Crowd Director:
The Canadian Badlands Passion Play is currently accepting applications for a Crowd Director for the summer of 2013. The contract would run from May 14th to July 21st, with a 4-day pre-rehearsal directors’ retreat Friday, March 29th to Monday, April 1st . There is also a mandatory post mortem meeting on Tuesday, July 23. The Passion Play work week runs Thursday through Monday.
Job Description:
Part of a directing team consisting of:
Lead Directors (2 Co-Directors)
Assistant/Fight Director
Due to the large number of volunteer performers involved in populating the world of the Passion Play, a Crowd Director is hired to deal specifically with the body of performers without lines that are imperative to many scenes. Experience in large scale story telling (i.e. Greek theatre, opera, etc.), corporate movement, and physical theatre is essential. The role of the Crowd Director is very similar to that of the 3rd AD in Film productions. Their job is to work as a liaison between the Directors and the large group of performers of the play to execute the vision of the Director/s for the play. They are responsible for:
• Assigning crowd performers into small groups and large villages to provide the right amount of Men, Women, Children, Singers and Musicians into each crowd scene in the script.
• Designing, creating, and implementing crowd movement that fulfills the story ideas and vision of the Lead Director/s, Musical Directors, Fight Directors and Choreographers.
• Notating details of crowd blocking for the directors as needed.
• Assisting Stage Management to keep track of the overall blocking of the crowd performers during all scenes.
• Acting as a liaison between the individual performers of the crowd and the Lead Director/s, Musical Directors, Fight Directors and Choreographers by answering queries and questions or passing the questions on to the Directors at appropriate times to bring back the correct answers to the performers.
• Assisting with performer moral by ensuring each individual performer feels they are important within the world of the play and the production as a whole.
The Canadian Badlands Passion Play is one of Canada’s largest outdoor theatrical events. Now in its 20th season, the company annually depicts the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in dramatic form. An epic story told on an epic scale, this year’s production features a creative retelling of the Gospel of John by a mixed professional/volunteer cast of approximately 200 actors in a 2700-seat outdoor amphitheatre.
Any interested applicants are encouraged to email a resume and cover letter to Ms. Ailsa Birnie at pplayproduction@me.com no later than December 5, 2012. Short listed candidates will be contacted for interviews in the first two weeks of December with a hiring decision by Christmas, 2012.
