Title Selection Process

TITLE SELECTION PROCESS

General Guidelines Play titles are presented by faculty directors for consideration by the entire faculty. This group is responsible for making recommendations based on the criteria of educational value, casting requirements, design feasibility, and time and budget feasibility.

1) Educational Value. The Program assumes there is a need to produce from the major periods in theater history. For example, over every four year period, we try to consider titles from the classical era, the Elizabethan and Restoration periods, the 19th and 20th centuries, our contemporary theater, original works, and works inclusive of traditionally underrepresented cultures. In its consideration process, the Program also takes into account the social, political and cultural concerns of the campus and community, seeking titles that represent the full range of the human experience. Finally, the Program attempts to provide students with the opportunity to work in a full range of genre: drama, comedy, farce, epic and musical theater, among others.

2) Casting Requirements. The Theater Program supports a policy of and adherence to open auditions. Pre-casting of designated individuals for roles in plays is not considered acceptable. In all cases care must be taken to insure maximum fairness relative to the majors and the student body in general. Conversely, consideration must be given to the number and quality of casting opportunities relative to the demographics of the current majors

3) Design Feasibility. The title selection process must include discussions about the feasibility of the design requirements of a given text and the director's preliminary conceptual overview. In some cases a production may be designated "minimal support" and the design needs will then be kept to pre- defined limits.

4) Time and Budget Feasibility. Each production consumes time and money. Supporting a production to any degree implies considerable time commitments of money and energy. It is the responsibility of the Program to set realistic goals with the cooperation of the directors and the production staff.

Selection and General Timeline

 Suggested Play Library. Everyone in the program is encouraged to submit play titles for possible production. The program secretary will maintain a lending library in the Warner office of all plays suggested . We encourage everyone - faculty, staff and students - to stay current by reading the suggested plays.  Directing Slot Assignments. In the fall semester, the Theater Faculty will meet with the Managing Director and determine who will be directing in which slot the following year.

 Play Suggestion Deadline = December 1: Faculty directors are expected to submit a list of five plays that they would be interested in directing the following year, or in the near future. These should be ranked in order of preference. Other faculty, staff and student reps may also submit a list of no more than five play titles by this deadline, if they wish for them to be considered for production.

 Play discussion. At regularly scheduled Theater meetings from December thru February, the theater faculty, staff and student reps will discuss the titles that have been suggested. Criterion for selection is not entirely fixed, but will include:

-the artistic merit of the play -inclusive representation of different periods, cultures, genres -the concept of the director -casting concerns (castability, gender balance, roles for majors) -design possibilities - tech and financial viability -curricular connections -the balance of the season as a whole

 Season Selection = March 15. By this date, directors, who are scheduled to direct the following year, must have ranked their play selections in order of preference. Each play will be voted on and rated accordingly. All faculty members will receive one vote, as will each student rep.The final season will then have to be accepted as a package (or amended until it can be). An effort will be made to earmark some projects for the following year as well, especially in cases where exciting interdepartmental curricular connections exist, or if extra resources (requiring more lead time) will need to be sought.