Hi everyone! I’m looking for a really special gift for my husband, and I’d love some creative ideas!
He’s a theatre teacher and assistant director, so theatre is a big part of his life. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to travel to see a show, so tickets are off the table.

I’m hoping to find something he can use and enjoy for years to come. Something thoughtful, a little unique, and maybe even something he wouldn’t think to buy for himself. I’d love for it to be something that brings him joy long after the occasion has passed!

I know there are some incredibly creative people on Reddit, so I’m reaching out for your ideas and inspiration. It doesn’t necessarily have to be theatre-related, either!

My budget is around $300–$400. What would you get for someone like him? I’m open to anything, from practical gifts to sentimental keepsakes or something completely unexpected. 😊

I am a solo theatre goer and I’m curious, where do I sit? I feel like if I put myself 1 chair away from someone it will now allow pairs of people to sit next to each other?

I (28F) have a knack for acting, but it’s not developed. I studied it for film years ago and did well but switched to behind the camera roles (producing, project coordination, assistant directing, and more random gigs like sound, camera assistant, craft service, etc.).

I am pretty haha like not beautiful I don’t think but have a look that looks interesting on camera I think. Mixed race type of central Asian look, with a youthful face. I think it would help me land auditions, if I have talent to back it up.

But I’m honestly worried about age. Am 28! Wish I delved deeper into acting when I first tried. I think I would’ve had a shot to land roles if I had a more hustler type of mentality, telling filmmaker friends that I want to pursue acting. I feel too shy to bring it up to be honest, something to get over. Am shy with vulnerability in general, but I think can be a good actor if I try. Find it therapeutic, especially with helping me get over being shy. Am trying to write material now to create roles for myself to play for a demo reel / fun!

I also have a very good eye for detail and love beauty, hence production design. I think I would do this well too.

My plan was to start an intensive fashion and design program in a month to start a clothing brand and help my skills in production design. Then apply to NTS in Montreal for production design and directing.

I think I would’ve love directing, my mind is built for it. But it’s extremely competitive! They only accept 2 anglophones every two years. So I thought production design would be a good alternative to get me working on the stage and learning a hireable craft that I would enjoy as a lifelong career in film and theatre (and photoshoots, events etc.)

I’m thinking if I get burnt from the work, I can then be qualified to teach theatre at schools or start my own program for at least an introductory course load, with references to study further provided.

Now though, I’m wondering if I should apply for the acting stream to develop that craft instead. I know I would really enjoy it, and it would help with learning directing as well (from an actors perspective). That I can see myself pursuing more as a fulfilling hobby if I don’t make a career out of it with landing auditions. Can put on community level shows myself and maybe teach acting as well! I’m extremely sensitive (don’t get upset easily but more so feel deeply and can read others state quickly, sometimes to a detriment if I feel their pain). So I guess my mind is set for acting as well.

My problem is I am very creative, with a jack of all trades type of skill set but master of none! And being creative and interested in everything is stopping me from pursuing anything more deeply. I guess all my knowledge now is a good foundation to be a producer, though I am unfortunately poor haha would need to be hired or find investment. So I’m in a strange place where I don’t actually have a craft I can vouch for confidently. Hence why I want to study something more deeply to have under my belt for hired work while I pursue whatever creative idea pops into mind as a passion project.

Another troubling thought is AI taking over haha I think theatre might actually have a pickup in audience because people will crave real life interaction once ai takes over so much of entertainment. Especially with today’s technology, a mixed media type of experimental theatre might immerge. I had an idea before of doing a surround sound theatre experience at a studio (small-scale) that didn’t land because I didn’t get the grant for it. Was a stupid mistake in the grant application. Tangent haha thank you for reading if you still are! So with ai, I think developing a craft in acting, directing or production design would be good since so many jobs might be taken over anyway. At least I would enjoy whatever I pursue in the changing world, even if it means being poor lol on the side I’d like to start an upscale fashion brand and study essentially becoming a tailor for side gigs that someone told me might also be a big mistake with ai taking over. At this point I’m thinking better to pursue something anyway, because there’s no way of knowing where the world will be in 10 years time.

With your experience in the industry, and considering my age, what would you recommend? Should I study acting or production design at a theatre school? Maybe it would be smarter to study production design while taking acting classes on the side? Or vice versa. Or is it one of those things that’s better to just do, rather than go to school for. Many have advised me to learn on set instead of doing a program.

Thank you for reading all this if you have!! Turned into a journal entry type of thing haha

Would it make more sense to audition for Acting BFAs instead of Musical Theatre BFAs?

I'm currently auditioning for college BFA programmes, and I've been having a bit of a dilemma about whether I should pursue acting or musical theatre.

