Whether you are casting your 15th show, or holding auditions for the first time, we have tips, tricks, and plans from some seasoned Stage Partners theatre teachers and theatre teacher playwrights to improve the process Before, During and After Audition.
Directing
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Posted: February 06, 2022
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Posted: March 08, 2021
Theatre makers have managed to find a way to create art all through the pandemic virtually. With Spring in our reach, it’s time to get out from behind the Zoom screen and out in the open air for some outdoor theatre. Have the perfect play? Eyeing your location? We have you covered on planning your successful #outdoortheatrewin.
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Posted: March 08, 2021
Planning an open-air production this Spring or Summer? Stage Partners Education Director Maria McConville connected with Outdoor Theatre Veteran and Artistic Director of Shakespeare on the Sound, Claire Kelly, who shares her To-Do list for creating a successful outdoor production.
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Posted: May 11, 2020
Even though we’re cooped up inside our homes and away from our collaborators, the desire to create theater hasn’t evaporated. People still need connection and stories still need to be told. The question is: How?
Stage Partners invited veteran director David Ruttura to share his advice on directing your own remote production.
If you had asked me 2 months ago if I thought directing a live play on video conferencing platforms Zoom was a good idea, I would have laughed and run the other way. But after some practice, you can actually mimic the rehearsal process, “live edit” your cast into orderly scenes, and ultimately present a clear and compelling story to your audience.
It’s also pretty easy and fun.
I highly doubt the computer programmers were thinking about how theater people might use apps like Zoom or FaceTime
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Posted: April 06, 2020
News of canceled productions and uprooted programs is heartbreaking for all of us. We've been challenged to change the way we live and create, and with little notice.
Playwright and theater educator Peter Royston has been teaching remotely for the past year and has mastered the art of Distance Learning. Spoiler Alert: It's not easy!
How can theater educators thrive in the new digital classroom we all— teachers, kids, parents, the world— suddenly find ourselves in?
Because no matter how long Skype, Zoom, Newrow, LearnCube, or any of the other platforms have been active, the transition to online learning has been very sudden, precipitated by the COVID-19 crisis. Whatever your age— whether you’re a kid or adult, single citizen or worried parent— you can’t escape the idea whose time has
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Posted: March 04, 2020
To celebrate the release of our new collection The Audition: Monologues with Direction we invited the author of all 52 monologues— the brilliant Jon Jory— back to share some of his insights as both a master director and theater educator.
Picking the right audition monologue for a student actor can feel like an impossible task— let alone for a whole class of eager theater students! Jon’s direction will help you choose the right audition pieces, use them them to build these young actors’ skills, and make them most of them in the classroom. The Audition includes Jon's original monologues, his direction and suggestions, plus 10 Shakespeare monologues and tips for helping theater students tackle the Bard!
Now, without further ado, the master himself:
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Posted: March 03, 2020
Meet Daniel E. Dobrovich (top row, center). He’s the Director of Theatre at Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, MI.
May 2020 was supposed to be the student produced production of selected one-acts. When schools closed to shelter-in-place, Dobrovich didn’t cancel productions of ANTIGONE IN MUNICH by Claudia Haas and I NEVER SAW ANOTHER BUTTERFLY by Celeste Raspanti. Like so many devoted and creative Theatre Teachers, “Mr. D” found a new way to do the Cranbrook School Spring Play.
Here is how he did it.
During any other regular in-person April at Cranbrook Schools, the CK Theatre students gear up to take over the PAC to put together a completely student-produced production of select One Act scripts. The production is fully designed, auditioned, cast, and built by students with minimal
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Posted: December 02, 2019
Soooo, Stage Partners is allowing me to share a thought or two with you on a monthly basis. What are my bonafides? A life’s work and my sense that I’ve made so many mistakes as a director that I might be of some help in avoiding the pot-holes! Off we go...
10 Little Directing Tips
There’s little stuff that makes the work better, the rehearsal better, and the atmosphere better. Things that may not seem unimportant individually but take together have real impact. In no particular order:
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Posted: December 02, 2019
Soooo, Stage Partners is allowing me to share a thought or two with you on a monthly basis. What are my bonafides? A life’s work and my sense that I’ve made so many mistakes as a director that I might be of some help in avoiding the pot-holes! Off we go...
A Few Suspect Notes on Directing...
Tablework? What the hell is it and why are we all sitting around that table while the clock is ticking? Well, why do we plan a route before we drive the car? Here’s what I try to do at the table:
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Posted: October 21, 2019
Soooo, Stage Partners is allowing me to share a thought or two with you on a monthly basis. What are my bonafides? A life’s work and my sense that I’ve made so many mistakes as a director that I might be of some help in avoiding the pot-holes! Off we go...
Tips for Directors:
Sticking to the Story (A Cautionary Tale)
You need to be careful that your wild imagination and unusual creativity is actually in tune with what