Task 4 Evaluation Essay

Task 4 Evaluation essay:

We as a theatre company have had many production meetings whilst we have been working on great expectations. A production meeting is a meeting in which you talk about what is going to happen in the show and distribute roles between the cast and crew. We all had interviews to see which role suited us the most, and which role we could do the best in. We had to fill out a sheet of questions (attached) which asked us about our roles and what we thought of different roles. I went for the Marketing director along with some others. I had researched the part well. The marketing manager’s role is to promote and sell tickets. To do so they manage all aspects of the theatres publicity and advertising material which includes fliers, posters, press adverts, brochures, newsletters and website pages. They oversee their content, design and production and arrange distribution of all printed material. Sometimes in smaller theatres, this role includes press and public relations. I filled out the sheets and was interested in the role hugely. I could work well with others in the role and seeing as I did work experience in a PR company and my option in school Media, I thought I would suit the role and handle it well. I was researching what I could do to promote the show; starting a website, handing out fliers, fundraising etc. I knew that the role would be carried out with efficiency, commitment and independence

Due to a swap of teachers I was then put as Assistant Stage Manager in which I specialised in props also working with the props group, with a couple of others in my class. I again researched Props in theatre: A prop is an object used on stage by actors. Small props can be referred to as hand props. Whether it's a small hand-held prop or a piece of furniture, the National Theatre's Props Department is responsible for sourcing or producing props for all of the National's productions. This collection contains videos that demonstrate the different techniques that go into making all sorts of theatrical props, as well as giving an insight into how the props department of the National Theatre operates.

I enjoyed working in props and the first thing we did was, go through the script and find all of the props in act 1&2. I think props had a big part to play in the production but not particularly in ours. We sorted through the props as if any production and these are the notes i took down for props in the production meetings.

PROPS:

-By next week, we will have done more background research into the time era of the play and what would have been seen in those times. It would give us a good use for what to get for props and which props would suit each character well.

- To go to the props department and see what they can provide and what we don't need to supply ourselves.

- To set deadlines to which pages we can go through and pick out props

I think overall I worked well in a team and researched a lot about props and their meaning in theatre.

I am going to evaluate the past 6 weeks in our production meetings, using the minutes I have taken and my own opinions on how all of the roles worked out in the production. My production role throughout the last vital couple of weeks was ASM specialising in props. I think I worked well in a team and researched and put extra, outside meetings, work into my role. I think I could have tried to incorporate the other roles with props and talked to other people in the cast and crew to get a better idea of some things. Another weakness was time, because I had originally researched and was interviewed for marketing so it took me a week or so to get into props and understand them, on the other hand a strength to this was that I had to research props and ASM quickly, so I learnt a lot about them. In Great Expectations, I played Young Estella, in act 1, meaning i was in scenes for the whole scenes, so I wasn't backstage a lot. This meant I couldn't control or handle the props side of things, which is why; we did so much pre- production work. Because we researched so much , and wrote all of our notes down we could communicate with others to what they wanted as props and how they could provide that themselves or somebody else in the cast. This meant on the day, people had their own props under control so we didn't have to worry about it all whilst we were in stage. The teachers were very supportive in all of the roles, and me and Ben also worked with Kim for some weeks as she was in costume to try and intertwine the props and costume.

My production role towards in the last weeks of the performance was ASM, working specifically in props with Ben and Kim. We had researched Props in theatre over time, and had a good idea of what we had to do in ‘pre-production’. A property, commonly shortened to prop (plural: props), is an object used on stage or on screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct from the actors, scenery, costumes and electrical equipment. Consumable food items appearing in the production are also considered properties.  We firstly went through all of the script, writing down props including food, objects and even costume, depending on what costume it was.

Props

These are all props that could be used in Great Expectations:

1) Coat stands for all of the props.
2)Feast for the Christmas scene.
3) Locket for Young Estella
4) Shackles for Magwitch

Production meeting

Today, our group had our first production meeting. Me, Ben and Kimberley all worked in a group, working on props, looking through the script and noting down props and also coming up with ideas, not only how to make the props simplistic but also how to coincide with act 2. We filled out a sheet, confirming what we have done and how well we have done it. throughout our production meeting, we listened to every groups ideas about their own timelines, and production ideas. The meeting only lasted about half an hour but it was good to finally hear everybody's ideas, and how we can all work together to make it work. The only negative about the production meeting was that people were working on ideas as if we had a budget, so we all knew that most of the ideas were unrealistic.

