Production teams

The production team is the core group of people who work in advance of arriving at the theatre to design and construct a show - typically the named people in the show programme. Usually a production team will start off with a small number of roles (e.g. set designer, technical director) and add people the show design evolves. Being part of a production team is a longer time commitment and gives you real influence over how a show looks and operates. It can sound daunting - but don't panic, help is at hand if you're new to all of this. The club gets involved in a range of show of varying scale and complexity from small single-day setup one performance events to multi-week musicals and there are opportunities for all.

How to join a production team

Opportunities to work on production teams are advertised on our mailing list and sometimes via our "Stitch up Saturday" recruitment event. Typically the adverts are sent by the producing company and Penguins contact them directly. Producing companies (not the Penguin club) can then appoint people to the production team. Quite often club members already on production teams will also advertise for additional technical help as it become clear what a show needs.

It's good to ask questions about the show and what is required at this point. If you're not sure whether you want to take on a production team role it's worth considering whether you can shadow someone else fulfilling a similar roles and gain experience that way. Also some smaller roles lead to larger ones - for example it's not uncommon for aspiring lighting designers to start out working as production electricians.

Being part of a production team can involve attending a number of production meetings and rehearsals, as well as devoting some of your own time to detailed planning. Remember that in a production team role other people will expect you to be generally knowledgeable about your area of responsibility.

How to find a production team

If you find yourself needing to recruit extra people to a production team start by looking at our guidance on the Producing Companies part of this website. Getting a good advert out to club members is a good start, as is making sure your production company is aware of any forthcoming Stitch up Saturday event. It helps to make sure the show information is up-to-date both on the website and on requests to the mailing list.

Talking to people at other shows you help with and turning up to socials are both good ways to find additional help.

See the Production Week page for help recruiting get-in, get-out and running crew.

Where to get help

Ask! Penguin members are a supportive bunch of people and should be happy to help. There is more information here. Never let a problem get to crisis point before seeking help - it's always better to get more brains on a problem earlier in the schedule. If you can't find help try asking the club committee.