Welcome to the 39th Season at The Human Race Theatre Company!
I am often asked how we select our shows. As we just started rehearsals for this season, now is a great time to let you in on this process! Does it happen the way you think it would?
About 12-16 months before a season begins, I start reading and researching plays and titles. I consider classics, newer works, and world premiere titles. When possible, I travel to other cities to see plays or works that might be of interest as well. Agents and playwrights also propose scripts as well. I review our company production history, and what’s happening at other theatres in the surrounding area so we are not duplicating plays. I ensure that the pool I am reading includes a wide array of voices and backgrounds so that the final mix of playwrights works to represent the human race. After all, this concept is baked into our name and mission!
We have an Artistic Engagement Committee that reads scripts with me, although I try to read everything through first before I send it on to them. This committee is comprised of actors, writers, directors, and folks invested in the success of our company. On average, I read about 45-60 titles to get down to the 20 or so that they read, with a final 5 or 6 that we choose to produce.
Once I’ve read, and the committee has read and discussed, we typically see a handful of titles rising to the top. I look for a theme between those works, and then find other shows that might work well with that theme. Only then does budget, casting and production needs begin to factor in. We typically want to be able to offer between 22-25 roles per season. The larger the cast, the bigger the budget needs to be (the more costumes there are, etc).
It takes about 9-10 months for the process to complete, and then we begin all over again! If you’ve seen a play or musical that you think we should consider, send us a note to contact@humanracetheatre.org.
