Who Should Mentor the Newbies? And When Are You Ready?
Community theatre is starving for strong mentorship.
Year after year, someone directs a successful show and is suddenly elevated to “mentor.” It reminds me of the medical mantra: Watch one. Do one. Teach one. It sounds efficient. It sounds noble.
But doctors train for up to 15 years before they ever reach that stage.
In most community theatre groups, unless you are extremely lucky, it becomes the blind leading the blind. Our “education” is often a $20 weekend workshop covering the bare basics. We pick up a cool blocking trick, get excited, and overuse it because no one taught us nuance. No one taught us why it works.
The fundamentals are easy. Stage left. Stage right. Upstage. Downstage. Lights on. Lights off.
That’s not theatre.
New directors often replicate reality. Literal kitchens. Literal offices. Literal movement. They struggle to break the literal connection and embrace suspension of disbelief.
We should be teaching energy and flow first. Pacing. Tempo. Rhythm. Forget the set. If your actors connect with the audience’s energy, you don’t need elaborate scenery.
The story is not an automatic pass. A powerful script can transcend mediocre performance. “That was so sad.” “That was so funny.” That’s great writing, not necessarily great directing.
Emotional energy is more valuable than visual precision. One or two strong elements are enough to place the audience exactly where they need to be.
And scene changes are silent killers. Unless you hired a heard of elephants before their ballet training. Then the thunder rolls…
Three pieces, rearranged made 4 different scenes. Opera booth, automat table, business desk, fancy bar. Scene changes were engaging and curious.
How long before someone whispers, “When are the Oilers playing?” Forty-five seconds of dead air for a thirty-second scene. Actors clogging a single exit. Stagehands fumbling with salt shakers and napkins.
If it stops the world of the play, you’ve broken the spell.
Make transitions part of the story. Move in character. Let the set breathe inside the world you’ve built. Theatre is momentum. Protect it.
Mentorship should not be accidental. It should be earned through depth, not survival.
So again: who should mentor the newbies?
And when are you truly ready to teach?
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