Seeking Assistant Director, Assistant Stage Manager, and Props Designer for Wonderlust’s new play about Caregivers

About us

Wonderlust Productions is a ten-year-old professional performing arts ensemble that writes and produces epic new plays based on stories from local communities. Past productions include the Incarceration Play Project performed at Mixed Blood in 2022, the Capitol Play Project, performed at the Minnesota State Capitol January 2017, the Adoption Play Project, staged at Mixed Blood Theater in December 2016, and the Veterans Play Project, which took place at Fort Snelling November 2013.

About the Caregiver Play Project

We have spent the last year and a half gathering stories from caregivers of all kinds from medical professionals to family care providers, and with a team of 7 writers, we have written a new fictional play based on these stories, to be performed by a cast mixing professional actors and members of the caregiver community together, at several different venues over four weekends.

About these positions

We are seeing individuals interested in hands-on learning about large-scale, professional, community-engaged theater through an opportunity to serve as Assistant Director, Assistant Stage Manager, or Props Designer for the production, supporting Co-Directors Leah Cooper and Alan Berks.

Schedule

Rehearsals will be July 29 – October 3, evenings and weekends, about five rehearsals per week, at our studio at 293 Como Ave in St. Paul. Performances will be Friday-Sunday, October 4-27 at several different venues, including a theater and several care settings.

Responsibilities for the Props Designer:

Work with the Co-Directors, Technical and Logistics Director Zeb Hults, and Stage Manager Samantha Fairchild to source actor props and a very minimal, portable set made from benches, blocks, and a bed. Because we are performing in several venues, we will need to be as portable as possible! 

Responsibilities for the Assistant Director:

• Attend as many rehearsals as possible.
• Help coordinate warmups and group ensemble work with the cast, which is a mix of professional performers and caregiver community members.
• When cast members are absent from rehearsals, fill in their positions, and pass on notes, direction and blocking to them.
• Help track script revisions and distribution of them to the cast.
• Provide logistical and administrative support to the directors and the stage manager as needed.
• Possibly help in a backstage crew capacity.

Responsibilities for the Assistant Stage Manager:

• Attend as many rehearsals as possible.
• Support Stage Manager with watching book, taking line notes, setup, cleanup, and keeping production/design notes and charts.
• Help track cast scheduling.
• Help with organizing non-performing community volunteers into roles like backstage crew, box office, ushers, etc.
• Provide logistical and administrative support to the directors and the stage manager as needed.
• Possibly help in a backstage crew capacity.

Qualifications for all positions:

• Passion and skill at dealing with a wide diversity of performers, including professional and amateur, and from a wide range of backgrounds, ethnicities, and experience levels.
• Experience with performing and/or directing and/or stage managing and/or designing for theater, especially new plays.
• Great listening and detail tracking skills.
• Energetic, adaptable, creative, and can-do in a multi-tasking, problem-solving role.
• Patience, empathy, and fortitude.
• Ability to use their own device to access email, web, and Google drive docs
• Ability to lift and carry up to 40 lbs. and help move furniture, see and hear rehearsal activities, and take notes.

We have a strong preference to work with individuals that bring firsthand life experience from community(s) that are sometimes marginalized or misunderstood. All ethnicities, genders, backgrounds inclusive. Diversity makes our work better.

Compensation for each position will be a $1,500 stipend. To apply, please fill out this form by July 23rd, which will ask for a resume and some general information about how you fit the above qualifications. Interviews will be conducted the week of July 29th.