Directing & Production

When you’re expected to produce a show with a shoestring (or less) budget, you have to make smart choices about everything to make your money stretch as much as possible. But don’t despair! It’s...

A house manager speech is a short spiel presented prior to a theatrical performance, where the audience is welcomed and given some last minute information about the show and/or some basic theatre...

It’s always exciting to have action-packed sequences in your show, and chase scenes are both great fun and challenging to stage. Whether a character is being chased by a villain, chasing after a...

The visual of blood onstage creates an immediate visceral reaction for audience members — it evokes feelings of fear, pain, injury, life and death. But using fake blood onstage can be challenging,...

Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, and The Wizard of Oz are just some of the wonderful stories featuring characters that can fly. Many great plays feature flying sequences, but how do we stage those...

Many wonderful scripts feature lovely intimate moments between characters: a wedding, a special moment with a crush, a declaration of love, a first kiss. However, many actors (of all ages, not just...

The last few weeks before showtime can be weird. The initial excitement has worn off but things are not quite ready for performance, so a lot of rehearsal is spent reviewing and doing things “one...

Whether you’re directing your first school show or you’re a seasoned pro, a well-prepared, well-organized production plan has a trickle-down effect on the entire production process. When you have...

Having additional personnel working on a school production can be incredibly helpful. Co-director, associate director, assistant director, director’s assistant, artistic associate — they’re all...

Eating and drinking are necessary for existence on this planet. So much of our life is centred around food: making it together, serving it for a special occasion, trying new dishes, challenges...

You’ve chosen your show, purchased the rights, and let your students know about auditions. There’s a lot to prepare, but we are here to help you out! In this article, we’re focusing on a small...

Drama teachers are skilled at making theatre magic from little more than a hot glue gun, tape, and ingenuity. But sometimes you need cold, hard cash to get your show off the ground. Below, you’ll...

Sensory-friendly, or “relaxed” performances of theatrical shows, are becoming more prevalent and popular for theatre-goers. A relaxed performance is where the theatrical atmosphere is adapted to...

Time is one of the biggest challenges for a drama teacher trying to put on a production. There’s never enough rehearsal time. Some rehearsals drag on forever, while others speed by in the blink of...

Being organized before a performance keeps everyone calm and prevents offstage drama. A great way to stay organized is to create a pre-show checklist — a list of all the tasks each theatrical...

Choosing a play for your group can be tough enough. Figuring out the best way to perform it given the current environment can seem overwhelming. We want to keep things as simple as possible for you...

With schools being closed, social distancing, and live productions being cancelled, how do you put together an online performance? What does it look like? Read on for an overview of Lindsay Price’s...

We all know the value of a great stage manager, and it’s important to give students the opportunity to take on this vital role. However, if your student stage manager has never done the job before,...