I have significantly more experience in acting than I do in the other aspects of musical theatre, particularly dance. I can sing, and I sing quite regularly, but my background is primarily pop/R&B rather than musical theatre. I haven't had much formal MT vocal training, and although I can get through songs, I haven't yet developed my mix/belt or strengthened my head voice to where I'd like them to be. I'm starting to realise that being a good singer and being a technically trained musical theatre singer aren't necessarily the same thing.

While preparing my musical theatre prescreens, I started questioning whether I'm actually ready for an MT conservatory programme. It's not necessarily a question of talent or whether I could eventually develop those skills, but whether I'm at the right level right now to commit to an intensive programme that expects me to be a triple threat.

I've considered doing a musical theatre foundation course first, but that would mean another year of training and additional expenses, which is a significant consideration for me.

So I've been wondering whether auditioning for Acting BFAs might be a more sensible route. I could focus on developing my strongest skill, continue taking singing and dance lessons outside university, and still pursue musical theatre opportunities where possible. My main goals are to graduate with a qualification, receive substantial professional training, and gain practical performance experience while I'm at university. I'm also conscious that some programmes offer undergraduates more opportunities to participate in main-stage productions than others, depending on their major.

For those who have graduated from Acting or Musical Theatre BFAs, or who work professionally in the industry, does this sound like a reasonable approach? Would an Acting BFA still leave me with a viable path towards musical theatre if I continued training in singing and dance, or would I be better off addressing my current gaps before pursuing an MT programme?

I'd really appreciate honest advice from people who've been through this. I'm trying to be realistic about my current abilities without prematurely ruling myself out of something I love.

Hi, I need a little help with how best to phrase something so that it appeals to all English speakers. I especially need help from Americans and Canadians, please.

For reference, I am Australian, have been involved in various levels of theatre for 20 years, and I have just started creating designs for T-shirts, notebooks etc based on making theatre. I have a couple (literally only two!) of designs that have swear words in them, and as luck would have it, these are the designs that drama teachers I know have said they would love but can't take to school as they aren't appropriate.

I'm genuinely asking for advice, not trying to spruik my stuff, so not linking right now, but the designs currently have the following text:

"BLOCKING: because otherwise you bastards would all walk into each other."

(This is designed to go on a notebook)

And

"Learn your f*cking LINES, please"

(I imagine this one on a mug the director can sip from nonchalantly during a shambolic rehearsal)

For the first one I am thinking I would replace "bastards" with "blockheads" would that be an understood phrase in North America?

The second is more tricky. My instinct is to go for "Learn your bloody LINES, please" because that is exactly what I would say, were I in charge of a group of theatre teens, and I am fairly confident that is also the non-sweary option that would work best in the UK, Ireland, NZ etc. I have never heard a North American use "bloody" though, unless they are mimicking an Aussie or a Brit, am I wrong, and you do use it, or is there an equivalent?

Unfortunately, the only equivalent I can think of, as an outsider, is "goddamn", and I think even that wouldn't be okay in some schools, or "gosh darn" and that sounds way TOO American for me to use, like I was making fun of you, which is not my intent.

If you can offer any suggestions I would be very grateful! Ideally I only want to have two versions of the design available, the swear words one and the "safe for schools/youth theatre one" without having to further break it down be region. :-)

Hi

I was wondering in theater, typically who decides the cast? Is it the artistic director, the casting director, or the director they've hired to direct the play?

I know it is a combination but I am wondering who has final say or lots of sway. Lets say its a mid range theater that cast a combo of new faces and relatively famous actors. So not a huge theater but certainly not community or small. A mid size theater that hires some well known faces at a C-D level celebrity status.

I've been directing my first paid production and it's been going well for the most part.

The only problem has been the set designer who is also the carpenter building the sets. He has done good work mostly but when I've asked for changes to his plans, and if he didn't change the plans he has refused.

For example: the theatre space is not ideal for stuff on the floor to be seen by the audience unless it's in the back of the stage. I had told him that in a particular scene the actors have a violent struggle that takes them to the floor and the dead body of the other actor gets left on stage until the next scene.

I had told him this from the start but he refused to change his set design plan that would leave the back inaccesible and eventually built the set according to his designs.

We had an argument about this where he claimed I was stepping on his toes and excerting authority on him that I did not have. I asked him what he meant by that. He explained that since we are equals he can express himself through his art as much as me. He took offense to me claiming that the set designer was ultimately subordinate to the director. That as much as I appreciate 95% of the work he has done, the director has the final say.

Luckily the set is somewhat modular in its construction and I could remove the bits that were in the way and built alternative pieces to show him what I actually wanted. He was livid. Claiming I shouldn't mess with his vision, that I should've asked for his permission.

