The Deal with Maestro
Posted: June 17th, 2010, 9:49 am
The Deal with Maestro:
So here is the current deal with Maestro.
I am in charge of the show. This means that I find the directors, do the cast list, make sure tech is in, call periodic directors meetings, and oversee any changes that we are making.
I have basic goals for the show.
The first, always, is that it is a good show for the audience. Maestro has consistent full houses and great word of mouth, I want to keep it that way.
The second is to make sure that we have a place for our students to train with a well supported show and a good cast and directors that have their backs.
The third is to make sure that we have a way to invite guests to play. This is guests from other theaters who don't play with us often, as well as out of town guests.
From this I have developed a casting matrix.
I always have 6 "core" performers. These are the people who have been doing Maestro forever; They know how the games work, they play them well, many of them play together frequently, they can support newer players and guests.
Then I have 2 students or recent grads from our theater. We like to train our students and this is one of our venues for that.
I also save 2 spots for guests. Guests are people from out of town (usually my first priority), people we haven't seen in awhile, and people who usually play at other theaters.
The last two spots are for whatever else I may want to throw in.
With in these categories, I also give priority to people who help out frequently. And, just to keep it fun, if I have the time and energy, I like to cast people that I think will work well together and have a fun time on stage playing together. I love match making. I may also break these rules at anytime if I think it will be fun and make the show better.
As you can see if you are not a "core" player or a student, you probably won't get cast as much as the other people. I'm not trying to be mean or power hungry, I'm just trying to reach my goals.
So, how do you get into the "core" player category? Well...that's my judgment call. We are lucky to have a large group of strong players that like to play frequently. As new people come in as guests or students, I like to watch them a few times, play with them bit, talk with them, and get impressions from other players. This is not a formal process. It's just that I start realizing that a player does a lot more of supporting the show as a whole and I can count on them to carry a scene. If you want to know what category you are in, you can ask me.
Not casting people - So if you didn't get cast for a show it doesn't mean that you aren't a good person, or player. It usually means that there were a lot of people in your category and I chose a mix that didn't include you. Nothing personal, nothing judgmental.
Tech- this show can do fine with a light hand at tech or new people, but having a seasoned, strong tech person makes a big difference. For this reason I like to train new people by having them work with someone that has worked the show before. Tech can really be a lot of fun and is a great way to be a part of the show without being on stage.
I also try to get in two director each week. We have a much smaller pool of constantly good directors, people that can direct each scene in a way that supports our actors and our goals, people that can look at the entire show and get a good feel for what needs to go next and how to make that work, people who have fun with the audience and know when to break the rules and when to keep the show on track. I'm trying very hard right now to train up some new directors. I do that by pairing them with more seasoned directors for a really, really long time. I also try to look for fun match-ups here. Two people that will enjoy bouncing off each other and make playing/watching the show even more fun. If you want to be a director just ask me and I'll let you know if I think that is a good idea and how to get on track. We have notes for directors that I keep online. Feel free to ask to see those as well.
If you have any further questions please ask me. I love to talk Maestro. If you have any complains, I'd love to hear those also. Over a drink. That you bought. Please, please don't whine at me.
When it comes down to it, I freaking love this show and want it to be awesome forever. That is pretty much my motivation for how I handle everything related to Maestro.
Now go sign up!
So here is the current deal with Maestro.
I am in charge of the show. This means that I find the directors, do the cast list, make sure tech is in, call periodic directors meetings, and oversee any changes that we are making.
I have basic goals for the show.
The first, always, is that it is a good show for the audience. Maestro has consistent full houses and great word of mouth, I want to keep it that way.
The second is to make sure that we have a place for our students to train with a well supported show and a good cast and directors that have their backs.
The third is to make sure that we have a way to invite guests to play. This is guests from other theaters who don't play with us often, as well as out of town guests.
From this I have developed a casting matrix.
I always have 6 "core" performers. These are the people who have been doing Maestro forever; They know how the games work, they play them well, many of them play together frequently, they can support newer players and guests.
Then I have 2 students or recent grads from our theater. We like to train our students and this is one of our venues for that.
I also save 2 spots for guests. Guests are people from out of town (usually my first priority), people we haven't seen in awhile, and people who usually play at other theaters.
The last two spots are for whatever else I may want to throw in.
With in these categories, I also give priority to people who help out frequently. And, just to keep it fun, if I have the time and energy, I like to cast people that I think will work well together and have a fun time on stage playing together. I love match making. I may also break these rules at anytime if I think it will be fun and make the show better.
As you can see if you are not a "core" player or a student, you probably won't get cast as much as the other people. I'm not trying to be mean or power hungry, I'm just trying to reach my goals.
So, how do you get into the "core" player category? Well...that's my judgment call. We are lucky to have a large group of strong players that like to play frequently. As new people come in as guests or students, I like to watch them a few times, play with them bit, talk with them, and get impressions from other players. This is not a formal process. It's just that I start realizing that a player does a lot more of supporting the show as a whole and I can count on them to carry a scene. If you want to know what category you are in, you can ask me.
Not casting people - So if you didn't get cast for a show it doesn't mean that you aren't a good person, or player. It usually means that there were a lot of people in your category and I chose a mix that didn't include you. Nothing personal, nothing judgmental.
Tech- this show can do fine with a light hand at tech or new people, but having a seasoned, strong tech person makes a big difference. For this reason I like to train new people by having them work with someone that has worked the show before. Tech can really be a lot of fun and is a great way to be a part of the show without being on stage.
I also try to get in two director each week. We have a much smaller pool of constantly good directors, people that can direct each scene in a way that supports our actors and our goals, people that can look at the entire show and get a good feel for what needs to go next and how to make that work, people who have fun with the audience and know when to break the rules and when to keep the show on track. I'm trying very hard right now to train up some new directors. I do that by pairing them with more seasoned directors for a really, really long time. I also try to look for fun match-ups here. Two people that will enjoy bouncing off each other and make playing/watching the show even more fun. If you want to be a director just ask me and I'll let you know if I think that is a good idea and how to get on track. We have notes for directors that I keep online. Feel free to ask to see those as well.
If you have any further questions please ask me. I love to talk Maestro. If you have any complains, I'd love to hear those also. Over a drink. That you bought. Please, please don't whine at me.
When it comes down to it, I freaking love this show and want it to be awesome forever. That is pretty much my motivation for how I handle everything related to Maestro.
Now go sign up!