Show Choice Criteria

1) The show must be available – we all know you would make a wonderful Elphaba but
if the licensing isn’t available then you will have to defy gravity some other time. We
also need to take into account other local productions and their scheduled shows
dates plus national tours.
2) It must be a show that we think is going to make a profit – the ongoing pandemic
and the year long absence from live productions has left all live theatre in a very
tight financial situation. Raised production costs and uncertainty over tickets sales
means that we need to be targeting shows that are going to put bums in seats.
Whilst it is nice to occasionally perform ‘hidden gems’, now is unfortunately not the
time for such shows and we need to be aiming for box office smashes. Please also
consider the potential production costs of show choices, extravagant sets and
costumes rentals eat into potential income.
3) It must be castable for the DOS company – this includes any key roles that are
defined by their race or ethnicity that we could not feasibly cast from our current
pool of members. Whilst we can outsource in rare circumstances, this is not
something we should be aiming to do. We also need to consider company size for
the show, we have a large pool of active members and we aim to cast large company
shows to include as many members as possible and also to produce the vocal and
visual spectacles that DOS is known for.
4) We must be able to costume and tech the show – whether this by rental of set and
costumes or it is financially viable to self-source costumes or for our costume team
to make costumes. If a show has very specific set pieces or costume pieces, then we
need to have access to professional qualities pieces. We couldn’t take on a show that
requires a magical unicorn that flies across the audience, unless there is a company
that specializes renting these at a reasonable cost.
5) It needs to be a show that would work on the Hippodrome stage – we are very
lucky to have such a good relationship with a professional theatre and our audiences
come time and time again to see us perform on such a big stage. We need a
production that will not fall flat on such a large stage, minimalistic and black box
productions have their value but we need to ask ourselves whether we can picture
this show bringing 1000 people a night to their feet.
6) It must be something that the membership wants to do – remember show choice IS
NOT A POPULARITY CONTEST, all the points above are of equal importance.
However, we want a show that is going to bring in members to audition for it and
also create an engaging and enjoyable rehearsal process.