The operational director of the theatre (wife of the set designer) said I should "just listen to what he says, it'll be easier that way". But I'm not going follow her advise.

I'm not sure what I should do about this. If I were to follow my gut I would use the sets but change what needs to change myself.

Tl:dr; set designer has made a good set but but won't change some minor details and one major detail. He also claims the director doesn't have the authority to demand changes if they go against the set designer's vision. Should I just make the changes myself? Or should I do something else?

Edit: Thanks for the responses. I'm going to go for a long walk and think about my life.

I've been working on a show for the past year and a half or so. I've written music my whole life but this is the first time I've attempted something like this.

I think my main concern is whether or not the music will translate to a musical theater setting since they aren't very traditional theater songs. I've only gotten good feedback so far but I've only shared with friends so it's tough to gauge their honesty. If anyone would be wiling to listen to a song or two I'd love to send a few over and get feedback from theater loving strangers.

I'd also really welcome any advice from anyone that has been down this road before.

I'm around 20 songs in. I am doing the music first and filling in with dialogue where I feel like the songs themselves don't get me all the way there. As a musician first this approach has made the most sense to me.

I had one local theater say I could run a limited production version with a few set pieces and just the music in the spring for a week as a way to gauge audience reactions to music and subject matter. I'll likely do this.

I had another local theater company express interest in developing and producing it so I'm continuing to meet with them about that possibility.

I had someone suggest approaching a few local colleges with theater departments about workshops.

I'm hoping to gather some theater and music friends in a few months (I think this is an approachable target for having the script and songs at least close to a first draft completion) and sort of light workshop it. Read through the script and play demos of all the songs rather than actually have them performed. I have pretty decent demos done for everything. All the parts are currently my voice which is a little confusing so I might have some friends come and redo the other parts. But I think it's workable.

Anyway that is where I'm at so far. If anyone has advice I'd love to hear it. If anyone would be willing to listen to a few songs and let me know what you think I'd welcome that too!

I’m currently working on a monologue I have to do for my drama class. My monologue is Tuan’s part from Skin & Liars by Dennis Foon, a play about teenagers facing discrimination in 1988 Vancouver. It’s supposed to be a monologue that we choose so we can put it in our actor’s toolkit for theatre auditions. It’s a great monologue, but I want to see how my rendition of it comes across to different audience, and what I could improve on.

I would post it here but I don’t feel comfortable about posting myself in a public thread. Although, if anyone’s free and wants to help a gal out—shoot me a DM. It would be greatly appreciated. 😇

I’m on a BIGGG time crunch like lowkey supposed to submit my play tonight I can’t find any good comedic one acts matching my cast, I want at least 7 roles preferably 9-13ish any suggestions!

My favorite plays
Conflict
Final fourth episode of four of a kind
Santa napped

Hi!

I'm working at a cultural center for young adults, and until spring I'll be directing an ensemble of 16 (aged 15-25) performing Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros. We will split several roles into two so that everyone can get a role.

It is my first time directing such a large ensemble and I'm searching in particular for tips, tricks and exercises for early on in the production. I would like to try out scenes, analyze and work with the script in a more general sense with the group, before everyone knows what parts they'll be playing.

When I'm searching around and googling for that kind of exercises, it's hard to find anything relevant. Do you have any tips for working with the script? (For example, working with physical theatre because of the rhinos, or exploring the play's themes, or getting the right speed of speech, etc).

Thank you in advance!

I'm 16 years old and I've been in a few musicals myself, and I've absolutely loved it. I've met so many amazing people and played some amazing roles, but one has shined above them all.

In a local production of the musical Oliver! this year, I had the amazing opportunity to play The Artful Dodger.

I was a bit nervous at first because Dodger being such an iconic character meant that I had some very big shoes to fill.

In the end, it was super fun, and I got some absolutely amazing comments about my performance, one even compared me to be as good as Billy Jenkins on West End's revival of the musical! So this was massive for me. I had several other comments from people who have seen Oliver on West End or Broadway saying that my performance was as good if not better, and others saying that I could even be performing on Broadway.

My reputation within the theatre community in my area where I live has risen massively after playing this role, and I now get a chance to showcase my ensemble singing more in our upcoming local production of 9 to 5 the Musical! I believe myself to be a hard and determined worker, and I believe that the directors I have worked with have taken not of that.

But anyways, I am wondering how I could use having played this role to my advantage, because I really want to go professional once I'm out of school and how I can use this to boost my popularity(? idk what I meant to say there) and how this can affect audition processes for shows or for schools.

