Overview

In educational theatre, a teacher is usually the director, while students assume the responsibilities for all other jobs. Directors select, obtain permission for, analyze, and cast the play. They also develop a vision of the play and attempt to carry out that vision through casting, blocking, set design, and myriad other choices and directions. Directors choose a cast through a series of auditions in which they generally look for specific talents, appropriate physical traits, dependability, cooperation, and growth potential in the actors.

Once a play is cast, rehearsals begin. The actors go through many types of rehearsals leading up to the dress rehearsals, in which they all are in costume and run through the play without interruption. Next is opening night, that exhilarating moment when an audience sees the production for the first time. After the last performance, everyone participates in striking, or “putting the show away.”