My Career Project: (Hal Prince, 6 Tony Awards,

Notable Broadway Director.)

STAGE DIRECTOR
Bryan Perez
Material Sciences
1st Period
JOB
● TITLE
○ Stage Director
● DEFINITION
○ Regular definition - someone who supervises the actors and directs the action in the
production of a stage show.
○ Sophisticated - an instructor in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the
mounting of a theatre production by unifying various endeavors and aspects of
productions.
● LIST OF DUTIES
○ Basically oversee everything in the production. You direct the action on stage, but
other than that you get the final say in the designers and designs of the production.
○ Also at the auditions, you may be the one to hire the actors for the show.
GENERAL
● Excellent Communication
● Self-Motivation
● Be both a leader and part of the team.
● Time Management Skills
● Awareness of issues, from verbal to technical issues.
● Be able to think outside the box (interpret the piece you’re directing).
● Attend many, many, many meetings with designers.
EDUCATION
● TYPE OF EDUCATION NEEDED
○ For this career, it actually doesnt matter. Yet it still does. It’s not like you’re required to have a
degree to do this job, but it certainly improves your chances by a long shot.
○ Stage Directors should normally have a Bachelors in Theatre Arts.
● PLACES
○ Many schools offer Bachelors in Theatre Arts by many Universities.
○ Some univerities I would be interested for a Bachelors in Theatre Arts would be…
■ UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA
■ CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
■ (Nearby location…) AURORA UNIVERSITY
RANGE/AVERAGE SALARY
● The salary you make as a stage director truly depends on the professional level of
production you are directing.
○ For example, community theatre stage directors normally get a $1000 stipend for working on the
show.
○ However, for really professional companies in New York and Chicago, the average salary would be
about $70,000 per show directed.
JOB AVAILABILITY
● There isn’t really a precise statistic of job availability for a stage director.
● However, a job in the arts isn’t really an easy one to pursue.
● When actors and designers have a hard time getting work, imagine how hard it is
to pick a person to guide all those working people.
● Most likely, the chance for you to direct a show is once in your life, and maybe if
you get big with your work, you could flourish into a more stable career.
FUTURE JOB/GROWTH OUTLOOK
● The Growth/Outlook in general for directors/producers from any art medium
(film/theatre/etc.) is expected to grow about 12 percent from the years 2016 to the
year 2026, which is considered to be faster of the average growth from many job
outlooks in the future.
ONE NOTABLE COMPANY IN THE UNIT’S FIELD
● Because there are many levels of theatre productions around the
country, and even more in the world, there are many companies
notable for doing many shows.
● A local community theatre company near would be Magical
Starlight Theatre.
● A local professional theatre company would be The Paramount
Theatre in Downtown Aurora, Illinois.
● A professional theatre company that are really known for their
work nationwide would be Steppenwolf located in Chicago,
Illinois.
CONNECTIONS TO MATERIAL SCIENCES
● In reality, there really isn't any correlation with any science courses and the work of stage
theatre, unless you count on what the materials from lighting tools are made.
● However, a common thing with theatre and film is that they love to get a story right by
doing extensive research on the topic they are portraying. It’s possible that maybe a Stage
Director could find some way to incorporate some material science in the show for realism!
● There are many scientific skills used in the process of stage directing. A stage director
studies their own skills, has to constantly meet deadlines with their work (tech week), has to
be organized and manage their time for schedules, and follow a good work ethic.
● This high school science class would most likely help with the job of Stage Directing by
mostly reporting on the issues and trying to find solutions with many scientific problem
solving methods.