Production team job roles

[Darkness]

Hi all,

 

I think I picked the correct place to ask this.

 

I am after a list of job descriptions and the hierarchy of various job roles in the theatre e.g. producer, director, stage manager, lighting designer etc.

 

I’ve had a look around but couldn’t find anything, I was just wondering if anyone knew of any websites that showed the information

 

 

Thanks

[JDP]

From a Rock n Roll area, in numbers

 

1. Artist/Bands

 

2. Management

 

3. Tour & Production Manager

 

4. Lighting Designer, Video Designer, Sound Engineers, Head Rigger

 

4.1. Lighting Programmer/Operator, Video Director, Video OPs etc

 

5. Lighting, Sound, Video, Set, Rigging Rental Companies

 

6. Crew Chief/Crew Boss,

 

7. Riggers, Dimmer Man, Audio 'Racks' Man, Senior Video whatever, Venue Techs

 

8. Lighting technicians, Sound Array Flyers, LED Screen builders

 

9. Local Crew

 

10. Punters

 

11. Artists friends, liggers, timewasters, people that cause grief

[Psychedelic Theatre]

Here are a few links that might help you.

 

Also, if you can get your hands on a copy of 'Production Management - Making Shows Happen' by Peter Dean there are some good flow charts of the general hierarchy within a theatre.

 

I assume that it would be breaking the copyright to scan it or copy it onto here so I won't unless someone tells me I'm allowed!

 

http://www.aact.org/people/

 

http://mookieriffic.mu.nu/archives/004358.html

 

Hope that is of some use.

 

Tim

[paulears]

Unless the hierarchy is a new one, I doubt copyright applies as it's public knowledge and not a unique list.

 

Being a bit pedantic, your question sort of assumes a simple pyramid structure with the'boss' at the top and erks at the bottom, but in practice it's more complex than that, with many triangular elements, linked horizontally.

I realise you asked about theatre, but JDP's rock and roll reply is a good example. The artiste/band may well think they are in charge, but in reality the people providing the funding are the real top of the triangle. even if the artistes 'pay', it's usually with the record company's financed, and they call the shots. People such as the Lighting Designer are not strictly speaking in charge of the lampies. In practice, they are of course but they are not employed by them, so let's say there is a fallout - the LD has to go up, across and down to get the problem sorted. people on the same level might be equals, but what if you then resort your list by pay - everything swaps around. It's very difficult to produce accurate hierarchy charts. In many cases, you just have a few levels.

 

So in theatre we may have (to answer the question) to the right is a typical house scheme, with the company team on the left

COMPANY--------------------------------------------------------------------------------HOUSE

executive producer---------------------------------------------------------------------general manager

director----------------------------------------------------------------------------------artistic director

company manager----------------------------------------------------------------------technical manager

DSM------------------musical director----------wardobe mistress/master-----------HODs

--------senior cast-----------------------------------------------------------------------permanent ops

ASMs--other cast--- musicians ----------------wardrobe team/dressers------------casuals

 

This might do for your needs, but in reality is much more complex. people on the same levels may not be equals, or at least may not consider they are.

 

The above list suggests that the star of the show has parity in seniority to the permanent venue lighting op - this clearly isn't how most turns see it, but simply shows how plain hierarchical schemes simply don't work. The venue casuals and the company ASMs kind of match up in terms of job content, pay and other elements of their work. At the top most roles seem to fit.

 

If you look at this and move things around a little, it should fit most size venues and staff structure. It is the sideways matching that is the problem - sometimes there simply is no sideways parity at all!

[willtom]

Try this offering from the ABTT

http://www.abtt.org.uk/pages/training/work.php

[Darkness]

Thanks guys, thats great.

 

Im just trying to compile a list/digram to show some of the junior members of the team as at rehearsals the other night while me (who is down as cheif technician) was talking to the senior technician about how we was going to use mics and some of the lighting effects for our show we have coming up the junior technicians were at the stage taking some notes on the blocking of the show and a few other various notes (which we also were doing as we have started putting together a technical script) and this seemed to leave noone in the control room running the rehearsals (playing the cds, making sure mics are on for singers etc)

 

I just thought maybe instead of just telling them which they dont seem to listen to very much if we put together a kind of hierachy diagram with some breif details on what each person does etc and called a meeting we might be able to sort it out. It's a voluntary amateur variety group so we dont want to be to strong with them but we do want to sort something out as the choreographer has mentioned it a few times too

 

I have books on lighting with all the various lighting roles but not much more, but what you have provided should be more than enough

 

Thanks

[paulears]

Best advice from is is DON'T. In this sort of organisation you will get hung up on ttles used in the wrong way. Your Chief, Head, Senior, Junior label system just breeds issues. Jobsworth style! It also tags people with the I know more than you so...... Unless they all have different jobs why not just have somebody in charge and everyone else not - doing jobs within their capabilities? That way there is no competition, or resentent. The good ones do more, the duff ones less, and nobody gets upset.

 

In the real world, it is what people do that is important. Take a DSM. They call the show, they are in charge of everything, and although there are people above and below - they know their place. An ASM is not bottom of the ladder. They are often the more inexperienced people, but I know plenty of 50+ people who do ASMing because they are really good at it, and their skills are really essential. 'Promoting' them to DSM could be a disaster. Plenty of venues have really senior people who are great at admnistration but not good at running shows. This doesn't cause problems. Technical Managers may never do anything technical, but make sure the others ca do their jobs properly resourced and trained.