Personal Production Role Proposals and Interveiw

1. Why do you want to do this production role?

I am very interested in Marketing and Believe that I am confident to perform in this role as well as being in the cast. I have always had an interest in Marketing and Fundraising and i think that i would input a lot of ideas and contributions.

2. What experience do you have in this area?

-Work experience in a PR Company ( On Broadcast )
- Media Option at Brit School
- Involved in Marketing team for Macbeth in the Shakespeare schools company in 2012.

3. What do you think are the necessary planning & preparation requirements of this role?

-Fundraising and contributing ideas
- Targeting audiences for ticket sales
- Producing Merchandise and products for the show

4. What Material/Equipment would you need to carry out this role effectively?

- A small budget for fundraising and a space
- Access to printers for leaflets
- Time to sell tickets and target people/audiences

5. What skills are you interested in developing through this work?

- Being able to come up with good fundraising ideas
- Developing skills in ticket sales

6. What do you think are the chief responsibilities of this role to ensure a good end product?

-To come up with creative ideas to sell tickets
- To work as a team to target audiences

7. How would you communicate with others in the team to achieve task objectives?

- In lessons
- In our own free time
-Working together closely and listening to one another's opinions and ideas

8. Describe a situation when you worked in a team. What was your contribution and what did you learn from it?

- Shakespeare Schools Company (Cast and Marketing team)
- Work Experience in a PR Company
- Its Important to listen to other peoples ideas
- Researching as a team on who we would target.

Marketing Research

Marketing Team:

What is the job like?

A theatre's marketing officer helps to look after the theatre's public image in order to promote and sell as many tickets as possible, ensuring there is money for the next show.

As a marketing team member, you are part of the staff group who:

• oversee the design and printing of brochures, leaflets and posters 
• maintain and update the theatre's website
• come up with ways to attract audiences – these might be special offers on tickets, or an exciting poster campaign
• deal with the press, making sure they have the opportunity to review the show
• monitor what the press are saying about the show in their reviews, and what the audience think of their theatergoing experience 

A good marketing officer is able to identify who the show's target audience is. Sometimes this will take some research. They will then work to make sure this target audience is aware of the play and attracted to it, even before the tickets go on sale.

A degree in marketing can help, but try and gain some experience working in a ticket office.

Once you know who you are trying to tell about what, then the task is to spread the word by every means available: advertising, posters, mail shots, the internet, publicity, promotions and press.

The marketing director will usually work with the play’s director, the design department, and the cast to make sure the marketing materials match the show and represent it properly.

How do I get into theatre marketing? 

There are plenty of ways to become a marketing officer. Many people start off by working in ticket sales, and move into marketing from there.

Others might start off as a trainee marketing assistant and work their way up.

There are also courses in marketing and management which may help you to build your skills. At school, subjects such as English, IT, business studies and media studies will help you to develop some of the skills you need.

A degree or diploma in marketing can also help, but equally you could try to gain some experience of working in a ticket office, and then add in some short courses. Many English and media graduates work in marketing, but many people who did not study these subjects have also worked their way into the area.

Training in these skills will help round out your CV:

• copywriting
• the basics of graphic design
• IT: particularly managing blogs and websites and promoting them online

Marketing manager:

The marketing manager’s role is to promote and sell tickets. To do so, they manage all aspects of the theatre’s publicity and advertising material which includes, fliers, posters, press adverts, brochures, newsletters and websites. They oversee their content, design and production and arrange distribution of all printed material. Sometimes, in smaller theatres, this role includes press and public relations.

The job of the Marketing Department is to publicise and promote all aspects of the Royal Exchange Theatre - the shows and events, the building and opportunities within, news & information regarding the Royal Exchange, initiatives and opportunities relating to all the various departments and staff, and generally raising the profile of everything we do. 

There are 7 members of staff working in the Marketing Department and they all have different jobs to do, from Planning, Promoting, Design, Print, Digital and Press.

They produce brochure, programmes, posters, letters and leaflets to publicise and advertise a production – all of these are called print.

Marketing also advertise shows via online, through e-mail, social networks, third party online sites, video trailers and of course this website.