Director of Production

The University of Virginia's Department of Drama and Virginia Theatre Festival (VTF) seek applicants for the position of Director of Production. This 12-month staff position reports to the Chair of the Drama Department and supervises 8 full-time production staff as well as 25+ seasonal positions.

This position will be responsible for planning, budgeting, scheduling, and overseeing all aspects of the technical theatrical elements for both Drama’s academic-year performances and VTF’s summer season. This will include oversight of scenic, properties, costumes, lighting, sound, and stage management and direct supervision of the staff supporting each area.

Responsibilities also include short- and long-term planning; labor and material budgeting; quality and safety control; administering production calendars; monitoring operations of shops; running all production-related meetings; and more. The role will act as the primary liaison between Drama and VTF artistic and administrative leadership.

• Direct Reports:
  • Full-Time Employees: 8 positions
    • Costume Shop Supervisor
    • Props Supervisor and Artisan
    • Costume Technologist and Designer
    • Lighting Technologist and Designer
    • Theatre Audio/Video/Lighting Specialist
    • Technical Director
    • Assistant Technical Director
    • Operations Manager
  • Seasonal wage staff during VTF Season: 25 roles including stage management, cast, and production roles as necessary.

• Job Duties:
  • Plan, budget, schedule, implement, and oversee all aspects of the technical elements of Drama, Dance, and VTF’s productions as well as other University events held in UVA Drama spaces.
  • Supervise and facilitate the creative aspects for these productions, ensuring that all activities adhere to University, Drama, Dance, and VTF policies and procedures on procurement, safety, building use, human resources, risk management, and quality control.
  • Supervise staff across production shops to ensure work is completed effectively and efficiently, within labor and material budgets and in line with show production calendars.
  • Set and manage season and show production calendars for Drama and VTF.
  • In consultation with Drama and VTF leadership, analyze and set technical labor and material supply budgets along with design deadlines for individual shops for both seasons.
  • Check in regularly with shop heads to assist with logistics of shop management and to support individual shop needs which includes scheduling crews, answering questions, solving problems, identifying solutions, helping to set priorities/goals, etc.
  • Act as main point of contact and facilitator for production staff, designers, and directors, providing them with the information, guidance, and tools needed for them to do their jobs.
  • Monitor spending and procurement across production shops to ensure inventory, procurement, and budgets are efficiently managed.
  • Run all production-related meetings and monitor the progress of each production/shop.
  • Oversee room/theatre schedules to meet the needs of rehearsals, tech, and shops.
  • Liaise between admin/artistic leadership & shop heads.
  • Work with Drama and VTF leadership to cultivate and promote a collaborative, supportive, and safe working environment in accordance with both current health and safety regulations and best academic and professional theater practices.
  • Verify and uphold VTF’s compliance with local and national collective bargaining agreements.

• Required Skills & Experience:
  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
  • Four years of theatre production experience; Additional experience may be considered in lieu of degree.
  • Technical theatre production and knowledge of various aspects of producing an event or production in both the educational and professional arenas.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Strong leadership and supervisory skills with a proven track record of keeping productions on schedule, to budget, while motivating and directing the production teams they manage.
  • Proven experience working effectively across organizations and with leadership, managers, artistic teams, faculty, staff, and independent contractors.
  • Strategic problem-solving skills.
  • Experience creating and managing budgets.
  • Experience with professional theatre union rates and regulations.

• Preferred Skills & Experience:
  • Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre production or related field
  • 7+ years of theatre production experience.
  • Experience working in a professional theatre environment.
  • Experience working in an academic environment.

This position is located in Charlottesville, VA.

The anticipated salary range is $90,000-$95,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. This is an Exempt level, benefited position. For information on the benefits at UVA, visit hr.virginia.edu/benefits.

This position will remain open until filled. Review of applications begins February 3, 2025. While the position's anticipated start date is May 1, 2025, we encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible to ensure consideration. This position will not sponsor applicants for work visas. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.

To Apply:

Apply here. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile by searching ‘Find Jobs.’ Complete an application online with the following documents:

• CV (required)
• Cover letter (required)
• Professional portfolio (optional)

Upload all materials into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission. Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive consideration.

References will be completed via UVA’s standardized process Skill Survey. A total of five references will be requested via SkillSurvey during the final phase of the interview process.

For questions about the application process, please contact Melanie Sponaugle, Academic Recruiter, at unw5dq@virginia.edu.

For more information about UVA and the Charlottesville community please see http://www.virginia.edu/life/charlottesville and https://embarkcva.com/.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Education: Bachelor's degree
Experience: Four years of experience. Additional experience may be considered in lieu of degree.
Licensure: None.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

The University of Virginia, i ncluding the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, and family medical or genetic information.