For Directors

Welcome to the New Voices Director portal. If you are currently a Director for a New Voices production, please read the following information. If you are a Director interested in working with New Voices in future productions, please feel free to contact us at newvoicesplaywrights@gmail.com. Thank you!

ABOUT OUR PRODUCTIONS

New Voices seasonal productions are typically a 2-hour long performance comprised of multiple one-act plays written by our Playwrights. Between each play, there is a scene change and themed music designed to create division between each performance. The entire production is divided into two acts, with an intermission in between. At the end of the first and second act there will be a curtain call for all cast members who performed in plays during that act.

Shorter productions will be performed in one act, without an intermission.

Shows are performed at the Westminster Community Playhouse.

As guests of the theater, the stage will be built out for the theaters main productions, and New Voices works within those sets. We cannot change/alter the main stage production set or lighting in any way during the course of our production.

DIRECTOR RESPONSIBILITIES

As a Director, you are responsible for casting, choreographing, and conducting (a maximum of 5) rehearsals prior to tech week for your play.

Two weeks before tech week, you will be required to submit your sound and light cues via the New Voices official request form (see below). Take your time to complete these thoroughly, as no new cues will be added during tech week. Set and prop pieces should be kept to a minimum, and all purchases for reimbursement must be approved by the producers in advance.

Tech week runs as follows:

Day 1
Directors will provide set/prop pieces to stage crew, and inform of exactly where everything should be placed on the stage. You will then be walked through the implementation of your light and sound cues for review and adjustment. All cast members will walk through the choreography for curtain call. Time permitting, we will run through a cue-to-cue of the entire production. Directors should provide any final notes regarding tech requests and staging at this time. (No new cues can be requested during this time. All cues must be submitted prior to tech week via the submission forms below.)

Day 2
Dress rehearsal with all costumes and props. We will begin by running through a cue-to-cue if we were unable to on Day 1, followed by a full run. No tech changes/requests allowed.

If you would like to reserve 30 minutes to rehearse on the stage the Saturday morning of the opening performance, please email the producers at newvoicesplaywrights@gmail.com with your request. Slots are available in the order requests are received and limited to 10:00am, 10:30am, 11:00am, 11:30am, 12:00pm, or 12:30pm.

SOUND & LIGHT REQUESTS

To submit your sound and light requests for the upcoming New Voices production, please fill out the forms below.

SOUND REQUEST GUIDELINES

  1. Enter your requests in chronological order of the play you are directing.
  2. Preshow Intro/Post show Outro music is OPTIONAL.
    The intro will be played during the blackout before your play, and then fade out as lights come up. The outro will begin as the lights fade out at the end of your play, and stop at the start of the scene change going into the next show. These cannot exceed 15 seconds.
  3. Providing a YouTube link and start/end time is OPTIONAL, but highly recommended if you have a very specific sound in mind.
  4. If you have the same sound occurring multiple times within your play, please add as a separate cue entry for each time it occurs.
  5. Be specific, thorough, and accurate. Take your time, and fill out each section accurately so that all sound cues are accounted for.
  6. You are not expected to provide or purchase your own sound files. DO NOT PURCHASE SOUNDS. If you already own a sound that you would like used, please email your sound file to claire.bolen@gmail.com.
  7. The cap is a maximum of 15 internal sound cues. If you believe there is no way to scale back your sound cues to 15 or less, you will need to email newvoicesplaywrights@gmail.com and present your reasoning for approval.
  8. If you believe you’ve made a mistake in your submission, email newvoicesplaywrights@gmail.com to notify us, and then resubmit via the form.

LIGHT REQUEST GUIDELINES

  1. Enter your requests in chronological order of the play you are directing.
  2. Be specific, thorough, and accurate. Take the time to fill out correctly so that all light cues are accounted for.
  3. Requests are designed to help give the lighting designer an idea of what you want. You will be limited to the lighting layout that is setup for the theater’s main production and may not be able to get the exact lighting you want. Keep it simple.
  4. The cap is a maximum of 10 internal light cues (excluding lights up at the start and blackout at the end of your play). If you believe there is no way to scale back your light cues to 10 or less, you will need to email newvoicesplaywrights@gmail.com and present your reasoning for approval.
  5. If you believe you’ve made a mistake in your submission, email newvoicesplaywrights@gmail.com to notify us, and then resubmit via the form.