This is a list of the many positions involved in theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

, including both personnel employed temporarily for a specific production, permanent staff of a theatrical company and individuals employed in a performance venue.

Production

These positions are responsible for the development of a production from initial inception till performance. Typically, although there will be significant involvement in the fabrication and initial development, these positions will not be involved in the performances.

• Producer
  Theatrical producer
  A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
  
  
• Director
• Playwright
  Playwright
  A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
  
  
• Scenic design
  Scenic design
  Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
  
  er
• Lighting designer
  Lighting designer
  The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...
  
  
• Costume design
  Costume design
  Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
  
  er
• Sound design
  Sound design
  Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
  
  er
• Production manager
  Production management
  Theatrical production management is a sub-division of stagecraft. The production management team is responsible for realizing the visions of the producer and the director or choreographer within constraints of technical possibility...
  
  
• Technical Director
  Technical director
  The Technical Director or Technical Manager is usually a senior technical person within a software company, film studio, theatrical company or television studio...
  
  
• Show control designer
  Show control
  Show control is the use of automation technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control , which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline such as lighting, sound, video, rigging...
  
  
• Theatrical technician
  Theatrical technician
  A theatrical technician, is a person who operates technical equipment and systems in the Performing arts and Entertainment industry...
  
  

Pre-production

These positions are responsible for the fabrication of a production prior to the initial performance. Although there will be significant involvement in initial development of a production, some of these positions may not be involved once performances before an audience begin.

• Carpenter
  Carpenter (theater)
  In theatre, a carpenter is a stagehand who builds sets and stage elements. They usually are hired by the production manager, crew chief or technical director and in some less common cases they may be hired by director or producer...
  
   and Master Carpenter
• Charge artist
• Scenic artist
• Paint Crew
• Electrician
  Electrician (theater)
  In theatre, the term Electrician is generally applied to those that work with the various aspects of lighting. Some of the positions among Electricians include the Lighting Supervisor, Master Electrician, Deck Electrician, Light Board Operator, Moving Light Programmer, Followspot Operator, as well...
  
  
• Master Electrician
  Master electrician
  The Master Electrician in a theatre is responsible for implementing the lighting design for a production drawn up by the Lighting designer. This involves overseeing the preparation, hanging, connection and focusing of stage lighting fixtures.This can be done on a show by show basis, or as a...
  
  
• Wardrobe Supervisor
  Wardrobe Supervisor
  The wardrobe supervisor is responsible for supervising all wardrobe related activities during the course of a theatrical run. The modern title "wardrobe supervisor" has evolved from the more traditional titles of "wardrobe mistress/master" or "mistress/master of the wardrobe"...
  
  
• Publicist
  Publicist
  A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
  
  
• Technical Director
  Technical director
  The Technical Director or Technical Manager is usually a senior technical person within a software company, film studio, theatrical company or television studio...
  
  
• Unionized Stagehands (IATSE
  International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes
  The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or I.A.T.S.E., is a labor union representing technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion...
  
  )

Performance

These positions are responsible for the performance of a production. In some productions, typically those of a smaller scale, there may be overlap between these positions and those involved in pre-production.

• Actor
  Actor
  An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
  
  
• Stage Manager
  Stage management
  Stage management is the practice of organizing and coordinating a theatrical production. It encompasses a variety of activities, including organizing the production and coordinating communications between various personnel...
  
  
• Call boy
  Call boy (theatre)
  Call boy is the job title of a stagehand in the theatre. They are hired by either the director, producer or stage crew chief...
  
  
• Light board operator
  Light board operator
  The light board operator is the electrician who operates the light board. Depending on the scale and type of production, the board op may be responsible for conventional or automated lighting fixtures, as well as practicals and, in some instances, controlling video as well.Sometimes, most commonly...
  
  
• Sound operator
  Sound operator
  The sound operator is the person responsible for the overall and total execution of all sound-related aspects of a theatrical performance...
  
   or Production engineer
• Spotlight operator
  Spotlight operator
  The Spotlight Operator, Followspot Operator, Followspot, Spot Op, Dome Operator or Domie is a theatrical technician, defined as a lighting technician, who operates a specialized stage lighting instrument known as a followspot. A followspot is designed to move, change size, beam width, and color...
  
  
• Deck Electrician
• Running crew
  Running crew
  Running crew or run crew, is a collective term used in theatre to describe the members of the technical crew who supervise and operate the various technical aspects of the production during a performance...
  
  
• Fly crew
  Fly crew
  A fly crew is a group of people who operate a fly system from its locking rail during a theatrical production. The responsibilities of a fly crew include bringing battens in and out, keeping the fly system linesets in balance, and ensuring that the fly system's rope locks are applied when the...
  
   (operates theatrical Counterweight fly system)
• Dressers
• Unionized Stagehands (IATSE
  International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes
  The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or I.A.T.S.E., is a labor union representing technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion...
  
  )

Theatre Staff

These positions are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the facility which houses a performance. They also represent many of the different ways that a production interacts with the public outside of a performance.

• Artistic director
  Artistic director
  An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
  
  
• Managing director or General manager
  General manager
  General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
  
  
• Director of Production
• Technical Director
  Technical director
  The Technical Director or Technical Manager is usually a senior technical person within a software company, film studio, theatrical company or television studio...
  
  
• Costume Director
• Marketing Director
• Director of Public Relations
• Director of Audience Services
• Director of development
• Director of Special Events
• Dramaturg
• Literary Manager
• Company manager
• House manager
  House management
  In theatre, house management concerns the selling of tickets, the ushering of patrons in front of house areas, and the maintenance and management of the theatre building itself. House management staff usually work for the theatre, under the supervision of the house manager, and not for the...
  
  

See also

• Character actor
  Character actor
  A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
  
  
• Pantomime dame
  Pantomime dame
  A pantomime dame is a traditional character in British pantomime. It is a continuation of en travesti portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. They are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else by men acting 'butch' in women's clothing...
  
  
• Stagehand
  Stagehand
  A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their duties include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production.-Types of stagehand:...
  
  
• Running crew
  Running crew
  Running crew or run crew, is a collective term used in theatre to describe the members of the technical crew who supervise and operate the various technical aspects of the production during a performance...