Producing Technical Director
The Technical Director (TD) is responsible for safely and effectively producing and installing all the scenery for a production. The TD works closely with all other departments to make sure the scenery fulfills the artistic vision, is built in budget, on time, and safely, and that the scenery works well with all other departments.
In ideal situations, where the theatre is fully staffed, the TD:
answers to the Scenic Designer when executing the design vision
works on the scenery in conjunction with the Scenic Charge and Props Master
collaborates with the Master Electrician, Sound Engineer, and Video Engineer on plans and scheduling
oversees the Master Carpenter, ATD, and build crew
(For a visual representation of a typical org chart for a non-profit, producing theatre, click here)
In my case, at MIT Theater Arts, we lacked a full production crew so I served as not only the TD, but also as the ATD, the Master Carp, the Scenic Charge, the Props Master, sometimes as the Production Manager, as well as teaching and supervising the crew that was all comprised of students new to theatre. Never a dull moment!
When the theatre is fully staffed, the technical director’s duties include, but are not limited to:
budgeting for all scenery
producing technical drawings as needed
purchasing all materials for the scenery
attending production meetings and other meetings as needed
scheduling the build and (in conjunction with the scenic charge artist) the painting of the scenery
supervising the building of, and the ultimately the responsibility for the building of the scenery
installing of the scenery
organizing the operation of the scenery during rehearsal and performance
dismantling and/or storing all of the scenery at the end of the run of the production
in conjunction with the master carpenter, the supervising, scheduling and assigning of tasks for the carpentry build/run crew
tracking and accounting of the budget for the scenery and paint for the show
work closely with the scene designer and scenic charge artist to fully and successfully complete the scenery as designed for the production
The TD is involved and supervises their crew during all stages of a production life cycle, including:
design and production meetings
pre-build/planning
build
load-in
technical/dress/preview rehearsals
run of show
strike/load out/storage/clean up
post show retrospectives