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Self-Producing for Students

A 13-Step Plan 

By Brian Hampton 

Brian Hampton is an actor, playwright, and producer.  He is a member of both the Dramatists Guild of America and the Actors Equity Association.  He is passionate about theatre, animal rescue, and spreading the truth about Gossip, his play with Pioneer Drama.   

I remember vividly being in high school, waiting for the cast list of the school play to be posted.  It was both exciting and nerve-wracking.  When I would see my name written down, I’d be over the moon.  (Yes!)  When it wasn’t there, I would be totally bummed out.  (Nope.)

It was following one of those “nope” moments during my junior year that I summoned all the courage I had and asked my drama teacher why.  That conversation led to bigger things, and the next thing I knew she had approved of me writing and directing a 10-minute comedy sketch for our annual Variety Show.

After I wrote my script, I cast myself and some of my friends — we rehearsed it, came up with the costumes, and performed it in the show.  That experience is still one of my very favorite high school memories and when I fell in love with self-producing.  Not bad for a semester when I didn’t get a role in the school play!

Student-directed shows are a standard part of most high schools’ theatre curriculum now, and that’s fantastic.  Beyond that, I encourage drama teachers to present self-producing as an option for students who show interest or perhaps like me, weren’t able to land a role in a show.  Self-producing or directing teaches budgeting, project management, and trouble-shooting, as well as important people skills.  But self-producing also generates creative opportunities for students producing material they wrote themselves.

I have two big pieces of advice for you to pass on to both student producers and directors.  First, always have them start small, like I did.  See if they like it, and if so, they can add a little more each time they produce another show.  Also, they should always act professionally, being a nice and kind producer and/or director.  They want everyone involved to have a great time, and if they’re supportive, friendly, complimentary, and gracious, people will want to work for them again and again.

Beyond these two pieces of advice, here is a 13-Step Plan I’ve created to help students who are self-producing or directing.

• Decide what you want to perform.  If you write it yourself, use something a peer has written, or choose something in the public domain, you won’t have to worry about rights.  (Classics written more than 100 years ago are free to use.)  However, if you want to produce a published play, you will have to buy a cast set of scripts and acquire the rights from the publisher first.
• Determine your ticket price, if any.  You might consider asking for donations instead of charging an admission fee.  Also consider if you want to use your performance to raise money for a charity or collect food for a local food bank.
• Reserve a space for the performance.  This could be a high school auditorium, a classroom, a church, or even outside!  In my case, my scene was part of a larger variety show that was already scheduled, making this step very easy for me.
• Select the director if you’re not directing the work yourself.  You’ll also need to find a stage manager and possibly other crew depending on the size of your production.  Don’t let this step scare you!  If it’s a very small piece, it can be done with very little help.  Some cast members might also fill some roles in your crew.
• Hold auditions.  Have the actors fill out applications with contact information, any known conflicts, and any other special skills that may apply, such as accents, juggling, tumbling, etc.  (A sample Audition Application is available here.)  Make sure to include the dates and location of the performances, because if they’re not available, they shouldn’t audition for a role, though they still might be involved in a limited capacity such as costumes or publicity.
• Choose the cast and post it publicly.  This could be on a social media page, by email, on a bulletin board, or all of the above.  Thank everyone for auditioning.
• Set the place, dates, and times for your rehearsals based on your cast’s availability as indicated on their Audition Application.  Again, this could be anywhere — even your own living room or basement.  (If you had established the rehearsal schedule before the audition, make sure you communicated it on the Audition Application along with your policy on how many rehearsals they’re allowed to miss.)  And then start rehearsing!
• Make invitations to your performance.  Or if there is already an invitation like in my situation, get enough for you and your cast to hand out to friends and family.  Make sure that the title, author, dates, times, location, ticket prices, and information on how to get tickets are included.  You want to get these out at least a month ahead of the show.  Don’t wait until the last minute!
• Design your playbills.  This takes a while if you have to add or replace names, so get this going as soon as possible.  Still, in case there are changes, don’t print them until one to three days before opening night.  On the other hand, don’t wait to print them on the day of the performance, either.  Copy machines can be problematic!
• Arrange for volunteers to help as ushers and hand out programs.
• Open the show.  Be sure to get in front of the audience every night and introduce yourself.  Thank them for coming and explain anything you need them to know (exits, restroom location, donation box, upcoming performances, etc.).
• Perform and celebrate.  Have a place in mind where everyone can go and eat afterward.  Throw a cast party!
• Give yourself a pat on the back!  You’re a producer!