POSITION: Production Designer: Fall Festival of Shakespeare
TERM: Seasonal, October 8 – November 25, 2024
SUPERVISOR: Shakespeare & Company Production Manager, Erika Johnson
SCHEDULE: Full-time, evenings and weekends required.
LOCATION: On-site at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, with frequent travel to local schools for rehearsal in the afternoons/evenings Monday-Friday
SALARY: $684/week with Housing at Shakespeare & Company. $724/week without housing provided.
HOUSING: Company housing is available
Organization
Founded in 1978, Shakespeare & Company is a thriving center of creative and collaborative excellence in Actor Training, Performance, and Education, rooted in Shakespeare’s work and the Elizabethan ideals of inquiry, balance and harmony. Committed to nurturing the creative impulse, exploring the universal themes of human experience, engaging with the widest possible audience, and influencing future generations, Shakespeare & Company is also committed to evolving its approach to diversity and inclusion to engender an active process and positive change toward equity in its employment and artistry. Shakespeare & Company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities; it is our intent to maintain an inclusive work environment which is free of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation because of sex, gender, race, religion, color, national origin, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation, military service, veteran status, pregnancy or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws. We strongly encourage applications from groups historically underrepresented in theatre and theatre administration including People of the Global Majority, LGBTQIA+ individuals, women, and people who are neurodiverse. The Company is dedicated to the fulfillment of these policies regarding all aspects of employment, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, and all other conditions and privileges of employment. Our goal is to engage ourselves in endeavors which enrich and promote a more just society.
About the Shakespeare & Company Education Program & The Fall Festival of Shakespeare
The Education Program at Shakespeare & Company invites and empowers students to bring the classical poetry and plays of Shakespeare alive in ways that are personally inspiring, educationally rigorous, and theatrically compelling. The Fall Festival of Shakespeare brings over 500 students together each year for a nine-week, collaborative, non-competitive, celebratory exploration and production of multiple Shakespeare plays. Students at ten high schools in Massachusetts and New York rehearse and fully produce a Shakespeare play in collaboration with a team of two directors, a production coordinator and costume designer from Shakespeare & Company. After in-school performances for their own communities, the students from the participating schools meet at Shakespeare & Company and perform for each other over the course of four exhilarating days.
Position Summary
The Shakespeare & Company Education and Production Departments seek qualified, experienced, and imaginative individuals to serve as Production Designers for the Fall Festival of Shakespeare plays. Reporting to the Shakespeare & Company Production Manager as well as the Education administrative team, Production Designers are responsible for designing and constructing the set for two of the Fall Festival Shows, traveling between their two assigned local-area high schools and negotiating two separate build/tech schedules, and assisting their fellow Production Designers with their own builds. The Production Designer also provides all the props for both shows. Most of the design/construction for the set and props is done with materials already in Shakespeare & Company’s vast stock of scenery and props. The Production Designer designs the lighting for each of their school’s shows during tech week, using the existing equipment/set up at the school, and handling any needed adjustments/maintenance.
There are 5 total Production Designers between 10 schools. The Production Designer works on a team at each of their assigned schools that consists of two Directors, one Costume Designer, and various school faculty and staff members. During the culmination of the Fall Festival at Shakespeare & Company, the Production Designer’s responsibilities expand as they become integral to setting up the theater to load in/out 10 shows for tech and performances over the course of one week, which are all attended by every other school and filmed by a local broadcasting company.
The ideal candidate should have experience working as a technician and experience or strong interest working as an educator. Good communication skills and the ability to collaborate with both coworkers and students is required. The Fall Festival design process involves meeting the needs of the students and show before bringing the Production Designer’s own artistic vision to the production, all with a very limited budget. The candidate must also be a team player with a strong anti-racist commitment, and be a strategic, flexible, and curious thinker.
Responsibilities
- Work with directors and students to design and construct a set that fits in both the school’s theater and the Tina Packer Playhouse at Shakespeare & Company – a set that can be transported in its entirety in a company cargo van
- Work with other Designers on their scenic construction in the shop at Shakespeare & Company, as well as others’ in-school set builds
- Work with the Directors and schools’ facilities teams to assess (and physically access) the lighting and sound equipment
- Work with the Directors and students to design lighting cues and teach students how to operate those cues for their shows
- Work with the Directors to get their sound design (via Qlab) working in the school’s sound system and help teach students how to operate this system for their shows
- Participate in required training about the culture of the Fall Festival and working with students, as well as any ongoing inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility training, in alignment with Shakespeare & Company’s IDEA and cultural competency work
- Attendance and participation in weekly Production meetings
- Creation, attendance, and participation in the Tech Common Classes, involving the greater Fall Festival Community.
- Support the work of the Festival at large, which includes extra support during the week of the Festival (November 18-24). New responsibilities this week include attendance and leadership at all set load-ins and strikes, leading a team of directors and volunteers in set/props put-away after each show, daily theater setup and cleanup, working with a local broadcasting company to help set up equipment for recording/live streaming, and more.
The ideal candidate will have
- Experience in scenic and props construction, working in a scene shop, and knowledge of the required tools/safety measures required to complete a set build
- Basic lighting hang/focus and light board programming skills
- Basic audio knowledge, i.e. – how to get sound from a computer to a mixing board, turning on a sound console and making sure speakers work
- An interest in education and working with students
- Experience working with students or a background in education a plus
- Strong interpersonal and leadership skills; a positive attitude and energy, and an empathetic and collaborative leadership style, this includes the ability to work collaboratively with your directing team, fellow designers, and the entire Festival staff
- A commitment to values of anti-racism and anti-oppression and the ability to cultivate a supportive and inclusive environment that prioritizes the safety and dignity of students and colleagues of all races, abilities, ethnicities, classes, orientations, and gender identities
- Experience in organizing, working, and communicating effectively with groups of individuals from diverse backgrounds, identities, abilities, and experiences
- Strong organizational, project management and communication skills
- Flexibility, a sense of humor and grace in potentially stressful or fluid situations
