Our first performance together was "Bleacher Bums" in 1992 at O'Henry's. Soon you'll be able to view photos of that performance, and other information, in our "Archives" section. Since then we have gone on to perform at every opportunity presented to us.

Now that we are working with Dan and Maryann Munyon, owners of The Broadway Theatre in Pitman, we are better able to provide the community with the opportunity to enjoy live, local theater. The Broadway Theater also hosts movies and shows and it would be a good idea to drive by there every so often to see what entertainment is coming next!

In the meantime, we are always looking to add new, energetic talent to our fold. If you look at our "Special Thanks" section you'll see the beginnings of a list which will describe to you the kind of volunteers who are already giving us a helping hand. The list will continue to grow in the next coming months.

We need volunteers for every aspect of every production. Some "job titles" require previous experience, like Director, but others fall under the category of "Will Train". A lot of us do a lot of different jobs for each show. A Director might help build his set, the Prop Mistress might also sew some costumes, the Actors can help paint the set and gather props. The Sound Engineer can help with the Lighting and The Producer has to do everything else!

Oh, and EVERYBODY helps with the Set Strike!!!

Here are some definitions of some of the Spare Parts, see any you like? Email Us!

DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, ACTOR, LINE DIRECTOR, SET DESIGN, COSTUMING
MAKEUP/HAIR, SOUND, LIGHTS, SET CONSTRUCTION, STAGE MANAGER
PROPS, STAGEHAND, PUBLICITY, FUND-RAISING, SOME GUY BACKSTAGE

DIRECTOR
This job may not need an explanation, and if you've directed in the past you certainly know the requirements of this responsibility, but we'll highlight some of them for you here. The Director is responsible for interpreting and implementing the script into a final production, using the services and talents of everyone listed below. After the script has been selected and the schedule confirmed with the theatre, the Director's job has barely begun.

Every Director has their own style of working and their own technique, but they all have to first begin by casting the production. After having read the script, an image of the characters forms in the mind. During the audition, the Director must try to find, from the available talent, the actors best suited for his/her "vision" and, once found, hope that there will be no scheduling conflicts!

The Director must also find the volunteers to do Lights, Sound, Set Construction, etc., while he is casting the Actors, or soon after.

The Director has already established a rehearsal schedule, and so begins the process. Depending on the show, a Director may want some of the crew involved in even the earliest of these rehearsals. More often than not, sound cues and light cues need to be as precise as the delivery of the lines by the actors, so often the two "crews" must work together from the beginning.

The Line Director and Producer are, except for the Actors, the two people the Director is likely to want to see in these early stages. The Line Director duties are described below, as are the Producer's. But both of these people will help the Director to get the whole thing in motion and going in the right direction.

Next comes blocking. Blocking describes how and where the Actors will move on the stage. The scripts often provide quite a bit of blocking, but this always needs to be adjusted for each production. And the sooner the better, as any Actor will tell you that it really helps to associate your blocking with your lines right from the start. So the Director will try to incorporate this into the rehearsals as soon as possible. Directors hate blocking.

Getting the Actors "off-book" is always the Directors next goal. He or she will want to make suggestions to the Actors as soon as possible, but it's hard to develop a character, and remember your blocking and listen to the Director with your nose in a book. Once the Actors are off-book, the Director can really begin to develop and then refine the production. Directors love Actors who are off-book.

Because meanwhile, the Director is approving set designs, props and costumes, discussing lights and sound, going over the publicity and often proof-reading the posters and programs, along with the other million little things that fall under their juridiction. All of which would feel a lot stressful if those darn Actors would just get off-book!!

Finally there is Tech Night, or Dress Rehearsal. This is either the best night for the Director or the worst, as there is no turning back the clock, no time extentions available. This is the last chance the Director will have to make any changes, add any special touches, tweak, alter and correct before Opening Night. More than likely the Director will be pleased, but still fraught with worry.

