The Longwood Players is looking for directors for its 19th season, which will focus on the theme of Family. We are now accepting proposals from directors for both musical and non-musical plays to produce in fall of 2016 and spring of 2017. All proposals must follow a specific format. 

Deadline: December 1st at 11:59pm

Submit to: Kaitlyn Chantry, Artistic Director, kchantry@longwoodplayers.org
Required Materials: Cover letter, resume, proposal

Who Are You?

While we are looking for experienced directors, that experience can come in many forms: college, regional, professional, or community theaters. You should have at least a few shows under your belt (or many more) and you should be absolutely passionate about the play(s) you propose.

The play(s) you propose should fit comfortably into a season about family and should be relatively well known pieces. Please also make sure you consider comedies, as we know there are a great many weighty dramas concerning family conflicts and would like to see a variety of proposals. The bottom of this page has a few other requirements. Please read the requirements carefully before making your submission.

Directors must be available for evening and Sunday rehearsals in the fall and/or spring. Directors are welcome to suggest more than one play, but must give a complete proposal for each play.

Family

Whether it's parents, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, or beyond, the family has long been a central theme in drama. We often distinguish family as those we can't choose, yet family bonds are often the strongest. Family life can bring the greatest joy and laughter, as well as the greatest pain and sadness.

“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” – George Bernard Shaw, Immaturity

We will consider proposals for any plays that fit into this theme, including (but certainly not limited to): King Lear, A View from the Bridge, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Little Women, Next to Normal, Fiddler on the Roof, Batboy, The Marriage of Betty and Boo, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Addams Family, Anne of Green Gables. Hopefully you have ideas that we've not even thought of!

The Proposal

Each proposal must include a brief cover letter, resume, and a directorial proposal with the following sections:
- Summary
- Your vision
- Expected challenges

Summary: This section should include the title, playwright (plus lyricist & composer, if applicable), year it was published (or first performed), a very brief synopsis of the plot, and cast breakdown (max and min, broken down roughly by age and gender).

Your vision: What is this play fundamentally about? Why should it be produced in this place and time? What might our audiences gain from seeing it in performance? What might our company gain by producing it? How might your vision of this play differ from previous productions? This might also be a good place to explain why you think this play fits within our 19th season theme of family.

Expected challenges: What do you see as some of the artistic and technical challenges in producing this play? Will this play require creative solutions in staging, lighting, costume, or set design? Are there any roles that you think may be difficult to cast? What do you expect is the most difficult challenge in producing this show?

The Longwood Players perform at the YMCA Theatre in Central Square, a small, vaudeville-style theatre with closed wings and no fly system. If you are proposing a play that typically relies upon a large set or multiple settings, please describe one or more solutions for the logistical challenges that would also fit in with your artistic vision.

You will find a link to drawings and measurements of the space here.

Additional Requirements

All proposed plays for the 2016-2017 season must also fall within the following guidelines. The guidelines apply only to the upcoming 19th season selection and may not remain in place for later seasons.

• No original, unpublished, or previously unproduced plays.
• Our non-musical will be performed in the fall, with a production date of mid-November. (If you are proposing a non-musical, please make sure you are available from late August to Thanksgiving.)
• Our musical will be performed in the spring, with a production date of early May. (If you are proposing a musical, please make sure you are available from January to May.)
• Non-musicals must have a cast of at least 6 actors. Musicals must have a cast of at least 10.
• Musicals and non-musicals alike must not require a cast of over 25.
• All plays must be capable of being produced at a reasonable budget.
• All plays must be capable of being produced in our current  theater space.
• We encourage you to propose plays that have a title and/or playwright that is recognizable to the theater community and the community at large.

Our Mission

When drafting your proposal, please do consider the mission of The Longwood Players, which includes producing theater that is artistically interesting, intellectually stimulating, and socially compelling. Feel free to read our entire mission statement here.