the new proposal system

pw has recently revised its system for proposing shows in the downstairs space in the interest of making the process better and more fair for everyone involved. this is the system we will use for commencement slot and fall's first slot, but this is definitely a work in progress. your feedback will be very important!

in the past, a proposal required assembling a full staff. often it was hard to find someone to fill every position. conversely, it was hard to get experience working on a show if you didn't know the people who were proposing. the new system aims to fix these problems.

in a nutshell, directors will now propose without a staff, a few weeks earlier than normal. after a show has been picked for a slot, there will be an application process for show staff which will be facilitated by the pw board member who is the mentor for that slot. staff will be selected from the application pool by the director and pw board.

new proposal guidelines

here's a detailed timeline. you should think of weeks as beginning on a monday and ending on a sunday.

week 1:

• proposals are due (typically on wednesday)
  • proposals require any imperative staff for that production.
    • for example, if a playwright proposed, a director would be imperative staff; if a musical was proposed, a musical director would be imperative staff.
  • the proposal itself, however, concerns only the project itself. there are a new set of guidelines for the new proposals.
• decision meeting (typically saturday)
  • at the decision meeting, a project will be picked based on the proposal and interviews
• sunday after decision meeting
  • at the end of the week's board meeting, the board will review applications from any staff members which the director knows that he/she wants to work with. (this portion of the meeting will be closed to the public.)
  • the board will also determine with the director any positions that may be required in addition to the basic staff (for example, a puppet designer)
  • the remaining positions will be opened up for submissions from the community. the director's proposal and (if possible) the script will be posted on the pw website so that potential staff members can find out about the show.
    • specific assistant positions will also be opened up should the position already be filled, at the discretion of that staff member.

week 2:

• staff applications will be solicited.
• meetings will take place between the director and staff members so that they can begin to get to know eachother better.
• at the end of the second week, proposals will be accepted for all design positions, production manager and stage manager.
• decisions will be made, with the director, at the end of sunday's pw board meeting. (this portion of the meeting will be closed to the public.)

week 3:

• this week will be a chance for the director to begin the design process, as well as solicit proposals for remaining staff positions (ME, TD, assistant positions)
• decisions will be made, with the director and staff, at the end of sunday's pw board meeting. (this portion of the meeting will be closed to the public.)
• a set design will be presented at this week's board meeting.
• a detailed budget will also be presented at this week's board meeting.

week 4:

• auditions.
• from this point on, the production is fully staffed and the proposal process is completed.