Theater Career Field Structure
For any theatrical performance, the staff involved in executing the production extends far beyond the talent seen on the stage. Workers range from directors to lighting technicians to costume designers to ticket booth clerks and ushers. The performer, however, is the most visible and the best-known theater employee.
Actors and actresses perform parts in plays to entertain and inform audiences. They use facial expressions, body movements, voice modulation, and other devices in the performance of their roles. They memorize lines and recite them according to the director’s instructions. Actors and actresses in musicals must be able to sing and dance, as well as act.
Musical plays require musicians to accompany the singers and play the production’s score. Depending on the theater’s budget and union requirements, the production may employ only a single instrumentalist or a full orchestra of musicians.
Musical directors coach the actors on the songs they are to sing during the performance and supervise rehearsals of the musical accompaniments to be performed by the ensemble or orchestra. They may also act as conductors. Conductors stand at the head of a musical group and lead a specific performance. They not only set the tempo but also guide the musicians toward a particular interpretation of the music.
Talent agents represent actors, actresses, or other performers and find them appropriate parts. They often know a wide range of producers, directors, and other people capable of hiring talent.
Casting directors assist in selecting the appropriate talent for a performance. They work alongside the producer and director of a production.
Producers select plays and scripts to be performed. They raise funds to finance the performance and decide on the size of the production. Producers usually are responsible for hiring the director, the principal members of the cast, and writers.
Directors supervise the production of plays and other performances. They conduct rehearsals and select actors and actresses from auditions. They meet with playwrights or scriptwriters and discuss how to present plays in the most effective manner. They consult with the producer, stage manager, and designers about issues such as scenery and selecting actors. They formulate budgets and schedules. They supervise rehearsals, instructing actors on blocking and the delivery of their parts. They plan how to handle lighting, special effects, and costumes, refining their decisions as the preparations for performance proceed. Throughout the process, stage directors report regularly to the producer on the status of a show, noting any special problems and how closely the show is sticking to the projected budget.
Assisting the direction are stage managers, who help run auditions, attend rehearsals, and write down changes to direction during rehearsal so they can be incorporated into the master directing plan. Stage managers often are in charge of the actual performance, ensuring that the stage is set properly before the show begins and that all the actors and technical crew have arrived on time, as well as giving the cues to the lighting and sound technicians during the performance. Assistant directors may direct some elements of the performance and focus on particular performers for coaching and training.
For musical plays, choreographers create the movements that accompany songs and other music and then teach it to the performers.
Playwrights are the authors of plays. Some theater companies stage plays that have been produced elsewhere; for these, they must obtain the rights from the script’s publisher and pay royalties based on the number of performances, size of the theater, and ticket prices. Other theaters are dedicated to producing new works and work closely with playwrights on the first production of their plays.
The setting of a performance may be on a stage, in a hall, or even outdoors. Where the piece is performed has a direct influence on the effect the piece has on the audience. The majesty, the intimacy, or the openness of the arena all contribute to the style of performance. How the stage is set is one of the most fundamental elements of how well received a performance may be.
Scenery behind the performers sets the mood and the location. Lighting sets mood and highlights movements and performers at key points in the presentation. Properties, more commonly known as props, are either set props or hand props. Set props are furniture, moving pieces, and other large elements of the stage design that extend from or are separate from the background scenery. Hand props are the things that the performers carry, such as flowers, canes, swords, suitcases, or umbrellas, that help tell the story, embellish the mood, or establish the time period.
Set designers handle all background scenery, props, and stage decorations. To make a set that helps tell the story and establishes time and place, designers must be innovative and creative. Scene designers draw up plans depicting how each scene is to be decorated. Scenery painters, assemblers, and stagehands make and move the scenery as needed for a performance. A set is created by set painters, stage craftsworkers, and other people involved in conceptualizing what will happen behind and around the performers.
The lighting designer also draws up plans for how each part of the show will be lit. The general lighting, specific illuminations (such as spotlights), and the special-effects lighting are all charted, timed, and choreographed to the performance.
Sound amplification, sound effects, and recordings are also well plotted before the performance begins. If microphones are to be used, the sound technicians decide where to place them, how much to amplify them, and when to switch them on and off. Body microphones, floor microphones, and boom (hanging) microphones all allow for emphasizing different sounds. Sound effects are recorded in advance, if needed, or are recreated by sound technicians during a performance. Sound boards that control effects, amplification, and recording are controlled by the technicians during the performance.
