How to Produce a West End Show by Julius Green

Author:Julius Green
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oberon Books Ltd

6. HOW TO WORK WITH THE CREATIVE TEAM ON A WEST END SHOW

‘I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragoon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least.’

– Eugène Ionesco, Notes and Counter Notes

Assembling your ‘creative team’, the people who will supervise the various artistic elements of your show, is a bit like that scene at the beginning of an action movie where an unlikely bunch of misfits is put together to carry out an extraordinary mission. The key player, and indeed the absolute lynchpin of the entire artistic endeavour, is the director. A successful creative dynamic between the producer and the director is at the centre of all the best commercial theatre productions, and choosing the right person for this role is as important as choosing the right show. It may well be the director who brings you the project in the first place, but if it is not then it is essential to do your research before committing to someone you have not worked with before. The power balance between the producer and the director in a commercial theatre production is a delicate one, and managing this relationship is a core skill for a producer. If you are new to producing then getting an experienced director on board to head up your team is a good move, but at the same time it can risk undermining your own position as the creative head of the project. The director may well prove pivotal in attracting a first-rate cast and design team to the project, but it is important that you, who after all have made it all possible, do not become a passive bystander in the process.

Directors who have worked extensively on large-scale productions in the subsidised sector can be used to a different pecking order, where the artistic head of the project is top dog and the administrative elements of the producer’s role are carried out by an executive who is there to serve the director’s creative vision. They may be used to bigger budgets, longer rehearsal periods and a more comprehensive administrative infrastructure to support the creative process. They often rehearse in the building where the production will ultimately be presented, and in close proximity to the people who are making the sets and costumes. These luxuries, unfortunately, are rarely available to commercial productions. Because of the resources and continuity that characterise the subsidised sector it is easier for a director to build a reputation for artistic excellence, develop long-term working relationships with creative collaborators and start a collection of awards trophies on their mantelpiece. The realities of working in the commercial sector can therefore be a rude awakening.

Like all of us, however, freelance directors have to earn a living, and what the commercial sector can offer is the tantalising possibility, though of course not the certainty, of a long-term royalty income.

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