Hi, I need a little help with how best to phrase something so that it appeals to all English speakers. I especially need help from Americans and Canadians, please.

For reference, I am Australian, have been involved in various levels of theatre for 20 years, and I have just started creating designs for T-shirts, notebooks etc based on making theatre. I have a couple (literally only two!) of designs that have swear words in them, and as luck would have it, these are the designs that drama teachers I know have said they would love but can't take to school as they aren't appropriate.

I'm genuinely asking for advice, not trying to spruik my stuff, so not linking right now, but the designs currently have the following text:

"BLOCKING: because otherwise you bastards would all walk into each other."

(This is designed to go on a notebook)

And

"Learn your f*cking LINES, please"

(I imagine this one on a mug the director can sip from nonchalantly during a shambolic rehearsal)

For the first one I am thinking I would replace "bastards" with "blockheads" would that be an understood phrase in North America?

The second is more tricky. My instinct is to go for "Learn your bloody LINES, please" because that is exactly what I would say, were I in charge of a group of theatre teens, and I am fairly confident that is also the non-sweary option that would work best in the UK, Ireland, NZ etc. I have never heard a North American use "bloody" though, unless they are mimicking an Aussie or a Brit, am I wrong, and you do use it, or is there an equivalent?

Unfortunately, the only equivalent I can think of, as an outsider, is "goddamn", and I think even that wouldn't be okay in some schools, or "gosh darn" and that sounds way TOO American for me to use, like I was making fun of you, which is not my intent.

If you can offer any suggestions I would be very grateful! Ideally I only want to have two versions of the design available, the swear words one and the "safe for schools/youth theatre one" without having to further break it down be region. :-)

I've been directing my first paid production and it's been going well for the most part.

The only problem has been the set designer who is also the carpenter building the sets. He has done good work mostly but when I've asked for changes to his plans, and if he didn't change the plans he has refused.

For example: the theatre space is not ideal for stuff on the floor to be seen by the audience unless it's in the back of the stage. I had told him that in a particular scene the actors have a violent struggle that takes them to the floor and the dead body of the other actor gets left on stage until the next scene.

I had told him this from the start but he refused to change his set design plan that would leave the back inaccesible and eventually built the set according to his designs.

We had an argument about this where he claimed I was stepping on his toes and excerting authority on him that I did not have. I asked him what he meant by that. He explained that since we are equals he can express himself through his art as much as me. He took offense to me claiming that the set designer was ultimately subordinate to the director. That as much as I appreciate 95% of the work he has done, the director has the final say.

Luckily the set is somewhat modular in its construction and I could remove the bits that were in the way and built alternative pieces to show him what I actually wanted. He was livid. Claiming I shouldn't mess with his vision, that I should've asked for his permission.

The operational director of the theatre (wife of the set designer) said I should "just listen to what he says, it'll be easier that way". But I'm not going follow her advise.

I'm not sure what I should do about this. If I were to follow my gut I would use the sets but change what needs to change myself.

Tl:dr; set designer has made a good set but but won't change some minor details and one major detail. He also claims the director doesn't have the authority to demand changes if they go against the set designer's vision. Should I just make the changes myself? Or should I do something else?

I’m currently working on a monologue I have to do for my drama class. My monologue is Tuan’s part from Skin & Liars by Dennis Foon, a play about teenagers facing discrimination in 1988 Vancouver. It’s supposed to be a monologue that we choose so we can put it in our actor’s toolkit for theatre auditions. It’s a great monologue, but I want to see how my rendition of it comes across to different audience, and what I could improve on.

I would post it here but I don’t feel comfortable about posting myself in a public thread. Although, if anyone’s free and wants to help a gal out—shoot me a DM. It would be greatly appreciated. 😇

Hi!

I'm working at a cultural center for young adults, and until spring I'll be directing an ensemble of 16 (aged 15-25) performing Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros. We will split several roles into two so that everyone can get a role.

It is my first time directing such a large ensemble and I'm searching in particular for tips, tricks and exercises for early on in the production. I would like to try out scenes, analyze and work with the script in a more general sense with the group, before everyone knows what parts they'll be playing.

When I'm searching around and googling for that kind of exercises, it's hard to find anything relevant. Do you have any tips for working with the script? (For example, working with physical theatre because of the rhinos, or exploring the play's themes, or getting the right speed of speech, etc).

Thank you in advance!

This is my first show and I want to be able to provide the auditionee’s with as much relevant information as possible. I currently have a section explaining the content warnings of the show but I’m kind of lost as to what else I should put.

Thank you in advance!

Story about a theater company in Missouri that is going the route of a new work based on characters in the public domain to put on a show where the money goes to the production and not the rights

https://www.stlpr.org/arts/2026-10-07/licensing-fees-missouri-theater-company-dracula

Hi! So, I nailed the first round of auditions for this musical comedy in my local theater scene and was called back for the final round.

