Theatre Production Criteria

Production Selection Criteria

The selection process is guided by the mission of the department which seeks to enrich our students and the communities we serve. The studio and seminar plays are an integral part of our academic program. Selections consist of works from the classical repertoire, original plays, recent plays, experimental works, etc. The faculty convenes each March to select the fall studio and seminar productions for the following academic year. At the very latest, both students and faculty must know these choices before the end of spring classes. The spring seminar production is selected early in the fall semester. The spring studio production is determined by the end of the previous November.

Workshop productions are selected by the faculty workshop supervisor in consultation with the theater faculty after proposals have been submitted and oral presentations are completed.

When possible, plays under consideration are given readings and are discussed by faculty and students.

Criteria for Selecting Seminar Productions

The availability and interests of faculty and/or guest directors
An artist's passion for a particular play, style, approach, idea, etc. at any given time
Student training needs and the relationship to studio training
Quality of material
Interests of majors in specific plays
Relevance to community issues of concern (social, historical, political, etc.)
Casting requirements (total number of roles, balance of male/female roles, age ranges, appropriateness for training, availability and desirability of guest actors)
Balance of physical scale of season productions
Available budget, staff, and equipment capabilities
Balance of production genres, styles, techniques and approaches from semester to semester and from year to year
The appropriateness of the selection to the theater space
Whether production values and requirements are within the scope of the department's production objectives and abilities (available budget, staff, and equipment capabilities)

Criteria for Selecting Studio Productions

The availability and interests of faculty and/or guest directors
When a student is invited to present a proposal for a spring studio production a number of additional criteria are considered:
- Fullfilment of requirements by the student (workshop, assistant directing, completion of directing sequence)
- Review of the workshop experience(s)
- Quality of the written proposal and oral presentation
- Quality of classroom experiences
An artist's passion for a particular play
Student training needs and the relationship to studio training
Quality of material
Interests of majors in specific plays
Relevance to community issues of concern
Casting requirements (total number of roles, balance of male/female roles, age range, appropriateness for training, availability and desirability of guest actors)
Balance of physical scale of season productions
Ability to mount in a five-six week period
Available budget, staff, and equipment capabilities
Balance of production genres, styles, techniques and approaches from semester to semester and from year to year
The appropriateness of the selection to the theater space
Whether production values and requirements are within the scope of the department's production objectives and abilities (available budget, staff, and equipment capabilities

Criteria for Selecting Workshop Productions

The interest and availability of student directors and actors proposing workshops
The availability of rehearsal and performance dates and spaces
Student training needs and the relationship to studio training
Quality of material Ability to mount in an allotted period with minimal physical production values
Relevance to community issues of concern
Casting requirements (total number of roles, balance of male/female roles, age range, appropriateness for training, availability and desirability of guest actors)
Whether production values and requirements are within the scope of the department's production objectives and abilities (available budget, staff, and equipment capabilities)
Quality of written proposals and oral presentations

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Janet Kinghorn Bernhard Theatre
Phone: (518) 580-5430 | Fax: (518) 580-5444 | kmendenh@skidmore.edu