How To Direct A Student Show In Oxford

By Annabelle Higgins

The student theatre scene in Oxford is bustling with activity – whether you’re interested in acting, producing, music, costumes, tech, etc, there’s a continual stream of new production companies cropping up and looking for fresh talent. The time may come, however, that you want to bring the show of your dreams to life.

As someone who’s just directed her first show in Oxford (An Ideal Husband, Carfax Productions MT25), I’d like to offer you some advice on how to put that play you’ve been envisioning onto the stage.

1. Start small, work up

It’s generally easier to approach directing a show (especially if you haven’t really done many — or any — productions before uni) by starting in a different role. ADing (Assistant Directing) is a great way to learn the ropes, but you can learn a lot about the dynamics of productions by acting or working behind the scenes. Doing so will help you get a clearer picture of what is possible for a student production to achieve. It will also help you build up a network of OUDS (Oxford University Drama Society) connections that will be useful when planning your own production.

2. Envision and Refine

When you make the leap and get the ball rolling on your production, it can be easy to get over-excited and create plans that are theoretically brilliant but in practical terms unfeasible, especially when it comes to budget. My approach was to Pinterest board my play for an hour, putting together a lavish aesthetic that I then tried to lay out in practical terms, considering factors such as costume changes, prop necessities, and effective scenery. In short, let your imagination run wild for a set period of time and then focus on scaling back to practical possibilities.

3. Think about space

Venue is a crucial consideration for many reasons, e.g. planning entrances/exits for performers, arranging lighting and sound/music, and establishing a general atmosphere for your show. There are four main venues that you can consider for student productions: the Burton Taylor Studio, the Pilch Theatre, the Keble O’Reilly, and the Oxford Playhouse, all of which have their own bidding requirements that you need to prepare for. However, there are many other possible spaces. College chapels can be great venues, and in Trinity term, garden plays are extremely popular. As such, look into your college’s facilities and see what they have to offer — if that fails, now’s the time to talk to friends/crew members in other colleges. Space can be a massive determining factor in the direction of a production — in the right environment, your play will thrive.

4. Be prepared for chaos

Student drama is a juggling act - between your degree and your performance, rehearsals and essays, tutorials and production meetings. Scheduling is not an easy task (When2Meet is your best friend!), and things won’t always go according to plan; there will be hiccups and overambitious plans that need to be cut down or cut entirely, but such constraints will, in fact, enable creativity to flourish (hence, 2 and 3). My tip for you is not to be too precious about anything beyond the core message of your show — and make sure you have a good welfare officer! By the time show week arrives, you will be a little exhausted, but a healthy helping of welfare snacks will keep you (and the show) going.

5. Take a day off before the show

This is a tricky one, as you will be tempted to run last-minute rehearsals or costume/lighting/ sound checks late into the night. Don’t. At this point, you’ve done all you can. Take a night off, wish your cast and crew luck, and rest yourself before the show run. It’s going to be intense, but trust me, you’ll miss it when it’s over.

I hope this gives you a taster of what to expect when directing. In general, the best advice is to just go for it — learning on the job is better than holding out because you feel you lack

experience. Let this article be the encouragement you need — I can’t wait to buy tickets to your show!