An overview from start to finish

‘I don’t like the term creative producing,’ says Julius Green, ‘be-cause all producers are creative by definition: they create the piece of theatre from the ground up. The producer puts together the te-am of directors, designers and actors, books the theatre, issues the contracts, raises the finance and builds the budget. ’ No two jobs are the same,’ says Roxanne Peak-Payne. ‘Every time I start a new job as a producer, I ask them what exactly it is that they expect be-cause it’s always different. In very loose terms, it’s an overview of the whole production, from start to finish, across all areas.’

LOOKING AFTER THE MONEY

‘In the subsidized sector, the producer budgets for a deficit, ho-ping to attract funding, while in the commercial sector you budget for a profit, hoping to attract investment,’ argues Julius Green. ‘Don’t be scared of money. Money is the fuel that we need to make it all work.’ Never tell anyone what the full budget is,’ advises Ro-xanne. ‘If I am doing something for myself, I always build in a con-tingency – of time and money – that noone else knows about. However strict you are, something completely unpredictable always pops up.’

BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER

‘The ability to get on with people is hugely important,’ says Mark Cartwright. ‘Your job, as a producer is to be sure that you have achieved the best possible result, for all the creative team and the audience. ’You’re a very unifying figure,’ says Roxanne. ‘You have to make sure that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet. The director is obviously central to the show itself, but as a produ-cer you’re responsible for people’s journey to the show, whether they’re funders or audiences or cast.’

PICKING THE RIGHT PROJECT

‘You get shows through a mixture of routes,’ says Mark. ‘A lot of brilliant ideas come through directors, but sometimes it’s some-thing the producer has read or commissioned. Sometimes it comes from an agent or just a friend.’ Most people are scared of the admi-nistrative and financial elements, but that’s actually the easy bit,’ says Julius. ‘The difficult bit is creating a piece of art. There is so much work out there and so many people wanting you to put their work on. You should only produce something that you have a real passion for and that you would personally want to buy a ticket for and go and see.’

PROBLEM SOLVING

‘If there are any problems then I suppose it is the producer’s re-sponsibility to solve them,’ says Mark. ‘I suspect I’ve always been the last person working on every show that I’ve done, right up to sorting out the wages and reconciling the budget. ‘I suspect I’ve always been the last person working on every show that I’ve done, right up to sorting out the wages and reconciling the budget.’ ‘When it boils down, if there is going to be a bad guy,’ warns Ro-xanne, ‘it will probably be the producer. You will sometimes have to make hard decisions that the director might not like.’

TOP TIPS FOR THEATRE PRODUCERS:

1) Don’t let the relationship with the director become too casual or

unprofessional.

2) Go and watch rehearsals on agreed days; don’t just drop in ran-

domly.

3) If you have any hidden talents – from carpentry to speaking

French – use them at some point in your career.

http://www.ideastap.com/

Nell Frizzell

1) Translate the words and expressions from the text

Expressions	Translation
1) creative producing
2) freelance producer
3) to issue the contract
4) to raise the funds
5) to say in very loose terms
6) to attract funding
7) to attract investment
8) full budget
9) to get on with people
10) a unifying figure
11) to sing from the same hymn sheet
12) to create a piece of art
13) producer’s responsibi- lity
14) to solve a problem
15) to make hard decision
16) casual or unprofessio- nal relationship
17) to watch rehearsal on agreed days