For Directors

Cast Communication:  You are now the liaison between the Festival and your cast.  The actors will be relying on YOU to convey not only their rehearsal dates and times, but also their call times for tech (tba) and performances (an hour prior to curtain), where they park for performance (at the school board across the street), and all the questions actors ask.  

If you are confronted with a question you can't answer, do not hesitate to contact me.  I will answer your question promptly and be sure the information in question can be readily found online.

Progress Rehearsal: This mandatory rehearsal will be held Saturday, May 30th.  Casts will be scheduled in 20-minute increments between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm.  We are not looking for performance-level performances at this time, only an assurance that work is being done.  If you cannot attend on this date, we must be invited to attend your regular rehearsal nearest to this date.  If we are not satisfied that your show will be ready by opening, we reserve the right to pull it from the program.

Time Limit:   If your script is more than 10 pages long, please be aware that there is a strict 20-minute maximum for each piece.  Most should fall well under 15 minutes, but we ask that if you exceed 15 minutes you take special care NOT to exceed 20.  If your script qualifies, please time your rehearsals and be mindful of pace. 

Keep It Simple:  These are Black Box productions, intended to be about what you can do with the actors and the words rather than with special effects, sets, and lighting.  With eight shows performing each night, you must be prepared to set and strike your set in less than one minute -- use only what is absolutely necessary and suggest more than you use.  There is some amount of furniture available at Swedenborg; we ask that you attempt to use what is available rather than bringing large pieces in: there is limited backstage storage and there will be many actors in the space.  Pieces which can be folded and stored out of the way are welcome. 

Tech:  Lights will be designed to suggest a few different washes, at any level: these include Day, Night, Interior, and Exterior.  There will also be a Scene Change blue light and some ability to light the stage in sections: Stage Right, Center, or Left.  Nothing more elaborate.  Sound can play a vital role in your production.  Please provide all necessary sounds and music, in order, on a CD on or before Tech Day (listed below).

Dry Tech/Dress Tech:  You will have two opportunities to tech your show.  The first will be your dry tech.  Actors are not required at the dry tech; this is your opportunity to meet with the tech operators and the Stage Manager to discuss the needs of your piece without actors for all the other pieces waiting behind you for their turn.  The Dress Tech, then, would require all the actors and allow both the actors and tech operators a fully implemented run of the show before their opening in front of an audience a few days later.  Actors, who will not be receiving comps, will be invited to watch these dress rehearsals if they are interested in seeing each others' work. 

Because we are not paying and most of our participants have day jobs, we will be scheduling all DRESS rehearsals in the evening, with our tech operators arriving no earlier than 4 pm.   Having a dry tech in the days before the dress tech will help us to keep those evening dress rehearsals from going on into the wee hours; therefore you MUST dry tech your show.

Tech Dates:  These dates are arranged according to your PROGRAM appearance in the festival.  The staggering of dates is necessary so that every Program can cycle through without any Program suffering more than 3 days between its tech and official opening.  

Program One: Dry Tech June 10; Dress Tech June 15

Program Two: Dry Tech June 11; Dress Tech June 17

Program Three: Dry Tech June 14; Dress Tech June 18

The Hall is not available to us on the 12th, 13th, or 16th.

Guest List:  Directors and Playwrights are invited to watch their work in front of an audience as our guest.  Your name will be on our list; there is no need to make a reservation for yourself.  Friends and loved ones, however, must purchase tickets.

Marketing:  We will be preparing Media Kits for any agent or Artistic Director who wants one.  If you or anyone in your cast wish to be included in these kits, please provide at least five (5) hard-copy headshots with resumes firmly attached per participant.  You can do this via snail mail -- 6530 Reflection Dr. #2281 San Diego, CA 92124 -- or have them ready at the Progress or Tech rehearsals.

Viral Marketing:  The New Perspective website is our tool for necessary communication, but we have other web presences -- and you and your actors are invited to participate.  Become our friend on MySpace or blog about your festival experience on the New Perspective blog. 

Thank you, directors!   The Festival is in your hands now. 

Break a leg!