 

Looking back, it's clear you are imagining this big pyramid and assuming its the best system. It sounds like for you a flat structure is far better. It's not unnown for some people to have a posh title "head of.." instead of a pay rise. Status, or other peoples status is very important for some.

 

 

Scrap these daft titles and just have a production team led by the boss. Remember titles without responsibility means zilch!

[Just Some Bloke]

Although I'm a pro I've worked with an awful lot of amateur companies and the ones that run best are the ones that have a crew put together for a specific show. For this month's show A may be on lights, B on sound and C on stage, for next week's show A might be an acting ASM, B flyman and C follow-spot op. Having put several smaller shows on with people moving around jobs, when it comes to the big show of the year/2 years, then you put people in whatever jobs they have proved themselves best at. That way whatever job they get it won't be top middle or bottom of the pyramid, just a job. Obviously in the professional company/venue you need to have chiefs and indians, but in amateur theatre it's often best to do without the chiefs.

[Darkness]

I see what your saying.

 

Other than an odd member which might refer to us in the true sense of the titles. When I said senior technicians and junior technicians we dont really mean them in there true sense of the titles, they are more just how long members have been there and age, which does happen to match up with experience and knowledge on this occasion.

 

Our main problem is that some of the younger members that want to get into the technical side are good in the sense they have no problem being in the control room making sure mics are on when needed, music is played etc they can be very slow and the choreographer does mention it quite a lot while the teenaged ones are at that dangerous/annoying stage when they think they know everything (im sure you have come across these types of people) who we would prefer to be in the control room as the can play things exactly on cue and help the younger ones (all of these have never done one of our major shows before although they have done a few smaller shows) but when me and the other long term technican are up near the stage sorting out stage positions with the choreographer and stage manager and taking notes so we can design the lighting and work out the best ways we can do effects and slowly trying to write a technical script which all technicians will get. when we get to a part where music is needed nothing happens and when we turn around we find most of the newer technicians behind us taking notes as well, its as if they forget the rehearsals need running and that note taking is more important.

 

It was just an idea to try explain to them how things work professionaly as although only amateur we try to do things as close to professional as possible so they can see how things work in the professional world if they ever decide to go that way in the future but after your responses we might not do that.

[mac.calder]

On a ship things are relatively simple:

 

Hotel Director (4 Stripes)

Cruise Director (3 Stripes)

Stage and Production Manager (2.5 Stripes)........Dance Captain/Ice Captain/Vocal Captain (Staff/no rank, considered senior staff)

Head Sound and Light (2 Stripes)

Sound and Light technicians (2 Stripes)

Lounge Technicians (2 Stripes).........Head Stage Staff (1 Stripe)

Stage Staff (1 Stripe)..........Dancers/Skaters/Singers (Staff/no rank)

 

That is generally how it works, although TECHNICALLY the stripes are the true power structure, and the "talent" and their "captains" only really have rank through the production manager.

[Bryson]

We used to call them "Pizza stripes" because that was all they were good for - entry to the Pizza resteraunt was for 2 stripe officers (or above) and their guests only. (Well, and those inconvenient passengers...)

[Tomo]

Remember the Golden Rule of arts and Sciences:

"He who has the gold, makes the rules"

 

"Flat" or "Semi-Flat" structures are generally best for amateur productions.

The way we did amateur shows at my Uni was roughly as follows:

 

- Production Manager on top (as they're in charge of the money)

- Director and Stage Manager or Technical Director next (They picked which title they wanted)

 

Director is in charge of all "artistic" elements - look and feel of the show et al.

SM/TD is in charge of all the "How do we do this?" elements.

 

The next level was Lighting, Sound and set designers, but they didn't have a specific 'boss'.

 

The lighting, sound and set designers simply reported to either wing depending on whether it was "What colour should X be?" or "Is it ok if I rig my truss here?", and direct to the PM on all the "How much money do I have?" questions.

 

Everybody else just does their job and reports directly to whoever asked them to do a given activity.

 

For the programme, everyone basically took whatever title they wanted/thought they could get away with.

I'm down as Jack-of-all-trades in a couple of programmes, mostly because I did a bit of everything!

[Obiyahwah]

I have never really cared what title I have been given as long as my name is

spelt correctly!!

We have a semi rigid structure but thats only cos the same people have been doing the same jobs for years.

Chairman (of the group)

Artistic Diretor (of the group)

Company Stage Manager

Technical Consultant

 

Each production we put on (kids show, panto, summer tour, autumn tour, one acts etc) has a director, stage manager, technician and whatever crew we need press-ganged from the rest of the society.

As the technician for the group I hate being called a LD, even when we do complicated stuff like our version of the crucible (raised acting area, under floor lights & smoke etc).

 

The only time it has come in usefull to have the 'showy' title, is in panto (I was in da prog as the 'Technicial Designer' <_< ) when I usally find myself havin a pissing competition with the MD, its always nice to play the 'as Tech Designer I reject your idea that you as MD should be louder than everything else'

God it gives me no end of enjoyment to wind up musicians, cos they are all so prissy!!

[Darkness]

We dont really care too much about titles, we dont really have an LD or MD, we are all just technicians, there problem is now there is 8 of us that can be classed as technicians within the group we do need some sort of structure otherwise people never know what they are doing and what others are doing. Being a voluntary group all help is great but when numbers get that big for a relatively small amount of work it does need to be organised.

[Bryson]

Lighting Technician

Sound Technician

Stage Technician...

etc

 

It all seems pretty simple to me....just append whatever job you do to the beginning.

 

 

 

Think of yourselves as an anarcho-cynicalist commune. :** laughs out loud **: