Callboard

www.tanys.org Callboard - Volume XVII • Issue 2 • Fall 2020 Page 8 Michael McDermott - So You Want to be a Producer? Saturday, November 21 at 2PM Producing a community theater production can be a rewarding – or overwhelming – experience. We’ll focus on tips and tricks to make helming the business aspects of the production rewarding for you, and successful for the organization. We will discuss: • Defining the roles and responsibilities for a production • Planning tools and timeline • When to Beg, Borrow and Build • When do you need to be the Legal Eagle • Juggling the QSB (Quality/Schedule/Budget) for a successful mix This will be a highly interactive workshop with tools provided in a handbook. Michael McDermott - Michael McDermott is a successful actor, designer, producer and director in the thriving theater community based around Albany, NY. He has used his experience in these multiple roles to help guide him as a producer in over 2 dozen productions, and has won several TANYS awards in the past few years. A former President at Albany Civic Theater and Treasurer at SpotLight Players, and the current Finance Director for Will Kempe’s Players, Michael brings the knowledge of organizational finance as it relates to each individual production's budget. Steve Willis - Directing New Plays: The Challenges and the Rewards Saturday, November 21 at 10:45AM The collaborative process of directing a new play can be exciting, but also challenging. Everyone involved – actors, designers, and often the playwright – is part of the creation of something new and as the director, you are guiding the process. In this workshop, Steve will help directors journey through bringing a new play to life. He will also share some of the pitfalls that can happen – and have happened to him – and offer insight as someone who has directed new plays and been on the other side of the process as a playwright. Steve Willis - Steve Willis received his MFA in Acting/Directing from UNC-Greensboro and his BA in English/Drama from Averett University. An actor, director, and playwright, he has taught theatre classes at several colleges and universities. His plays have won numerous awards and have been performed in New York City and various cities throughout the U.S., as well as internationally. Steve has adjudicated numerous theatre festivals, and he is delighted to be part of TANYS Festival again. Currently, he serves as Special Assistant to the President at Randolph College in central Virginia. Steve Willis - Adapting Short Stories and Novels for the Stage: A Step by Step Process Saturday, November 21 at 2PM Playwrights have been adapting short stories and novels for the stage for many, many years. Sometimes this results in great success, but other times, the process fails miserably. What are specific things that can help you make your adaptation successful? What are the things you should absolutely avoid? Steve will answer these questions as well as discuss specific kinds of stories that often translate well from page to stage. If you have a work in mind that you’d like to adapt, please feel free to bring questions about it to the workshop. Workshop Descriptions