WHO MAKES UP A CREATIVE TEAM AT THE STRATFORD FESTIVAL?
(All positions on this list are not always required on every production, Season at a Glance [S.AG.])
Directors have responsibility for the practical and creative interpretation of a production. They collaborate with the creative and production team to tell the story.
A person who assists the director in their role. Often assistant directors at the Stratford Festival are a part of The Langham Directors training program. They provide feedback and input to the director and work with understudies and other duties as assigned.
A person who supports and collaborates with the director.
Working closely with other members of the creative team, music directors oversee all musical aspects of a production. Including assisting in casting performers, hiring the orchestra, rehearsing singers and orchestra members, and conducting the orchestra in performance.
A composer is someone who writes a music piece for a production. This piece of music can then be used as a part of the sound design. Instrumental compositions, for example, might serve to underscore dialogue-heavy scenes, cover up scene changes, highlight an onstage event like a vase shattering, or support ensemble dance numbers. Vocal songs, on the other hand, often aim to advance plot, develop themes, and blow up characters' emotions, struggles, and inner lives for the audience to hear.
In the creation of a production, designers are the people who decide what the performers will wear, what kind of environment they will inhabit, and on the objects or props with which they engage. This includes Set, Lighting, Sound, Wardrobe & Projection.
Assistant designers are integral to the creative process as they interact with many departments and coordinate many aspects of the design and building process.
An Intimacy & Fight Director is a professional trained to oversee scenes involving intimacy, nudity, sexual content, action and violence. The goal is to create realistic-looking scenes while keeping it safe for the actors and other participants. They make suggestions, and ultimately choreograph the scene or moment.
A Choreographer designs and directs the dance or stylized movement in the productions, working closely with the director and musical director. They work with dancers to interpret and develop ideas and transform them into the finished performance that supports the director’s vision.
A Stage Manager supports and organizes all the different teams involved in the day-to-day running of a production during the rehearsal period and during performances. They maintain and assemble a prompt script which includes detailed notes on blocking and the artistic/technical intentions of the director and designers. They are responsible for creating a safe working culture in the room alongside the director and the rest of the creative team.
The Assistant Stage Manager assists the Stage Manager in completing a wide number and variety of responsibilities. They prepare and maintain detailed notes and lists on props, costumes, costume changes, set and scene changes. They coordinate and liaise all aspects of the production by communicating information to all departments involved on a semi-daily basis. Once the show is running, they oversee the backstage area together with the crew.
The Assistant Stage Manager assists the Stage manager in completing a wide number and variety of responsibilities. They coordinate and liaise all aspects of the production by communicating information to all departments involved on a semi-daily basis. They prepare and maintain detailed notes and lists on scene timings, actor entrances/exits, script changes, and run lines with actors. Once the show is running, they help oversee the backstage area and are responsible for show specific paging.