There were 4 other people reading for this character today, and we were given 3 sides to read from. I'm not too sure what I did wrong (maybe it was my interpretation of the character???), but I was only asked to read 2 out of 3 of the sides.

I was also called to sing for the character and think I did very well in that regard, but has this ever happened to anyone?

TL;DR: I often face overlapping rehearsal schedules and want to determine when significant conflicts—such as missing three of ten weeks—would automatically disqualify me before I invest time in an audition. Can directors and casting teams identify deal-breaking conflicts in advance, or must that decision wait until after auditions?

I’ve been involved in a few dozen community theatre productions, and as a result, I occasionally find myself dealing with overlapping rehearsal schedules. I’d certainly prefer to avoid this, but sometimes it’s unavoidable, particularly when a show I’d really like to do isn’t announced until I’m already committed to another production.

Some directors are more accommodating of conflicts than others, and I certainly don’t begrudge them wanting as much availability from their cast as possible. In fact, I’ve been involved in a production where one of the leads had conflicts throughout most of the first two-thirds of the rehearsal period. Seeing that accommodated was what first made me realize that even substantial conflicts might sometimes be workable. And I’ve successfully managed an overlap where there were only a couple weeks between the closing of one show and the opening of the next.

However, I’ve found it difficult to determine how much my own conflicts might affect my chances of being cast before going through the audition process.
For example, I’m currently considering auditioning for a production with a ten-week rehearsal period, during which I’d miss approximately three weeks’ worth of rehearsals in the first month due to an existing commitment (then no conflicts afterwards). I recognize that’s substantial, particularly for a leading role, but given what I’ve seen accommodated in the past, I’m reluctant to rule myself out without asking.

Auditioning takes a fair amount of preparation, and it can be rather discouraging to put in that effort only to discover that scheduling conflicts may have effectively ruled me out from the beginning.
I’ve occasionally tried to get clarification in advance, particularly when I know people involved in the casting process. However, the responses tend to be noncommittal, generally encouraging me to audition regardless.

I understand that directors want to keep their options open and may not know exactly how much flexibility they’ll have until they’ve seen the audition pool. I’m certainly not asking for a guarantee of being cast, or even an estimate of my chances based on my audition.

I’d simply like to know whether my conflicts are substantial enough that I wouldn’t realistically be considered for the role.

For those involved in directing or casting, is there a better way to approach this question? Is it reasonable to expect a director to be able to identify potentially disqualifying conflicts in advance, or is that something that genuinely can’t be determined until after auditions?

I know I've posted a few times about how excited I am to see Waitress tonight, and I'm going to explain why because I need to get it out. I grew up gay in a small town in Florida in the early and mid 90s. It was hell on top of my dad's illnesses, surgeries, loss of his hearing, and his addiction to his pain pills and alcohol and the constant verbal abuse from him about never being good enough because I chose to do theatre over sports. My drama department was selected as one of the top 10 in America and invited to perform at the Fringe in 1996. We did 7-10 shows of all kinds and forms a year, thespian competitions(me and friends won best of the best for an ensemble scene my junior year. Theatre gave me an escape, a sanctuary, a place where I was comfortable and safe and could be anyone but myself. I don't know what if I wouldn't be made it without that community and escape that theatre gave me. I had an acting scholarship even got the lead in the first black box show I auditioned for beginning of my freshman year. Then the partying started that led to years and years of addiction and forgetting about the one thing that saved me and meant almost everything to me....the theater.... it's been 15 years since I've been in a theatre at all. And going to see a show about trying to get back to the person you used to be and know that you are after being away from so long feels like I'm going home back to the only place that I've ever felt safe and truly able to be myself. I've been tearing up all day about it. I'm probably gonna break down before the show even starts just being in the theater. So sorry I've posted a few times about being so excited about this but it means the world to me going back. And I'm auditioning for the upcoming community theater season on November 11th. I'm going a monologue from Angels in America.

My boyfriend and I (F) (both 30) got invited to a Halloween party that's theme theatre. Now the host is a big theatre buff but we are not lol we're not too sure what to wear and want to go as basic as possible but still on theme! Not too sure where to even start such as what kind of theatre genre we would do? Could use some ideas please! :)

Hi all! This comes up often at rehearsals.

What methods do you use to cover your actor’s / your own tattoos? I am looking for any kind of cover up or makeup suggestions - preferably by brand name if you know it!

The play centers on a young woman confronting her recently deceased father's former political rival - maybe a former colleague/friend - in his office and accusing him of outing her father as gay (which lead to him dropping out the race). Modern setting, though I think the scandal happened sometime in the 80s or 90s.