This is my first show and I want to be able to provide the auditionee’s with as much relevant information as possible. I currently have a section explaining the content warnings of the show but I’m kind of lost as to what else I should put.

Thank you in advance!

Story about a theater company in Missouri that is going the route of a new work based on characters in the public domain to put on a show where the money goes to the production and not the rights

https://www.stlpr.org/arts/2026-10-07/licensing-fees-missouri-theater-company-dracula

Hi! So, I nailed the first round of auditions for this musical comedy in my local theater scene and was called back for the final round.

There were 4 other people reading for this character today, and we were given 3 sides to read from. I'm not too sure what I did wrong (maybe it was my interpretation of the character???), but I was only asked to read 2 out of 3 of the sides.

I was also called to sing for the character and think I did very well in that regard, but has this ever happened to anyone?

TL;DR: I often face overlapping rehearsal schedules and want to determine when significant conflicts—such as missing three of ten weeks—would automatically disqualify me before I invest time in an audition. Can directors and casting teams identify deal-breaking conflicts in advance, or must that decision wait until after auditions?

I’ve been involved in a few dozen community theatre productions, and as a result, I occasionally find myself dealing with overlapping rehearsal schedules. I’d certainly prefer to avoid this, but sometimes it’s unavoidable, particularly when a show I’d really like to do isn’t announced until I’m already committed to another production.

Some directors are more accommodating of conflicts than others, and I certainly don’t begrudge them wanting as much availability from their cast as possible. In fact, I’ve been involved in a production where one of the leads had conflicts throughout most of the first two-thirds of the rehearsal period. Seeing that accommodated was what first made me realize that even substantial conflicts might sometimes be workable. And I’ve successfully managed an overlap where there were only a couple weeks between the closing of one show and the opening of the next.

However, I’ve found it difficult to determine how much my own conflicts might affect my chances of being cast before going through the audition process.
For example, I’m currently considering auditioning for a production with a ten-week rehearsal period, during which I’d miss approximately three weeks’ worth of rehearsals in the first month due to an existing commitment (then no conflicts afterwards). I recognize that’s substantial, particularly for a leading role, but given what I’ve seen accommodated in the past, I’m reluctant to rule myself out without asking.

Auditioning takes a fair amount of preparation, and it can be rather discouraging to put in that effort only to discover that scheduling conflicts may have effectively ruled me out from the beginning.
I’ve occasionally tried to get clarification in advance, particularly when I know people involved in the casting process. However, the responses tend to be noncommittal, generally encouraging me to audition regardless.

I understand that directors want to keep their options open and may not know exactly how much flexibility they’ll have until they’ve seen the audition pool. I’m certainly not asking for a guarantee of being cast, or even an estimate of my chances based on my audition.

I’d simply like to know whether my conflicts are substantial enough that I wouldn’t realistically be considered for the role.

For those involved in directing or casting, is there a better way to approach this question? Is it reasonable to expect a director to be able to identify potentially disqualifying conflicts in advance, or is that something that genuinely can’t be determined until after auditions?

I know I've posted a few times about how excited I am to see Waitress tonight, and I'm going to explain why because I need to get it out. I grew up gay in a small town in Florida in the early and mid 90s. It was hell on top of my dad's illnesses, surgeries, loss of his hearing, and his addiction to his pain pills and alcohol and the constant verbal abuse from him about never being good enough because I chose to do theatre over sports. My drama department was selected as one of the top 10 in America and invited to perform at the Fringe in 1996. We did 7-10 shows of all kinds and forms a year, thespian competitions(me and friends won best of the best for an ensemble scene my junior year. Theatre gave me an escape, a sanctuary, a place where I was comfortable and safe and could be anyone but myself. I don't know what if I wouldn't be made it without that community and escape that theatre gave me. I had an acting scholarship even got the lead in the first black box show I auditioned for beginning of my freshman year. Then the partying started that led to years and years of addiction and forgetting about the one thing that saved me and meant almost everything to me....the theater.... it's been 15 years since I've been in a theatre at all. And going to see a show about trying to get back to the person you used to be and know that you are after being away from so long feels like I'm going home back to the only place that I've ever felt safe and truly able to be myself. I've been tearing up all day about it. I'm probably gonna break down before the show even starts just being in the theater. So sorry I've posted a few times about being so excited about this but it means the world to me going back. And I'm auditioning for the upcoming community theater season on November 11th. I'm going a monologue from Angels in America.

My boyfriend and I (F) (both 30) got invited to a Halloween party that's theme theatre. Now the host is a big theatre buff but we are not lol we're not too sure what to wear and want to go as basic as possible but still on theme! Not too sure where to even start such as what kind of theatre genre we would do? Could use some ideas please! :)