Employment
Seeking Various Positions for 2025 Stars On Stage
Applications can send their resume and cover letter to education@nextstoptheatre.org. Application deadline is February 1, 2025.
NextStop Education is seeking a dedicated and creative production team for our upcoming school residency program, Stars on Stage. In addition to fulfilling their roles on the production team for the musical, The Jungle Book: Kids, ideal candidates will also function as Teaching Artists, teaching the students involved about the process of putting on a show and what it means to be an actor/performer. This team will work closely with the same groups of students over the course of 3-4 months, approximately 45 rehearsals, so being able to foster community and teamwork among the cast is a must. Teaching Artists who are bilingual in English and Spanish are desired, but not required. See descriptions below for more specific requirements for each role on the team.
ALL Members of the Stars on Stage Production Team will be expected to:
Participate in production meetings prior to the first rehearsal and throughout the process with the entire team and NextStop staff.
Help instill in the children a love of theater, an excitement for performance, and a willingness to collaborate
MUSIC DIRECTOR
The Music Director will work closely with the rest of the team to produce the musical, The Jungle Book: Kids, at Clearview Elementary and Dogwood Elementary Schools (both located in the Reston/Herndon, VA area) in the spring of 2025. Experience working with children is especially important. They will attend every rehearsal and performance at both schools (calendar provided upon request). The Music Director will assist the director in planning for and running auditions, making casting decisions for the show, and creating an appropriate rehearsal agenda for each meeting.
The Music Director will be responsible for teaching all vocal parts to the cast and conducting during rehearsals using pre-recorded performance tracks supplied by MTI. Ability to play piano well enough to teach harmonies is required. It will be their responsibility to make sure the student actors are prepared to perform the music on their own. The Music Director will be compensated with a stipend of $5,000 to be paid in bi-weekly installments.
Looking for candidates who are self-motivated, efficient, and creative, who possess excellent communication and organizational skills, and can work well on a team.
CHOREOGRAPHER
The Choreographer will work closely with the rest of the team to produce the musical, The Jungle Book: Kids, at Clearview Elementary and Dogwood Elementary Schools (both located in the Reston/Herndon, VA area) in the spring of 2025. Experience working with children is especially important. They will attend every rehearsal and performance at both schools (calendar provided upon request). The Choreographer will assist the director in planning for and running auditions, making casting decisions for the show, and creating an appropriate rehearsal agenda for each meeting.
The Choreographer will be responsible for creating and teaching all stylized movement and dance included in the show, making sure the actors involved are prepared for performances. They will also need to work with the director to ensure that blocking and movement fit together appropriately. The Choreographer will be compensated with a stipend of $5,000 to be paid in bi-weekly installments. There may be an opportunity to join this team for only one of the two schools, in which case the rehearsals would be two days a week, rather than four, and the compensation would be $2,500.
Looking for candidates who are self-motivated, efficient, and creative, who possess excellent communication and organizational skills, and can work well on a team.
SCENIC DESIGNER/TECH TEAM LEAD
The Scenic Designer/Tech Team Lead will work closely with the rest of the Production Team to produce the musical, The Jungle Book: Kids, at Clearview Elementary and Dogwood Elementary Schools (both located in the Reston/Herndon, VA area) in the spring of 2025. Experience working with children is especially important. They will attend approximately half of all rehearsals and every performance at both schools (calendar provided upon request).
The Scenic Designer/Tech Team Lead will be responsible for designing and helping to build a small, but functional set for The Jungle Book:Kids that can be easily assembled/disassembled and transported from one school to the other. They will also be responsible for acquiring or building the needed props, working with the Director throughout the process to determine what those will be. When present in rehearsals, the Scenic Designer/Tech Team Lead will be in charge of a small group of students (anticipating 8-10 kids) who want to assist with the show’s backstage/technical elements. There will be opportunities to teach short lessons to the student tech team about set design and props, and what those roles look like in a professional setting. Materials can be brought to those rehearsals so the students can help make simple props/elements of the set as appropriate. The Scenic Designer/Tech Team Lead will be compensated with a stipend of $3,500 to be paid in bi-weekly installments.
Looking for candidates who are self-motivated, efficient, and creative, who possess excellent communication and organizational skills, and can work well on a team.
COSTUME DESIGNER/TECH TEAM ASSISTANT
The Costume Designer/Tech Team Assistant will work closely with the rest of the Production Team to produce the musical, The Jungle Book: Kids, at Clearview Elementary and Dogwood Elementary Schools (both located in the Reston/Herndon, VA area) in the spring of 2025. Experience working with children is especially important. They will attend approximately half of all rehearsals and every performance at both schools (calendar provided upon request).
The Costume Designer/Tech Team Assistant will be responsible for designing and creating flexible costumes for one whole group of students (anticipating 30-40 kids) that can easily be transferred from one cast to the other. When present in rehearsals, the Costume Designer will assist the Tech Team Lead with the smaller group of students (anticipating 8-10 kids) interested in helping with the backstage/technical elements of the production, in addition to having costume fittings with the cast as needed. There will be opportunities to teach short lessons to the student tech team about costuming, and what that role looks like in a professional setting. Materials can be brought into those rehearsals for the student tech team to assist in making costume elements as appropriate. The Costume Designer will be compensated with a stipend of $3,500 to be paid in bi-weekly installments.
Looking for candidates who are self-motivated, efficient, and creative, who possess excellent communication and organizational skills, and can work well on a team.