Prompters follow the script of the performance and cue performers as to the timing of their lines. Prompters are often used in musical productions, where they serve as intermediaries between the orchestra and the performers.
Makeup and costuming augment the appearance of the performers and reinforce the mood and story. Even the most basic and simple costumes have been carefully chosen to help tell the story or present the spirit of the piece being performed.
Costume directors select and help create the costumes for theater performances. They often work with the director and producer. Costume directors oversee the production of the costumes by designers and seamstresses. Such work often involves research. This is especially true for period pieces, where the performers must look as authentic as possible.
Makeup artists apply makeup and other material to performers. They often create elaborate facial decorations to depict age, scars, or injuries.
Theater managers, or house managers, are responsible for the smooth running of the theater’s business functions. They supervise box office cashiers, ticket takers, ushers, and other employees who interact with the audience. They oversee the maintenance of the physical facilities both inside and outside the theater, and they ensure that the theater is clean. Managers are often responsible for counting and depositing money from ticket sales. They usually order food and other supplies for refreshment counters, as well as any other supplies needed for the upkeep of the theater. Managers may help locate additional crewmembers or stage materials on short notice for a performance. They are on hand before and during a performance to answer customer questions and handle any last-minute problems.
Road production managers oversee and coordinate the business and operations of a touring theatrical company. They arrange with local unions and government officials to hire stagehands and secure the proper performance permits. They inspect theaters to make sure that the theater’s facilities are appropriate for the production. Road production general managers have various administrative duties, such as accounting for expenditures and receipts, paying the cast and crew, and arranging accommodations for the cast and crew. They plan newspaper advertising and publicity announcements and do whatever they can to increase attendance and promote good public relations for the production.
Theaters with large administrative staffs also may employ managers to handle marketing, public relations, group sales, fund-raising, and development.
Professionals in theater have employment opportunities in a variety of places beyond the traditional theater and stage. For example, summer resorts, cruise ships, gambling casinos, state fairs, and theme and amusement parks all hire actors, singers, and other performers. A number of traveling carnivals still employ performers, as do circuses.
Although many theater companies operate on a seasonal basis, some of the larger houses offer year-round schedules. Except for commercial productions, which often run until audience interest wanes to the point that expenses exceed income, most plays run for a number of weeks and then close. A theater that operates a subscription season, as most nonprofit regional theaters do, may have some leeway in extending a production beyond its originally scheduled time period, but the production must close to make way for the next production on the season’s roster. Most theater companies perform primarily in their resident locations, while others spend much of the year touring the country or even overseas.
Theater productions normally put on several evening performances a week, with one or two matinee performances. Rehearsals for many professional theaters are often during the day, but may also take place in the evenings and on weekends if the budget is too tight to pay a living wage, requiring performers to find outside work to support themselves.
Most producers and directors prefer to hire those who have experience. This sets up the age-old problem of how to get that first job. For many, the way to get an opportunity is through an audition. Producers or directors look for many things in an audition. They may be only mildly interested in talent and far more interested in physical type. An applicant may perform a brilliant reading, song, or dance, only to be rejected as too tall, too short, too fat, or too thin for the part being cast.
Auditions are held in theaters, rented rehearsal halls, broadcast studios, corporation boardrooms, and church basements. A closed audition means that only performers who are union members may apply. For an open call, anybody may appear, even amateurs. Should an outsider be hired, he or she may be required to join a union for performers, such as Actors’ Equity Association.
In most cases, acting careers do not last a lifetime. Scores of once prominent entertainers have become business people, managers, or agents, or have dropped out of the industry entirely. And for every performer who even briefly has had a period of fame, there are thousands who never accomplish their goals. The same is true for the workers behind the scenes. The competition for positions in the arts is extremely keen. Most successful theater workers, from makeup artists to actors, will say that luck plays as much a role as talent.
One of the things that continues to attract the thousands of would-be artists is the fame and fortune associated with the theater. Indeed, the financial rewards that flow to famous stars, virtuosos, producers, directors, and playwrights make them symbols of success alongside sports figures and industrialists. The great figures in the performing arts are admired and watched, not only because they are talented but because they are celebrities. Most theater artists, however, do not enjoy this fame.