And then the curtain opens on Opening Night and depending on the Director, they will either be in the audience watching with confidence, or in the lobby pacing nervously, with the occasional glance into the theatre when the audience laughs (or worse, doesn't laugh). There are those Directors who hover backstage, touching everything and getting in everyones way, or the ones that can be found in the dressing room, thumb firmly planted in their mouth and on the floor in a fetal position.

Either way, every Director is remembering these words as the curtain opens: "If the show is a success, the Actors get the credit, if the show is a failure, it's the Directors fault!

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PRODUCER
The Producer, as it pertains to The Spare Parts, is the person responsible for helping the Director "get things done". As anyone will agree, there just isn't enough time in a day. Having already met with the Director in the very beginning, The Producer will know exactly what the Director needs and wants for the show, beginning with who should be cast for what part to how the lights should look in the last scene in the last act.

The Producer needs to have an extensive knowledge of what is needed in a production, so that they can see to it that all the needs have been met for the one they are currently working in. Ideally, the Producer should have done at least 90% of the jobs listed below in order to perform the tasks required by the Director.The primary goal of the Producer is solving problems and following up on requests already made by the Director, so that the Director can get on with the business of directing. We may call these people by the posh name of Producer since the job itself is thankless.

ACTOR
Of all the titles on this list, this is probably the one that requires no explanation. But just to be clear, the Actor is responsible for helping the Director complete the production, by both doing as instructed and by bringing their own unique talents and qualities to the production.

The Actor has to stay healthy, not leave town (haha), learn their lines, learn their blocking, be prepared, be creative, be on-time and be reliable. They will also be responsible for helping us to gather the necessary makeup, costumes, props and jewelry for their particular character, and you might have to shave off that mustache. And they should also know a thing or two about stage makeup.

That's the good news. The bad news is that you, yes even you, have to show up for set strike.

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LINE DIRECTOR
The business of Line Directing is not for the faint-of-heart. This job requires devotion, patience and a sense-of-humor. The Line Director will have a copy of the script and will read along with the actors during every rehearsal. Learning lines can be frustrating and tiresome. When an Actor is trying to remember what to say, remember where the entrance is, what prop to hold, where to stand, etc....and then forgets a line, it's bothersome to stop the momentum and go dig around in your script for the correct line. The Line Director will provide this for you. Any notes, blocking changes, additions to the script made by the Director will be noted by the Line Director and their job is to insure that those changes and additions are followed through correctly and during each rehearsal.

The Line Director will also say things like "ring ring" when a phone cue is required, "crash boom" when thunder is called for in the script, "lights out" and "lights up" when there are light cues, along with various and sundry silly little noises, grunts and squeeks that are helpful for the Actors to hear while they learn their lines.

They are further burdened when an Actor can't make a rehearsal and they must read that Actors lines the whole evening. It's particularily funny when the Line Director is a big, beefy guy and the Actor out "sick" is a 90 pound girl with blonde curls. Oh well, I guess you had to be there.

There are some directors who will have their Line Directors sit backstage during every performance, always on the ready to whisper a life-line to a struggling Actor, but we've never done that in Spare Parts. We let the poor guy go home at that point.

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SET DESIGN
More often than not, the Spare Parts Director will have a pretty clear idea of what the stage design should look like. But there are times when difficulties need to be solved that might arise from when the design suggested by the script requires changes due to our own stage size restraints. Then helpful advice, from someone clever enough to be considered a Set Designer, will be sought tout de suite.

COSTUMING
Gathering costumes for the Spare Parts has always been a collective effort. The script will call for specific costuming, the Director will interpret it to fit the look of the entire show and Divine Providence will make most of it available to us from the Thrift Shops. If you know how to sew, and feel the urge to whip up a few frocks on your Singer for a grateful Director, email us!

MAKEUP/HAIR
Another collective effort. The Director will decide who should look like what, and will test the makeup under the lights at Dress Rehearsal. We have all become especially good at applying our own eyeliner, but it couldn't hurt to have some help. If you have any talent applying stage makeup, then please share those talents with us. There are some Actors who can take care of themselves, but more often than not, we need someone backstage who is quick with a makeup sponge and a curling iron.

