At a glance
Individual research, presented in pairs · launched on Thread 3, Day 20 · interviews performed on Thread 4, Day 4 · about three minutes each
What you are making
A performance you watch is the visible tenth of an iceberg. For this task you will research one of the roles that make the other nine tenths happen:
- director
- stage manager
- set or costume designer
- lighting or sound operator
- front-of-house manager
Then, instead of a report, you present what you learned as a Hot Seating-style interview: you sit in role as that professional, and a partner questions you — about your responsibilities, your working day, the skills your job demands, and what goes wrong when you are not good at it. You are building a character from research, which is Role and Character work as much as it is career work — and thin research shows the moment a question goes off script.
How to work
- Choose a role you genuinely wonder about. You will answer questions in it for three minutes, and curiosity is hard to fake.
- Research the real work: responsibilities, vocabulary, a typical day. Learn the terms your professional would actually use — entrance cue, technical rehearsal, dress rehearsal, props list — and use them naturally, not as trophies.
- Prepare your partner. Give them enough background to ask real questions, then ask them to write two or three you have not prepared for — the unrehearsed answers are where your understanding shows.
- Rehearse staying in role under pressure. “I don’t know” is allowed; breaking character to say it is not. Your professional has their own way of not knowing things.
Two of you are in the room, and only one of you is being marked
The research is yours and the three minutes in role are yours. I mark those. Your partner’s questions are not marked against you, and yours are not marked against them — but a partner who asks lazily gives you nothing to be good at, which is why step 3 matters.
Success criteria
| Quality | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Accuracy | The responsibilities described match the real job |
| Terminology | Production vocabulary is used correctly and unselfconsciously |
| Role | You answer as the professional throughout, even when surprised |
| Depth | Unprepared questions get thoughtful answers, not blank ones |
| Partnership | Questions are real questions; the interview breathes like conversation |
Finding good sources (click to expand)
Job postings are underrated research: a theatre hiring a stage manager lists exactly what the job requires. Interviews with working professionals — many theatres publish them — give you the voice, not just the facts.
Curriculum connection
B3.3
identify and describe various roles, responsibilities, and competencies of key personnel in theatre work (e.g., director, actor, stage manager, set/costume designer, front-of-house administrator, executive producer)
Link to original
C3.2
identify and apply the skills and attitudes needed to perform various tasks and responsibilities in producing drama works (e.g., demonstrate respect for others and use focused listening, negotiating, consensus-building, and collaborative skills in group work)
Link to original
C3.3
demonstrate an understanding of theatre and audience etiquette, in both classroom and formal performance contexts (e.g., listen attentively during school performances and assemblies)
Link to original
C1.3
demonstrate an understanding of production roles, practices, and terminology when planning and presenting drama works (e.g., technical rehearsal, dress rehearsal, props list, entrance cue, speech cue)
Link to original