Technical Director

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DEPARTMENT: Production

POSITION: Technical Director

REPORTS TO: Director of Production

JOB TYPE: Full Time, Exempt

START DATE: To Be Negotiated

SALARY RANGE: Starting at $63,000

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE

WORK VISA AVAILABLE

BENEFITS:  

• Health insurance (including medical, vision & dental)

• Short-term disability insurance

• Life insurance

• Flex spending account

• Commuter benefits

• Employee assistance program

• Employee-contributed 401k

• 17+ days of paid time off per year, plus 18 days of paid holidays, including December 24 through December 31

Position Summary

The Technical Director leads the scene shop in its successful and safe execution and implementation of scenery for the stage, ensuring the process is completed smoothly, within the allotted time, budget, and scope, and in alignment with and service to Woolly’s mission and values.

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Essential Duties

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PRODUCTION

Scene Shop Leadership, Mentorship, and Internal Communication:

 

• Manage and support the personnel in the scene shop to promote a safe, healthy, and productive working environment, in line with Woolly’s mission

• Work with the Director of Production to continually improve the capacity of the scene shop and the quality of our work and work place through staff mentorship, coaching and a commitment to professional development

• Participate in high level brainstorming, planning and budgeting with the Director of Production as a thinking partner and collaborator in expanding the boundaries of the production department’s work

• Adapt to and support many different styles of working, thinking, and collaborating

• Lead daily check ins with the scene shop staff and other production departments, and attend weekly Production Staff meetings

 

Collaboration and Preparedness on Projects:

 

• Collaborate with the design team and other production departments to establish methods for the design and execution of the scenery and/or other elements of productions

• Prepare and organize the technical information pertaining to the scenery for specific productions so that the productions can be built, installed, and struck by shop employees in a timely, safe, and resource efficient manner

• Prepare a thorough build, load-in, and strike schedule for each production based on the available staff labor and the calendar issued by the Director of Production

• Prepare a thorough cost out of each and every production with flexibility, contingency and creativity to maximize resources in an efficient manner, with suggestions and plans to adhere to the allocated budget and resources;

• Maintain a proactive dialogue with the designers to ensure that changes to the design are communicated to the appropriate members of the production team

• Lead the execution and monitor the progress of technical drawings for all scenic elements based on the designer drawings so they can be built by the shop staff

• Collaborate with presenters to ensure all technical specifications and requirements can be met safely in our space, ensuring presenters have a clear understanding of and adhere to all our safety measures

• Attend Production Meetings, including production meetings after all technical rehearsals

 

Scene Shop, Technical Maintenance and Safety:

 

• Actively support Woolly’s commitment to safety in the workplace, including participating in Woolly’s Safety Committee and leading the curation and implementation of new and improved safety practices in the scene shop, theatre, and technical work spaces

• Proactively update staff on the conditions of the theatre space, especially when the theatre is a construction zone during changeover

• Maintain an up-to- date inventory of resources, tools, and supplies, with special awareness and focus on upkeep and maintenance according to equipment guidelines

• Ensure continued scene shop support and maintenance throughout a show’s run as well as proper archival upon closing

 

 

FACILITIES

Safety and Code Compliance:

 

• Prioritize maintaining the facility and using the technical production skill set in service of the well-being of the facility

• Maintain facility spaces and equipment according to city and state regulations, ensuring code compliance

• Actively monitor and consider fire safety and maintenance in all aspects of the facility and work

 

Inventory and Resource Management:

 

• Maintain up-to-date drawings of all facility spaces in the building with as much detail as possible, including but not limited to electrical outlets, data ports, and fire extinguishers

• In coordination with the Associate General Manager, maintain an up to date inventory of facility resources including but not limited to replacement parts, spare flooring, paint, and electrical covers

 

 

COMPANY-WIDE RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

• Commit to Woolly’s policy of anti-racism and radical inclusivity. This includes participating in anti-bias/anti-harassment training, familiarizing yourself with the policies in the employee handbook, engaging in EDI work at Woolly, and furthering your own independent journey with anti-racism

• Cross-departmental collaboration, including participating in at least one Woolly working group, committee, and/or taskforce outside of your own department

• Advocate for policies both internally and externally that further advance Woolly’s stated values on an organizational, local, and national scale

• Contribute in meaningful ways to the culture. See “Our Culture at Woolly” section below for more information.

• Act as an ambassador for Woolly Mammoth in the local community and beyond

 

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

• Responsible for providing employees timely, candid, and constructive performance feedback; developing employees to their fullest potential and providing challenging opportunities that enhance employee career growth; developing the appropriate talent pool to ensure adequate bench strength and succession planning; recognizing and rewarding employees for accomplishments. Additionally, this position will:

  • Select, train, and develop an effective and efficient staff including:

    • Interviewing applicants and select new employees

    • Supervising the department orientation and training of new employees

    • Recommending salary increases, promotions, transfers, disciplinary actions, and dismissals in conformance with company policy and procedures

    • Conducting annual performance reviews

• Have substantial knowledge of leadership, teamwork, and management principles in line with the values of the organization.

