Production arts production roles in musical theatre

1. ProductionArts -Productionroles inmusical theatre
Producer
A theatrical producer is a person who manages all aspects of increasing
a theatre production. The producer manages the overallfinancial and decision-
making functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backing, and
hires employees for creative positions.
Creative positions would include hiring the writer to producethe script, director to
direct how the actor on stageact and the overall mese en scene, designers,
composer, choreographer—and in somecases, performers.
The producer is usually someone who has seen a lot of theatrical pieces, so will know
what will sell/be seen and what won’t. The producer will acquire the rights to a story,
adaptations/originalscript or even an idea that they come up with themselves.
Director
A theatre director has responsibility for the overall practical and creative
interpretation of a dramatic scriptor musical score, taking into accountthe
budgetary and physicalrestrictions of the production. They are involved at all stages
of the process, fromthe design and pre-production stages and rehearsalright
through to the final performance.
The director will generally work closely with the producer to develop something that
will potentially sell and be seen. The director can generally visualizea scriptand
make it into reality, they generally know how to take a story and make it interesting
on stage.
Directors also work closely with their creative and production teams, e.g. the
performers to create a performancewhich connects with the audience. They
therefore need to be able to coordinateeffectively across a wide rangeof disciplines
and with artistic vision.
Musical director
A musical director may be the director of an orchestra, the head of
the music department in a school, or the coordinator of the musical ensembles in a
university or college.

2. A musical director also works as a musicalconductor while serving as a company's
artistic leader /visionary worker. An American work's music director typically creates
the season's performanceschedule, hires musicians and guest conductors, helps
fundraise, and serves as the orchestra's public symbol. A school music director
teaches music to students individually and as a group, including rehearsing the school
band for performances.
In musicaltheatre and opera, the music director is in chargeof the overall musical
performance, including ensuring that the cast knows the music thoroughly,
supervising themusical interpretation of the performers, and conducting the
orchestra. The musicaldirector for a theatrical production often serves rehearsalas a
pianist and conductor.
Choreographer
Choreographers createand plan dance/movement routines or sequences for dancers or
performers, sometimes by revising or combining existing routines. They can generally
find work in various creativevenues, including ballets, musicals, and dance shows
etc.
They generally havea high level of dancing ability and good teaching and
communication skills. Patience, stamina and concentration is key for this job as they
will be required to work with a range of people and supportthem to learn new dance
skills.
They are generally people who havea high level of dance skills and experience. They
create dance routines and movement sequences for dancers and other performers.
They can choreograph stage, TV or film performances, and music videos. They may
also act as a movement coach for actors.
Although there are usually no formaleducational requirements for this position,
some aspiring choreographers mightbenefit froma bachelor's degree programin
performing arts or dance.
Technical manager/director
This person usually possesses thehighestlevel of skillwithin a specific technical field
and may be recognized as an expert in that industry.

3. Itis a Technical Director's job to make sureall the technical equipment in the theatre
is functional, maintained and safee.g. lighting and sound equipment. They are
responsiblefor the overallorganization of the technical production process.
Their duties included are generating necessary working drawings for construction,
budget estimations for the equipment and maintaining of accounts (materials
research and purchasing), scheduling and supervising build crews (organizing put-
ins), handling conflicts that arisebetween differentdepartments and organizing the
slowdown and clean-up for that production.
Technical Director can also refer to the in-housechief designer or master carpenter
for a smaller theatre company.
DSM- Deputy stage manager
Stage management is the practice of organizing and coordinating a theatrical
production. Itinvolves a variety of activities, including organizing the production and
coordinating communications between various personnel(e.g .between director and
backstagecrew, or actors and production management). Stage management is a sub-
discipline of stagecraft. Stage managers may use a Stage Manager's book to help
organizethe production.
A stage manager is one who has overall responsibility for stagemanagement and the
smooth execution of a production.
The DSM prompts actors and will usually cue technical crew members and
sometimes cast, while following the orders of the director and stage manager. The
DSMcalls actors to hold while technical problems are sorted out during rehearsal,
and determines wherein the scriptto restarthalted scenes. The deputy stage
manager (DSM) is a separate position in sometheatres, while in others the
responsibilities of the DSMmay be assumed by the stage manager or assistantstage
manager.
ASM-Assistant stagemanager
The assistantstage manager (ASM) has varied responsibilities, which are assigned by
the deputy stage manager. The ASMassists in finding and maintaining props during
rehearsals and the run of the show. TheASM may take presenceor estimate the
audience size; they may manage the backstagetechnicians, or may act as a
connection between crew, cast and management, and may call some cues. Ordinary
tasks such as mopping the stage and brewing coffee or tea may fall to the ASM. If the
deputy stagemanager is unable to performhis or her duties, the ASM mustbe able
to fill in.
The assistantmay also be in chargeof one wing of the stage, while the deputy stage
manager is on the other wing.