How to do your own outdoor theatre
Answering: What should I keep in mind when putting on an outdoor play?
Estimated read time: 5 minutes
TLDR
Accessibility and the elements are your top concerns. Make sure everyone involved has access to shade, sun protection, hydration and bathrooms. If you have to focus on one tech element, make sure your sound is strong enough for folks to hear you. And be prepared for the wind to interfere.
When putting on an outdoor show, accessibility and the elements are your top concerns. As a producer (which you are even if you're just doing the show for funsies), you get the joy of taking care of folks.
And I mean that sincerely.
It's exciting to get to make a moment of art with other people. It's magical. It's memorable.
But if people can't hear you, or they have to leave to find hydration...
This is where the team effort comes in. Make a plan with your team, however small:
Make sure everyone involved has access to shade, bug spray, sun protection and hydration.
See if a nearby business will let you send your artists & audience to them for bathrooms (and encourage folks to support the local biz in return!)
Tech
Outdoor theatre can succeed on a shoestring, but there's a balancing act with accessibility.
Try to put your show in a place where folks can get to you regardless of their mobility capacity.
If you have to focus on one tech element, make sure your sound is strong enough for folks to hear you.
Wind
Be prepared for the wind to interfere.
Rocks, old heavy trophy bases, anything you can find to keep scripts, props, etc from blowing away.
Prepare folks backstage to hold curtains closed, if applicable.
If you have curtains, consider lining the bottom edge of said curtains with chain. Weighting them this way can help keep them from blowing open as much.
If the weather is just too unbearable
The following advice is coming from experience performing outdoors in the American Midwest. Weather and appropriate accommodations may vary.
Climate change is real, folks.
Some of the outdoor theatres I work with no longer hold matinees (afternoon shows, usually starting around 1-2pm) so they can avoid placing their actors and audiences in the peak heat of the day.
Instead, they only hold shows in the evening. Start times can range from 5-8pm, depending on how late their audience is willing to stay out.
Have a backup weather location in case of rain, extreme heat, excessive wind, etc. Ideally, this is as close to your outdoor venue as possible.
Appoint someone on the artistic team as your weather captain: their job is to monitor the forecast, heat index and radar.
This often falls on stage management, liaising with the producer/artistic director/whoever's in charge to make the call on relocating to your fallback location or simply cancelling the show.
Give your artists and audience time to find your relocation announcement and get to the new location.
Trust your gut. Weather's unpredictable, and sometimes, you'll relocate the show only for the impending storm to scoot around you at the last minute.
And above all, HAVE FUN!!
It's called a play, after all :)
My Invitation For You
RGS is starting to plan for our first outdoor shows (grant funding pending)! Subscriber revenue helps us produce them more consistently.
Plus, you get on demand access to behind the scenes content showing you even more of how we set up our outdoor shows!
Upcoming Events
I'm playing Romeo at Advice to the Players July 31 to August 9 in Sandwich NH! Details and tickets here.
Remember, you're loved. You're not alone.
Sending hugs,
Roen
PS: Know someone who needs these tips & stories? Share this link with them!