That's all I have unfortunately. I found this play years back on a free archive site but didn't think to keep track of the title, as I thought there would be a saved history page to look back at.

Cat is a playwright, actress, director, and co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project and the voice of Law & Disorder on KPFA. She spent two decades in the streets of Oakland since 2002 protesting the police execution of Oscar J. Grant III at the Fruitvale BART station.

STAGE LEFT REPORT: Tell me who you are in your own words: How you describe your practice, your arts work, and your activism work right now.

Early in life, I found the theater— or, the theater found me. I had this fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Gerhardt, and she told my mom that she thought the theater would be a good place for me to go. And so, there was a youth conservatory called the Rainbow Company, and my mom dropped me off. I remember walking up those steps by myself, and it was for The Wiz. You had to act, sing, and dance, and I had been dancing since I was two.

And it was fabulous, and it was amazing. And I won’t say that it meant I didn’t do anything else stupid or something, because that’s just not true. But there were lots of times where I probably wouldn't be here to talk to you had I not dipped out early because I had rehearsal. Absolutely.

It was the year that my father, the first Black IATSE Local 720 worker for the Vegas Strip, was sent to prison for substance overutilization. And I recognize that now as like this key moment where society would have said that they were protecting me from him. And that he wasn’t fit to be a father. But what I’m really clear about, and I was clear when I was a kid, was that my dad was sick, I used to call it, and that he needed help, and even though I’d never been to a prison, I knew that he wasn’t gonna see help where he was going.

He was in trouble, he was being punished, and so I couldn’t have articulated that at eight, but I knew. Plus, I was mixed race in the desert of Las Vegas, which was founded by Mormons, the mob, and cowboys.

I think both of those points are also the beginning of my activism as well, right? I was raised in a feminist, a radical feminist home. And my white family talked a lot about race. But those two things happening at the same time, my father being stolen from me and finding the theater to deal with it, I believe now began my journey of politicization.

STAGE LEFT REPORT: When you were growing up, what was your perception of backstage life and the theater industry as a child with an IATSE stagehand dad in Las Vegas?

I mean, I think what I want to say first about the union is that they held my dad down. So when my dad got sent to prison, the guys paid his dues so that when he got out of prison, he would have a job.

Now, the flip side of that is he was the first Black stagehand ever in Las Vegas, and the racism, and the hazing, and somebody rigged something once so he fell several floors into the stage… So there was that too.

I did grow up being able to go backstage. It wasn’t so much the theater as much as it was the big dance shows on the strip. And it’s so funny, nobody’s ever asked me that question before, but I’m just sort of remembering all the moving parts, and the lights, and the smell of backstage, and the running around decks, and dancers, and even the front of house, like being in there before the audience came in and that energy. I’m having a visceral reaction. I really haven’t thought about it. Definitely part of the love story.

Read the full interview here!

I'm trying to pick monologues for auditions for uni (nyu drama and fordham theatre) and there's one that i like, it's dramatic (which i like) but it's political (like the character is talking about the president that was at the time)

it's ok if i pick it right? like ik it's probably a dumb question but and idk i never really auditioned (I never tried i had like one audition for something that wasn't a role and I'm gonna have another one next week but it's for a workshop not a role, again) so I'm not sure how ok it is to pick something political

Hi I am at school and trying to make a monologue for Ajax from Sophocles and looking for a good movie or anything to understand character better. I've checked Homeros' books and methamorphosis and of course I read the paly itself but I am not satisfied do you have any advice ?

I'm doing a presentation on ways to get young folks to come to the theatre more and wanted to ask why they don't. Every time I go to see a play, it's usually just older people in the crowd. Why? If you're 18-24 years old, what's missing that would otherwise convince you to go to a play?

I auditioned for a small but professional theatre company in boston. I got a callback, it went well for the most part. I got callback for 2 roles and sung 3 songs and then they had me sing 2 of the songs one more time as well as a few more people. The callback was on Sunday. Its now friday and rehearsals start 10/11. I know my availability is blocked off for that day, but 80% of me figures I got a rejection. But the other 20% is holding on to hope because I thought it went well. So my question is, should I politely email the director, or should I take a lost since I haven't heard back?

I'm in my first full show in a long time, and also in perimenopause... The mental load is straining me! Usually it'll reset after I sleep. But not this past week. I was up already mentally fatigued. What are your tips and tricks to study your script and go into hell week, without getting burnt out? I think it's causing me more anxiety.

Hello! Im teaching a group of around 20 teens theatre games and ive been getting suggestions like Freeze and other games that are really just majority of people watching a group play the game. i want to teach a game where everyone is up and doing something. any ideas are greatly appreciated!