Production Roles
The Ripon Area Community Theatre is accepting submissions for directors interested in proposing a production for the 2026-27 season. Submissions need to be received by October 1st to be considered by the RACT board for the next theatre season.
Our Main Stage season includes:
A spring production - either a play or a musical with a small cast.
A summer production - typically a musical with a larger cast open to adults and youth.
We also often have Second Stage productions during the fall or winter months. These are smaller, less conventional productions; such as a Radio Play or a Murder Mystery Dinner. These shows are done in smaller venues, with opportunities to explore alternative formats.
The Technical Director works with our stage directors in the planning and construction of any sets, programming of lights and sound coordination. Lights and Sound may often be managed by additional crew members who over see the programming and operation of those technical aspects of the show, but the Technical Director would be the primary supervisor to provide direction and coordination of those roles.
The stage director for any Ripon Area Community Theatre (RACT) productions provides the creative direction of the production. Any prospective director will be responsible for putting together a production proposal the play or musical they would like to pitch as a show they will direct as part of an RACT season. This proposal will be vetted by the production committee and, if deemed viable by the production committee, will be recommended to the RACT board for consideration and approval in order for a production to move forward.
The proposal would include a synopsis of the show and its themes, casting, broad rehearsal schedule and cost for licensing a general production budget
Responsibilities
For this production role, the Vocal Director would coordinate with the stage director and oversee the vocal direction of our musical production. The Vocal director will sit in on auditions with the stage director and assess the vocal abilities of those who are auditioning; and in coordination with the Stage Director, help cast the production with the actors that are most suitable for each role. The Producer on the production will also sit in on auditions and round out the adjudicators in the casting process.
The Vocal Director will be responsible for the instruction of vocal performances, working with the cast members on their songs; and will proactively set, communicate and coordinate a vocal rehearsal schedule, meeting with cast in groups and individually based on the needs as evaluated by the vocal director.
The primary vocal rehearsal schedule would predominantly take place over the first 2-3 weeks of the production, before production would begin sequing to choreography and blocking. The vocal director has the discretion to continue working with actors to prepare their vocal performances, working with the Stage Director to coordinate scheduling vocal rehearsals in conjunction with the rest of rehearsals.
The Vocal Director may attend subsequent stage rehearsals at their discretion; and fine-tune or help actors brush-up on their music as needed, particularly as production gets closer to the performances.
The Costumer is responsible for identifying the costume needs for the current RACT production; coordinating between the stage director and actor to procure the necessary costumes for each role. Some costume pieces may come from an actor’s own personal wardrobe, while other items may need to be borrowed or purchased. Beyond this the Costume Coordinator will round out the costumes by borrowing or renting costumes from area theatres or companies, with access to some existing costumes and a small budget to purchase pre-made costumes and clothes.
The Costume Coordinator will largely work independently, coordinating any purchases with the stage director and producer, while also working within a budget.