PLAY SELECTION COMMITTEE
Main Stage, Musical, Cabaret Players and Amphitheater
The Main Stage Play Selection Committee reads, discusses, and ultimately selects the plays that the Drama Club presents on the main stage each season (subject to approval by the Drama Club Board).
Every other year, the Drama Club presents a full-scale Musical which is a different Committee headed by a separate Chairperson. A small Musical is selected during the off years a full-scale production is not presented to our patrons. (Also note there is a separate play selection committee for Cabaret Players.)
The Main Stage and Musical Play Selection Committees are composed of six members and the Chairperson. The Chairperson is appointed by the President of the Drama Club. Club members are selected by the Chairperson as necessary from the "interest list" provided by the Drama Club. There is no limit on the term of the Committee members, but it is generally agreed that two to three years is long enough. It is good to keep the Committee fresh and alive with new members and new ideas.
The Committee meets four or five times in the fall. Meetings may be held monthly, bi-monthly or weekly, as long as the selection process is completed and the selected plays are submitted to the Drama Club Board by the first week in December.
It may also be appropriate for the Committee to have an additional meeting if the Committee members feel it is necessary to do a brief "read through" of any of the plays on the Consideration List. The Committee might want to invite certain members of the Drama Club to perform the "read through". Sometimes it helps the Committee to get a better idea of the play to hear the dialogue read out loud.
Each member of the Committee is asked to submit one play for consideration and the Chairperson submits the remainder of the list (the "Consideration List"). The Committee discuss three or four plays from the Consideration List at each meeting, and at the final meeting the list is narrowed down to the final three choices (with a first alternate) by vote of the members. The final choice of three plays and the alternate is presented to the Board for its final approval. Before submitting the final three plays and alternate to the Drama Club Board, the Chairperson must prepare a brief synopsis of each selected play and deliver the synopses to the Drama Club Board together with the final list of the plays.
When choosing plays for consideration by the Committee, the members look for plays that meet the Drama Club’s criteria, which is plays that we think would be fun for our audiences, fun and engaging for our actors and technical team, that are appropriate for our members to perform, and that haven't previously been performed on the main stage.
Approximately two months before the first Committee meeting, the Chairperson should get in touch with each of the Committee members to reach a consensus on the dates and times of the meetings. Next the Chairperson obtains or orders the scripts for the plays on the Consideration List, makes a copy of each of the scripts for each Committee member and the Artistic Director, delivers copies of the scripts to the Artistic Director (along with the likely date of the final meeting), and passes the copies out to the Committee members at the first Committee meeting.
Traditionally, the Chairperson also has custody of all of the scripts (and copies of scripts) that have been reviewed by the Committee. Anyone who needs a copy of one of these scripts can obtain it from the Chairperson.
Members of the Committee are encouraged to read and see as many plays as possible throughout the year so that they have new and interesting plays to discuss and the Committee can discuss them knowledgeably.
The Play Selection Committee is a fun committee, especially for those who love reading and discussing plays. And who in the Drama and Comedy Club doesn't enjoy reading and talking about plays?
