Theater Producer

No matter what they’re about, the best plays — be they comedy, drama, or musical — are so good that they make the audience forget, however briefly, that they’re actually at the theater.

That theater “magic” is the work of countless cast and crewmembers, including Actors, Directors, and Stage Managers, not to mention Lighting Designers, Sound Technicians, Costume Designers, Set Designers, and others. Really, though, the head Magician is neither a performer nor a technical expert; it’s a Producer.

The Theater Producer — or Theatrical Producer — is the person who’s responsible for putting productions together in the first place. Theater Producers don’t write, direct, or perform in plays; they do, however, “create” them.

Typically, that means managing the business side of theater, and hiring others to manage the creative side. As a Theater Producer, your most common responsibilities, for instance, are finding a Playwright and choosing a script; hiring a Director, Actors, and crewmembers; locating investors for the purpose of funding the production; securing rehearsal space; scheduling rehearsal and performance dates; locating and leasing theater space; negotiating with employee unions; managing and monitoring budgets; determining ticket prices; and spearheading efforts to promote and market the show.

It doesn’t matter if you’re producing a Shakespearean tragedy, like “Macbeth,” or a new version of a classic musical, like “Rent” or “South Pacific.” Your goal as a Theater Producer is essentially to “commoditize” performance art. That is, even the most brilliant theatrical productions are useless if nobody sees them. Your job is to make plays profitable so that theaters can afford to produce more of them.