Ain't Too Proud To Blog

Joseph Smith - Lover of the Cause of Christ  South Jordan Utah Country Crossing Stake  2009

I will be the first to admit that I rarely read blogs. The cutesy, crafty mommy blogs always make me feel guilty and the personal blogs are full of information about people that I'd rather not know. I've tried to make my own  family blog (which still plays holiday music from my last post 4 Christmases ago), but I quickly became busy and forgot about it (obviously). It's taken me a few years to realize that among all of the fashion, photography, health, design, religious, cooking, couponing, crafting and kid-rearing blogs out there, none of them could have helped me in the Summer of 2007.

Flashback 7 years ago...to the sweltering summer of 2006.

Place: Austin, Texas

Life Stage: Married With Child

Weeks after moving to Austin, I was called as the Stake Drama Specialist. I was really excited about the calling because theater has been a passion of mine ever since I played a spider in my 4th grade play. I continued performing during my childhood and teenage years. I served as the Drama Club President in my high school in Washington state for a couple of years. I then earned a college degree in theatre and continued taking advanced directing classes. After college, I worked as an assistant to the Artistic Director at a successful theater in the Seattle area and loved every minute of it. Apart from the gospel and my family, theater has brought me the greatest joy. 

I was thrilled when I considered doing theater in a gospel setting. Bringing my two passions together would be a dream come true. But I soon found out that what I thought I knew about theater as a performer and a director, was not nearly enough. To produce theater in a church setting requires a large set of skills that I was used to leaving to the "techies". Sure, I took technical theater classes, but I just plugged through them because I didn't think I would need them. After all, I wasn't planning to be a Lighting Technician or a Stage Manager or a Costumer. I didn't need to know what a gobo was or how to prepare a Prop table. As a Director, I could just collaborate with the other skilled members of the production team and just focus on directing...or so I thought.

I quickly realized that I wasn't in a University anymore. I wasn't in a community or a professional theater either. It was CHURCH theater. For those of you who have produced church theater before, you know that it's a whole new ball game. 

Top Ten Signs That You Are Directing A Church Theater Production

10. Good news: 100 people auditioned!  Bad News: 76 of them were 9-year old girls.

9.  You spend your free time at the Salvation Army hunting for costumes and props.

8.  The stake center's "Lighting Equipment" consists of a couple of can lights above the stage

(three flashlights would be just as effective).

7.  The "Lighting Equipment" can only be controlled by light switches located          

BACKSTAGE.

6.  The Primary and Relief Society rooms double as the Men & Women's Dressing Rooms.

5.  A local radio station can be heard through your speakers...during a performance. 

4.  The bad acoustics cause you to dream about lavelier mics at night (if only you had the 

budget!).

3.  You use black landscaping fabric to cover the carpeted walls and chalkboard on the stage.

2.  The actors are so service-oriented that they take it upon themselves to direct the other actors (the ultimate 'no-no').

1.  When all is said and done, you've had one of the most fulfilling and spiritual theater 

experiences of your life.

(#1 is exactly why I love doing theater in church settings. It is challenging, but it is incredibly fulfilling and in some cases, life-changing. Which is why I felt compelled to write this blog.)

Back to my story...

I needed help! I was called as the Stake Drama Specialist right in the middle of the rehearsal process for the annual "Pioneer and Patriots Storytelling Festival" in Austin, Texas. Luckily, I was working with a great husband and wife directing team (who would soon be moving and I would be taking their place in the calling). Unluckily, they were extremely busy and the woman was expecting another child. I felt like I had to take some initiative to get some things taken care of.

There was a LOT to do and very little time. We didn't have a lighting or sound person and the play was to be performed outside in a field with hundreds of people watching in the early evening. Even outdoor theater needs lighting and I was concerned. Lighting equipment was non-existent, as was sound equipment. We had a very limited budget and I hardly knew anyone in the stake. I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders - being responsible for a huge, well-attended annual event, with no resources and little technical knowledge. I knew how to direct the actors, but that was about it. 

I looked online for resources and found a few books on the subject, but not much else. (I'll talk about my favorite books for community/church theater and technical theater in another post.)  Oh how I wish that I had known then what I know now. I had to figure things out the hard way. 

Fast Forward to Present Day 2013...

Place: South Jordan, Utah

Life Stage: Married with 3 Children

After 7 years of directing stake plays, I have learned a lot! I'm not saying that I am any sort of authority on the subject, but through trial and error and LOADS of time, I have learned what is required to pull off a successful production in a stake center, without a big budget, with volunteers who may have very little experience (behind-the-scenes and onstage). I have learned the politics involved in a stake production and the importance of communicating and getting approval from the Stake Presidency and the high councilman assigned to Cultural Arts. I have learned tips and tricks to lighting and sound - what equipment is essential and what is luxury. I've learned how to direct actors in such a way that audience members consider the acting quality equivalent to professional theater. I have learned to direct plays that have meaning (comedy and drama) and that bring those involved and those attending closer to the Lord. Most importantly, I have learned to rely on the Lord and the Holy Ghost, allowing them to make up for all that I lack. To me, that is the greatest key to success.

I wish I had had a blog like this to read when I was embarking on directing my first church production. I would've loved to read and share ideas. I guess, if you want something done, you've got to do it yourself. So here I am, starting something because I'd love to hear your ideas and experiences and I'd love to share with you what I've learned. I hope that this blog will save you some time and stress so that you can focus on the stuff that really matters in your production. 

Below are some topics that I (along with Guest Bloggers) plan to address. We'd love your questions, comments and suggestions. You may be a beginner and need to know the basics, or you may be a theater guru, in which case, we'd love your input. All of these topics will be addressed in relation to theater in a church setting.

Now for the topics.

-How to Propose a Play to Your Stake President

-Directing

-Auditioning/Casting

-Stage Management

-Sound

-Lighting

-Stage Crew

-Props

-Rehearsal Process

-Makeup & Hair

-Costuming

-Playwriting

-Set Design

-Set 

-Building

-Publicity

-Etiquette

-Topics specific to LDS Theater

-Music 

-Stake Communication

-Tips & Tricks to saving money on a church budget

-Production Basics

-Script Analysis

-How to get help from stake members

-And more...

This blog isn't necessarily for roadshows, although there may be useful technical info for those directing them (if you're looking for roadshow info, Google Orson Scott Card + roadshows). This blog is mainly for actual productions in a church setting. I also want to provide free scripts that are appropriate for LDS audiences (if you have a free script you'd like to share, send me an email at josephsmithplay@staheli.org). 

As someone who has avoided blogs as a reader and as a writer, I've finally decided that when it comes to my passion, I ain't too proud to blog.