Every show a director and his team work on presents its own series of special circumstances and it is this team's responsibility to find solutions to these unique specialties.
How do we make this show fit in our space?
Who are the people that play these characters?
How do we do the scene changes so they don't last for five minutes?
How do we make this show fit in our budget?
Where are the specialty props coming from?
Where do we get the time to alter 160 costumes?
Why did the playwright put a set in the show that is used only once for five minutes but will be the most expensive set in the show to build?
And on they go …
With "The Producers" there are probably triple the amount of these happy showisms to solve. Some of the puzzles we have already solved. "Alright, we have a great cast!" With arrival of each solution comes a sense of relief to the entire team; the reason for this is that now they can focus their energy on one of the other challenges presented by the show. Our process as a team will continue on in this perpetual - identify the challenge, find the solution, move on to the next, identify the challenge, find the solution, move on to the next, - until we reach opening night. Some might find this process stressful; those people shouldn't go on to jobs in theatre. I find it exhilarating! To accomplish that common goal on opening night, have all the answers figured out and create your own piece of art as a team- nothing beats that high as the curtain rises for the opening. I do stress the "as a team" statement in the prior sentence, because without that team your piece of art would be a fraction of what it could have been. Listening and collaborating are the keys to any great piece of theatre. I believe that I have the best professional artistic team working in theatre and I look forward to each journey we take.
Now I must go, writing this blog was only code for procrastinating on "finding the solution."
Give yourself some credit. It takes a good leader to make a good team.
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