• Direct Reports: Technical Director supervises Scene Shop Supervisor.​

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Skills and Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of experience in technical direction or theatrical production

• A broad skill base and knowledge in carpentry, rigging, welding, engineering, and automation

• Ability to quickly solve problems that may arise unexpectedly in order to get work done efficiently and safely

• Ability to research an unknown process or material so it may be applied to a technical solution for a scenic element 

• Knowledge of standard theatrical scenic construction methods to use in technical designs

• Knowledge of a wide variety of construction materials and methods used in the theater to implement in technical designs

• Skill in preparing budgets and labor estimates to keep projects within an allotted time frame, budget, and scope

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office and CAD software, especially AutoCAD and VectorWorks to create plans and drawings for scenic construction

• Excellent communication skills​

• Active engagement and leadership development in your individual position is integral to the overall health of our organization. This will be reviewed and defined with your supervisor to set individual goals. Woolly encourages employees to take personal responsibility and pride in their work

• See the larger picture and pull out the relevant details to diagnose problems. Think creatively about how to solve problems including new ways of working together. Woolly values innovative thinking, big ideas, and bigger passion

• Collaborate with and adapt to a wide variety of people and personalities, working styles, and artistic visions

• Ability to lead and/or supervise employees to get work done efficiently and safely with an appropriate level of quality and expectations

• Ability to communicate and delegate tasks to others in order to keep the flow of work moving forward at an efficient rate​

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Working Conditions

• Extending viewing of computer screens

• Ladder- and stair-climbing is required to access the catwalks and rigging positions

• Use of aerial lifts and work at height

• May be required to lift up to 50 lbs, which can be accomplished via a team lift

• Some evening and weekend work required

• Some travel required

• Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is located in Washington, D.C.’s Penn Quarter neighborhood. It is air-conditioned, located in a wheelchair accessible building, and in close proximity to public transportation

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About Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

 

At Woolly, our culture is driven by our stated core values of radical inclusivity, creative risk-taking, relentless inquiry & experimentation, world-class excellence, and innovation. We expect both personal and collective accountability in how these values are applied to the work of each employee of WMTC. We acknowledge that Woolly Mammoth has upheld and benefited from systems of oppression in our country and we aim to do better; using the principles of anti-racism to guide our actions and decision-making. How we do things is as important as what we do, and we expect our core values and anti-racist practices to influence the way we work together as a team.

We strive to center openness, integrity, and care in our policies, processes, and how we interact with one another. We embrace a culture of transparency, accountability, and mutual respect as the foundation of all our collaborations, both inter-departmentally and externally. We take seriously our role as a civic leader, and strive to address local and national challenges using our knowledge, skills, commitment, and resources.

As part of this work, all employees are expected to develop meaningful internal and external relationships that are mutually beneficial and impact-aware. We believe that everyone in the Woolly community is worth engaging in conversations about the art we make and how that art intersects with the world. We lean into the unconventional, especially if a nontraditional and inventive approach will help us reach new understandings of our art form, our industry, and our world.

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Mission and Core Values

 

Woolly Mammoth produces courageous and invigorating new work to radically redefine theatre as a catalyst for an equitable, creative, and engaged society.

 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:

 

PURSUE BOLD ARTISTRY

We stoke and nurture the creative vision and rigorous process of every project we undertake. We strive for all of our work to flourish to virtuosic heights — in and beyond our walls.

 

CHAMPION RADICAL INCLUSION AND PROMOTE JUSTICE

Our work is rooted in practicing anti-racism through conscious decision-making that centers equity, advocacy, continual learning, and accountability. We are determined to dismantle systems of oppression in our organization and in our culture. We aspire to build a more inclusive society—across race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic background, religion and political viewpoints.

 

REIMAGINE COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY

We approach relationships from a place of abundance, not competition. We actively forge unexpected partnerships that break down silos onstage, offstage, and across industries, communities, disciplines, and mediums.

 

PRACTICE RELENTLESS INQUIRY AND EXPERIMENTATION

Our ambition is continual innovation in every aspect of our work in order to challenge and expand the limits of our collective imagination. We find joy in a learning culture where our spectacular failures are held in as high esteem as our spectacular successes.

 

EMBRACE THE DISCOMFORT

We are energized by the messy edges of theatrical style and human experience— in all of its complexity. We nurture risk-taking by our audiences, artists, staff, leadership, partners, stakeholders, and volunteers.

 

SPARK DIALOGUE AND IGNITE SOCIAL CHANGE

We believe that theatre is uniquely suited to add nuance and depth to the cultural conversations happening in our city and our country. We seek to create a brave space for dialogue and action in the middle of Washington D.C., the seat of our imperfect and evolving democracy.

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Radical Inclusivity Commitment

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We are a radically inclusive community—across race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, socioeconomic background, and political viewpoint—in which all are encouraged to exchange ideas freely and reach for new understanding.

Woolly's Abolishing Racism and Oppression in the Workplace (AROW) Action Plan can be shared upon request.

Here are some things we stand for that help hold us publicly accountable for what we do:
Learn about Woolly’s Values - Woolly Mammoth

 

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Covid Safety Policy

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Woolly currently requires masking of the crew, production staff, actors (when not actively performing), and creative teams. Production staff are currently on a once weekly testing cadence.

Woolly's Covid-19 Prevention Plan can be shared upon request.

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