parents with a passion for technical areas. A positive attitude and a strong work ethic are, without a doubt, surefire qualities for leveraging your talent pool. Systems can be taught to those who bring these important qualities.
Seek lighting and sound technicians from your Church community. Most churches now have people devoted to these two areas of expertise. There are often interns who might lend skill to your production.
Check out the tech situation at your local theatre. There might be those who can help emulate the elements desired in your own performance space. Support them in return. Maybe recommend to your promising tech students that they volunteer to crew a show over the summer at the local theatre in exchange for that theatre’s help.
Your local college, university, or stage rental company might have techs seeking projects for hire or a stipend. At the very least, they might offer a master class. If your budget is too tight for market-rate compensation, consider bartering an ad in your playbill, and/or giving them a display space in your lobby in exchange for the class, or for designing a tech aspect of your next production. After designing, maybe they can even train your students to execute the plan for the run.
2. Keep It Simple.
Assess Technical Strengths and Weaknesses. Survey the potential of your people and venue and stay well inside those limits. Will the drama you dream about producing be supported by your lighting capabilities? Will your sound system allow 10 students to share quick pickup dialogue back-and-forth in a scene? Will your students, when in costume, be able to maintain the song tempo while navigating that staircase you envision? Select your titles strategically and work well inside reasonable boundaries. Master one step at a time, celebrate each success, and keep building.
Avoid Delusions of Grandeur. “Intimate” storytelling can be deeply moving and is usually much more manageable than “grandiose” storytelling. This is especially true in academic theatre, where we know the actors. Most directors salivate at the thought of giving their audience the thrill and chill of moments similar to WICKED’S spectacular Act 1 closer, “Defying Gravity.” Who can forget the visceral audience response to a levitating Elphaba, both physically and vocally suspended in the stratosphere? Or their anguish at watching desperate Vietnamese war victims scrambling to board the last departing helicopter in MISS SAIGON?
However, let’s pause for a moment to think about the moving people and parts it takes to create such iconic moments. Even if an academic program has the personnel, facility, and budget to attempt such feats, we must be able to justify the use of those resources in academic theatre. The justification would be if students are learning to make it happen. (I once saw a high school production of MARY POPPINS where Bert walked completely around the proscenium frame – up the stage left side, upside down across the top, then down the stage right side. Kudos to those students! Rare indeed. We can expect to see that once in a decade.) In most cases, simple execution is recommended.
3. Anticipate and Minimize Negative Situations.
Delegate slowly. In academic settings, it’s usually awkward and inevitably hurtful to take back responsibility once delegated. Since we are usually not able to compensate, it’s difficult to terminate. When delegations don’t work out, feelings are hurt, respect can be lost, and relationships are often at stake. Also, we live in close communities in faith-based settings, seeing one another on a daily basis. It’s hard to avoid that Math teacher who did not turn out to be the best costume designer.
Set Expectations Up Front. Misunderstanding happens in the gap between expectations and reality. To avoid unnecessary misunderstanding, it might be helpful to produce a short, informal agreement when delegating technical leadership. This might include expectations such as dependability, attitude, and support of decisions “...for the good of the show.” For directors who are Christ-followers, a “no negative talk” standard is recommended. Do this by gently reminding the team (in your informal agreement) of what Ephesians 4:29 teaches us: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Offer Communication Pathways. Despite these measures, there will be legitimate concerns and misunderstandings. Those should be brought privately to the director, outside rehearsal time, through a comment box, email, etc. By setting expectations up front, and offering a pathway for communication when inevitable challenges arise, directors create a mutually beneficial and respectful environment.
Have a Beginning and an End. When delegating, offer a start and end date for all parties to test the waters. Establish a default position that, “This agreement will conclude at the end of this production.” Personnel might be asked to participate in a debriefing. This is a way for all parties to address challenges graciously, ask to re-up, or get out of the relationship honorably (instead of faking their death.)
Fire Fast. When it becomes clear that tech leadership has done and might continue to do damage to others and the project, and every attempt has been made to address the concern in love, it might be time to part ways for the good of the whole. Of course, this must be done privately and respectfully. For those who need to know, explain it once, speaking of the departed as you would want to be spoken of, and move on.
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5)
Directing is a metaphor for the work of shepherding the Body of Christ. Each part – including the technical elements – might be expertly formed, but it’s a hodgepodge unless someone is responsible for the whole offering. FBSM’s COMPARING CHRISTMAS speaks to this theme. It actually has a festive song called, “Do Your Job” (listen below) which illustrates this principle. The director is the only one empowered to coordinate across all areas. When all the parts work together, with the director emulating the servant leadership of Christ, communities are transformed by the divine experience of being part of something greater than ourselves. This is God’s grand design.
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