Theatre

Sigh/The Art of the Job Posting

While I am happy to have chosen to stay here in the Ann Arbor region at the present moment, I felt a pang of nostalgia for my more freelance/footloose oriented days after reading these two immediate vacancy job postings. (Direct references to companies have been removed.)

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A company not in Michigan is looking for a full-time, emerging arts administration professional to fill the role of Managing Director. The company is part of an extensive creative community nationwide, and has a strong presence in the (local) theater scene. Our year-round programs support both playwrights and the development of new plays, and we’re looking for someone who is interested in helping us to fulfill our mission.

The Managing Director will manage the production and administrative side of the organization, which includes:

– Producing company events.

– Managing office systems including database management, computer systems, communication systems, equipment contracts and insurance renewals.

– Managing the financial systems such as overseeing the bookkeeping, budget and cash flow

– Working to develop a marketing strategy and implementation.

– Hiring systems and data management involved with contracts, job descriptions and advertising.

The perfect candidate has experience in marketing and communications, finance and bookkeeping, grant writing and submissions and producing events, and is energetic, creative and extremely well organized. Personnel management would be a plus.

The company is looking to fill this position immediately. This is a full-time, salaried position.

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Another company not in Michigan seeks a full-time experienced production manager starting as soon as possible. The company produces six mainstage and three children’s theater shows a season. The company also manages a black box theater that is located in the same building.

Responsibilities:

General production management duties include, but are not limited to:

Manage and co-create the production budget.

Create all production calendars.

Hire all design and management teams.

Facilitate production meetings and coordinate communication between all design staff. Oversee and supervise all company technical staff as well as recruit volunteers.

Qualifications:

Strong leadership abilities to team build, listen, and manage people.

Must have an artistic eye. Design experience a plus.

Experience creating and managing budgets.

Ability to read and interpret technical theater drawings.

Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Strong work ethic. This position has a flexible schedule that will require nights and weekends.

Computer skills with knowledge of Google Docs.

A passion for theater and how it can enrich a community.

To apply, please send a resume and cover letter by email to the artistic director at the e-mail listed in this posting.

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Theatre

Hold, please!

And so my current production, Little Me, enters tech week. Some people don’t care for this part of the production process, but for me it has always been a favorite. I enjoy – and am inspired by – the feeling of pulling different strands together and creating a finished product. That sensation is especially apt in a show like this, where actors, musicians, designers, technical operators, stage/crew managers and directors all work together on the same goal.

It fits right in line with my three Cs of theatre work: creativity, community and collaboration.

It will also be notable to work in our performance venue, the West Park Band Shell in Ann Arbor. The stage is just outside the main downtown area and has a sense of history to when regional development might have been more modest and less car dependent. And it’s outdoors which brings its own unique splendor.

Tech does have its challenges and can certainly be stop and go at times. But as we go through the work of the next few days I will be thinking of the big picture and the prize of opening the show to a live paying audience – just four days from now.

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