Producing It Yourself

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > BUSINESS > PRODUCTION > SELF-PRODUCING

'. . . the main response [to the staged reading of RENT] was that the show was unclear and structurally out of balance. In theatrical time, the first act took the longest; yet it was only one night of the story. The second act was much shorter, almost by half; but a whole year of the story took place. So there was an incredibly long setup, and a compressed wrap-up, but no center.'

-- James Nicola

Vanity or self-produced productions of new plays don't carry the nasty reputation this sort of thing has for authors of novels or non-fiction books. In that world, self-publishing is simply taken to mean you don't have what it takes to make it professionally. To be blunt, over there, vanity is death.

But that's not the case for playwrights . . .

Playwrights who produce their own new scripts are thought of as being enterprising souls who really believe in their plays. And Literary Managers know it's a good shortcut to that essential chance to hear your words spoken by performers.

It's worth a lot of grief -- though this doesn't have to be part of the package -- to get that for yourself. If you've never given in to the lure of grease-paint and bright lights, the best guide to the what and how-to of this part of the business is Joann Green's The Small Theatre Handbook: A Guide to Management and Production.

Some tips for making this as painless as possible . . .

• Enroll in a Theatre Department
  You need to know performers to do this. And how productions are put together. And you may even be able to convince the faculty to let you use their small theatre.

• Volunteer at Your Local Theatre Company
  Make sure they occasionally do new plays before you give them part of the time you should be using for writing. If you do something valuable for them, they may return the favor. But even if they don't, you'll know some performers and directors by the time you're done.

• Just Find a Director and a Space
  Then put a casting notice in the paper. You may be mobbed by a lot of dreadful talent, but let the director deal with that. Most young-and-hungry directors will do this sort of thing for the experience. And they usually know a lot of young-and-hungry performers.

• Set up Your Own Development Process
  Plan a reading of the play with the cast at least 4 weeks before rehearsals begin. And use the intervening time to revise what your ears tell you needs work. Trust your instincts. Beware of Advice from the cast. And practice how to read audience reactions.

• Beware of Hubris [That's what did in Oedipus]
  Don't take on a theatre larger than 100 seats. You're going to have to find the audience for this thing and you'll quickly run out of relatives and friends trying to fill the place even for only three nights a week. And it's a great idea to have at least half the seats filled when the Critics come.