COMMUNITY TOUR – DIRECTOR PROJECT CAPSULE
Watch a video about the Community Tour HERE.
Director fee: approximately $4,000 (2024 budget is currently being finalized, payable as independent contractor)
Rehearsals: end of Aug./beginning of Sept. (four weeks, dates depend on OperaDelaware’s season)
Rehearsal info: Tues.-Sat. from 10am-6pm. Rehearsals will be held at OperaDelaware Studios (downtown Wilmington). Times may shift due to the SEPTA train schedule.
Run: end of September/beginning of October (three weeks)
Cast: 6-8 non-Equity actors, one musician. (Due to budget constraints, Del Shakes is not using AEA actors in 2024.) Audience members play small roles as volunteers (1-2 lines).
Community Tour Aesthetic: Delaware Shakespeare’s productions are entertaining, accessible, actor-focused, and supported by efficient designs. The emphasis is on making the language and the story clear. The plays are edited to run in the realm of 2 hours plus a 15-minute intermission, although cuts that are less than 100 minutes and can play sans intermission are encouraged.
The Community Tour is based on the production model of Ten Thousand Things (Minneapolis). The production travels to prisons, community centers, homeless shelters, and more.
The production will be performed in the round with no more than three rows of seats.
Design World: CT productions are built to be able to perform in whatever space our partners have available. Production elements travel in a 9’ UHaul van, and items are loaded in by the acting company and a support team of 3-4. We aim to be able to get into the location and set-up in less than 30 minutes. So, less is more! But we have found that a creatively minimal design does a lot to engage the audience in the collective act of make-believe.
- SET – Minimal & structural, due to the realities of touring! Del Shakes frequently works with sculptors instead of set designers for the CT to create fascinating, but durable objects that can transform the space no matter what lighting is present. A great place to start the set discussion is, “What is absolutely necessary to tell the story?”
- COSTUME – Costumes facilitate the ensemble playing multiple roles. Each actor normally has one base layer from which they add/remove accessories to distinguish various characters.
- LIGHTS – Whatever is in the conference room/gym/cafeteria/large open space the venues have for us!
- SOUND – Live music and soundscape played by one musician. In many ways, sound becomes the lighting design – emphasizing key moments, change in emotional atmosphere, etc.
