Get ready, prospective directors—it's that time again! It's Lab proposal season!
We are looking for a variety of theatrical entertainments to populate our smaller upstairs theatre spaces starting in January of 2025. This year, we're delighted to offer three ways for directors of all skill levels to engage with our Lab space.
Lab Proposals will be accepted from August 1st through September 15th. Selection for all of these programs will be based on the suitability of the play to our community and the Lab space, season balance, and staff and director availability.
Directing a show can be an enormous undertaking! It requires experience with managing large groups of people, organizing information, synthesizing schedules, communication skills…the list goes on! The Majestic Theatre is committed to finding ways for people of all skill levels to explore every aspect of the theatre arts, so we want to create a paradigm in which newer directors can start to build the skills they need to direct at a larger scale, as well as providing avenues for experienced directors to explore more experimental theatre projects. We also like that offering a spectrum of programs means that we can offer more casual, low-commitment opportunities for actors!
Majestic Theatre Table Read
A Majestic Theatre Table Reads is a one-day event, typically scheduled on a weekday evening or a weekend morning or afternoon. The director of a table read organizes and leads the event with some limited staff support in marketing, outreach, and volunteer recruitment.
If you've never directed before, you haven't directed since high school, or you're looking to debut an unpublished play, this is the best place to start!
Majestic Music Stand Sundays
Majestic Music Stand Sundays are one-day events, scheduled on Sunday afternoons in the Lab as free matinee performances with concessions. These shows are presented closer to the style of traditional Readers’ Theatre performances, with seated actors at music stands and no blocking or tech. Actors audition for roles, and after the director chooses a cast, they hold three rehearsals to guide character development and presentation.
If you have a little bit of experience with directing, have only directed in a digital format, or have completed a successful Table Read, this program may be a good fit for you!
Majestic Readers' Theatre Company
You might be familiar with this program already—our MRTC program has for a few years now been a popular way to stage small-scale shows and more experimental works that wouldn't otherwise fit into our mainstage season. Readers' Theatre is also a wonderful way for directors and actors without the time to commit to a full mainstage process to still have a chance to have their work appear onstage! Additionally, since Readers' Theatre is performed with scripts in hand, it's much more approachable and less stressful without the need to worry about memorization.
Plays with small casts, simple staging, and minimal tech needs are more suitable for the Lab space. The production process culminates in two ticketed performances on one weekend.
If you've successfully directed, assistant directed, or stage managed a fully staged production before, or if you've completed a successful Music Stand Sunday, this program may be a good fit for you!