AUG
10

Setting Rules and Expectations for Your Theatre Program

By Brian D. Taylor, Project Editor, Pioneer Drama Service 

Brian D. Taylor is a former middle school drama teacher and the newest addition to the Pioneer Drama editorial staff.  Working with K-12, college and community theatre groups, he has a theatrical background with experience in directing, acting and technical theatre.  When he’s not working on a production, Brian writes children’s and young adult fiction. 

The start of the school year is almost like a major holiday with all of the shopping for supplies and new outfits, all of the decorating of classrooms and lockers, all of the anticipation and excitement.  In the midst of all the eagerness and preparation, there is one item of business that too often gets lost in the mix, despite the best of intentions of theatre teachers and directors:  The Rules.

You’re supposed to be the fun teacher, the open-minded director, the laid-back drama coach.  You have a private sense of euphoria whenever a student actor mentions that you’re his or her favorite because you aren’t like the other adults.  That’s okay.  Establishing rules and expectations doesn’t make you strict; it makes you fair.  When working with young actors, whether in a classroom setting or in a production, clear expectations and consequences stated up front are important for establishing a safe and productive environment.

Before preparing a list of rules and expectations, you must define your goals.  What do you hope to accomplish with your specific group?  Some students are just starting out and don’t know their down left from their front of house.  Others are entering your program already sophisticated in their knowledge and ready to take their skills to the next level.  Determining whether you are teaching your kids introductory performance skills or preparing them for a Broadway audition will influence what your expectations should be.

Once you have your goals clearly in mind, you can create your rules and expectations.  Which rules should you choose?  Which rules go overboard?  To give you an idea about the sorts of rules and expectations you should be — or possibly shouldn’t be — establishing for your program, here is a list of possibilities.  Some are standard rules that all theatre programs should have in place.  Others are for programs with higher expectations of their advanced students.  As you consider each suggestion, ask yourself if it matches your program goals and your students’ abilities.

• Attend all rehearsals.  There are variations on this one.  Perhaps some absences are allowed or maybe only absences from important rehearsals like dress or tech are forbidden.  You should consider the reality of illness or emergencies when defining your rule and let your cast know who they should contact if they become ill or have a conflict.  And be honest with yourself.  Do you really want to have your leading lady at rehearsal if she’s unable to give her best and risks infecting the rest of the cast?
• Tardiness is not permitted.  Make sure you clearly define tardy.  Is a performer tardy if they walk in the door right as rehearsal begins?
• Sign in at every rehearsal and performance.  Keeping track of attendance is useful in many ways.  Most importantly for theatre programs is knowing whether your entire cast has arrived before curtain so you can be certain the show can go on.  Taking attendance is also an often overlooked, but practical safety requirement.
• Do not bring banned items to any rehearsal or performance.  Beyond the obvious things like drugs and alcohol, there may be things you’d prefer were left at home or put away.  Cell phones and MP3 players may cause inattentiveness or unwanted distractions.  Ink pens may be banned, as directors often prefer that notes be made in pencil so they can be changed.  You might even ban food or drinks because they could damage the sets or curtains.  And then there’s always...
• No gum.  Ah, the old standby.  Besides the fact that kids stick it everywhere, causing a real mess, it’s also a fact that few kids — or adults for that matter — can speak clearly with a wad of gum in their mouths.  And another fave...
• Do not eat or drink while in costume.  Because spills and stains happen.  Similar rules might also cover personal hygiene while in costume.
• Follow all safety rules.  This will have to branch out into a specific list of safety rules for your program, especially in regards to technical elements and the use of tools.  Safety goggles?  Power cords?  Don’t leave anything to chance.
• Exercise healthy habits.  To keep your cast healthy and injury free, emphasize beneficial habits like hand washing, not sharing food, eating well, getting plenty of rest and avoiding high-impact sports.  Many advanced theatre programs also suggest extra care of the voice, asking actors not to yell, scream or strain their voices in any way during the rehearsal process.
• Cast members are not allowed to date one another.  Yeah, this is a tough one, but if the actors playing Danny Zuko and Sandra Dee have a nasty break up just days before opening night, you have a real problem on your hands.
• Changes in appearance are not allowed without the director’s permission.  You may have cast an actress for her amazing locks only to have her change to a pixie cut just days before the opening.  Or, the actor you chose for that straight-shooting hero role might decide out of the blue to start gauging his ears.
• Rehearsals are closed to the public.  You want to create an environment where your actors will feel safe to take risks and make mistakes.  Peers and stage moms don’t help.
• Actors act.  Directors direct.  Do not confuse the two.  This rule, in its various forms, is also necessary to create an environment where it’s safe to take risks.  If student actors offer suggestions to other actors, those students may perceive it as criticism rather than support.  Many a director has been surprised by a student who has suddenly made dramatic changes to his or her character based on another student’s uninvited remark.
• Do not peek out from the curtains during a performance.  This breaks the fourth wall, is unprofessional, may induce stage fright and spoils the magic.  Actors can’t make a big entrance if they’ve already been seen.  Similar rules that forbid leaving the backstage area in costume or mingling with the audience during intermission are often put in place for the same reasons.
• Talking is not permitted in rehearsal.  Talking makes it difficult to get things done, shows disrespect for the work that’s being done and indicates inattentiveness.  On the flip side, this is one of those rules that will vary from director to director.  Some may be tolerant of a bit of white noise; others may forbid it altogether.
• Read the entire script every day.  Some directors may recommend only reviewing the lines for your assigned role each day.  Others go all out and suggest you keep your script with you at all times of the day; some even mentioning sleeping with your script.  No matter which path you take, expecting some sort of daily practice routine is important.
• Never touch a prop unless it has been assigned to you.  The importance of this rule is to protect props from being broken or misplaced.  Props are often very fun, and this is probably the rule that gets broken the most often, unless you take a very firm stance on the issue.
• Never sit on the stage furniture stored backstage.  This has value both for protecting the furniture from breakage or wear and tear and for speeding up scene changes during rehearsals and performances.
• Other all-inclusive rules.  This is your chance to state other expectations you have regarding preparedness, dependability, clean-up of work spaces and more.  Don’t be afraid to explore territories such as cooperation and teamwork, focus and energy.

The list could go on and on, and you’ll have to decide for yourself how many rules and expectations are appropriate, based on the level of your students and your program goals.

Of course, rules don’t have teeth without consequences.  Again, these go back to your program goals.  If you are working with beginners and primarily seeking an appreciation for the theater, then you’re probably not going to kick students out of the program, except perhaps for the most major offenses.  However, those who are working toward preparing students for more serious work in theatre may maintain the integrity of their program by taking roles away from those who don’t follow the rules.  Having an actor lose a role is generally the most severe consequence.  Other consequences for smaller offenses might be verbal warnings, written reports, loss of privileges, loss of leadership roles, diminishing of class grades, meetings with the principal/program coordinator or calls to the parents.

Yes, you really can do all this and still be the beloved adult that touches the lives of your students through theatre.  Remember, there’s a difference between being strict and being fair.  Students have a keen awareness of justice, so discuss the consequences for not following the rules up front along with the program goals and expectations.  Communication is the key.  It benefits everyone in the program to hear the program goals, rules, expectations and consequences clearly communicated from day one.  Don’t just hand a student a list of rules and expect him to read it and buy into it.  Take the time to talk through all this with the group and explain the “whys” behind the rules.  You’ll be glad you did.