Photo by Robbie Sweeny
Backstage Brilliance:
The Ins and Outs of Tech Direction & Stage Management
August 15, 5:30 - 9:30pm PST
on ZOOM
Facilitated by jessi barber
Sliding Scale: $40 - $200
ABOUT THE "BACKSTAGE BRILLIANCE" WORKSHOP
A workshop on how tech direction and stage management can support your small production. Why and when should you hire a stage manager or a technical director? What’s the difference and what kinds of productions benefit from what kinds of roles? And how can TDs and SMs make the experience of self-producing not just less stressful, but actually easeful for everyone involved. Specific topics will include:
Demystify the roles and scope of work of technical directors, stage managers, and other production roles in the context of small to medium sized dance productions;
Discuss reasonable pay rates and how to budget for them;
Learn about the realities of hiring independent contractors through a legal and workers rights lens;
Identify what kinds of productions benefit from certain production roles. When should you hire a technical director versus a stage manager? When do you need both? How is this different for the many variety of dance shows (traditional theaters, immersive & outdoor productions, mixed-bill etc);
Discuss how producers and choreographers can maximize the support of these roles;
Share templates and tools for artists, choreographers, and production crew to work efficiently and clearly together;
Discuss the realities of working with venues as a self-producing artist;
Think together about how working with TDs and SMs can make the production experience better for audiences, collaborators, and for you.
ABOUT DETOUR'S SUMMER 2024 INTENSIVE SERIES
Participants will be immersed in Detour's approach to devised theater, experiential work, and drag artistry, with a focus on business, administration and producing;
Each workshop is facilitated by Detour collaborators, offering unique vantage points into the company's creative process;
Detour is offering sliding-scale tuition for each workshop with No One Turned Away For Lack Of Funds (email directors@detour.productions for a NOTAFLOF code);
All workshops are virtual (via Zoom), link to online meeting will be sent upon registration;
All workshops will have live auto-captioning;
If you have any access needs that you would like to share with us, please email directors@detour.productions
ABOUT jessi barber
Jessi Barber (she/her) is a queer production manager, technical director, lighting designer, and stage manager with over a decade of professional arts experience in the Bay Area/Ohlone Land. Her experiences as a performer and choreographer greatly influence her approach to production work, which embraces the emotional realities of making art and people-centered communication and problem-solving while staying committed to straight-forward efficiency and clear production infrastructure as tools of ease. Jessi is a member of the Queering Dance Festival's non-hierarchical Steering Committee and the Technical Director for the 2024 Fresh Meat Festival. She is a house technician with CounterPulse and Brava, and has managed rental venues including Shawl-Anderson Dance Center and the Joe Goode Annex. Jessi has worked in various production capacities for Detour Productions, KH Fresh Festival, Sean Dorsey Dance, Nina Haft & Co., Melissa Lewis Wong, BANDALOOP and many more. She currently serves on the board of Bridge Live Arts.