SOUND
First you have to find the sound, then you have to make the sound. For example, our last show required an owl hooting. It took some time hunting through recordings searching for the perfect owl sound. Once found, the next trick is to sit back stage with a pair of headphones on and push the Owl Hootin' Button when the owl cue is required. It's a lot like an outfielder at a baseball game. You might spend a lot of time waiting around, but when it's your turn to perform, you have to be ready, quick and accurate!

P.S. Knowledge of weird machines with computer hook ups, speakers, soundboards with lots of little levers, and mysterious machines that go "ping" when they should go "pong" is required.

LIGHTS
We probably don't have to tell you just how important lights are to a production, since you know that shows performed in pitch-black darkness aren't very popular. But the Lights, as with the Sound, require a lot of wiring and equipment and paying attention even when you feel like zoning out. But if you like that sort of thing, sign up!

SET CONSTRUCTION
If painting flats and hanging curtains and climbing ladders and hanging doors and installing windows and slapping up some wallpaper and using limitless amounts of duct tape and extension cords and stepping back to admire your work, all after you already worked a full day at your "real" job, sounds like fun to you, then we hope to see you at the next set construction. It's a lot of hard work, but very rewarding.

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STAGE MANAGER
The Stage Manager is responsible for everyone and everything backstage, during the performance. They should become familiar with the show as soon as possible, and know the in's and out's of all the elements that go into the production. Armed with a headset, a script and a stern look, the Stage Manager will haunt every inch of the backstage. Making sure that props are set, that Actors are dressed and in position, that Lights are ready and the Sound is sounding and the stagehand who will be pulling the curtain is ready with his arms flexing in readiness. Yes, the Stage Manager is like the evil Stepmother, chasing after you, making sure you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. Can I make a suggestion? Do what she tells you, it's better that way...!

PROPS
The Prop Master, or Prop Mistress is responsible for collecting, organizing and maintaining the props (property) for the show. The Director will let them know what is required and they will venture out into the great beyond, hunting and gathering for the brass umbrella stand, the top hat, the decorative vase and the martini glasses. The Prop Master will make sure that all the props are onstage when they should be onstage, and offstage when they should be offstage.

If Act One calls for a ham sandwich to be half eaten, and Scene Two is "ten days later", the Prop Master must be sure that that old, half eaten ham sandwich is offstage before Act Two begins. They must also be sure that it is a fresh ham sandwich with each new performance.

Often the Prop Master will have an assistant, depending on the amount of props used for a particular show. There is a lot of work before, during and after each show. There is shopping and cooking and then the washing up. Needless to say, a sound knowledge of the entire show is essential when performing these tasks.

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STAGEHAND
The job of Stagehand is perfectly suited to those among us who would love to be involved in theatre, but don't have the free time to do any of the jobs above. Stagehands are those wonderful people who hang around backstage doing the odd job as required by the Stage Manager, pull a curtain here, ring a bell there, whatever. If you like the kind of comradery found only in community theatre, but can't spend weeks in preparation, please join us as a Stagehand, we could really use the help!

PUBLICITY
Who do you know? Can you get them on the phone and tell them about our next show? How about mailing flyers out to our mailing list, placing a few ads in the local papers for us, hanging a few posters in local stores? Can you sell ad space in the program? Talk us up at church? At work? Have any schemes brewing around in your head about how we can get our name out there? Publicity, publicity, without publicity none of this makes any sense. Without an audience, we've just wasted our time. Help us fill those empty seats!

FUND-RAISING
If you're the kind of person who is always thinking about money, then this is the job for you. We can always use help running raffles, having yard sales, or...or...maybe you have a another idea! We're often so busy with other parts of production, that we don't always have the time to handle this part of the business with the finesse it requires. If you've had any experience with Fund-raising and would like to share some of your ideas with us, we'd love to hear from you.

SOME GUY BACKSTAGE
If you've ever done a show in community theatre, then you know about this guy. He's the last one to show up and the first guy to leave. Who is he anyway? He just shows up and no one knows who he belongs to. We have to feed him and sometimes we think about putting him to work but never get around to it, mostly because we don't know his name. Is he a friend of yours? What's his name???

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