‘So what exactly do you do?’ Rukus asked me on Friday night. It’s not the first time that someone has tried to figure it out. As well as mentoring Rukus on My Place Or Yours,  I am Associate Producer at the National Theatre of Scotland. The role of the producer is pretty mysterious – and I promise that it is not because we don’t actually do anything. It’s because we do lots of things (or get other people to do them!). Theatre producing obviously differs hugely from television, radio and film so I won’t go into that. The main difference is that theatre producers get paid a lot less.

The title ‘producer’ is used quite widely at the moment, from working as a general manager to artistic director of a venue, like at the Arches, Glasgow or the Battersea Arts Centre, London. Fundamentally, the role of the producer is to facilitate good artistic practise and process. A good producer can play all of the following roles:

The Matchmaker
This is when a producer brings together, artists, designers, actors and so on. They know who will work well together, and who will be able to support and challenge the project further. They will be able to see where the project is lacking in structure, and can suggest the input of a choreographer or a writer for instance.

The Flirt
The most talented producers I know are charmers. They are brilliant at getting stakeholders attached to their projects, wheedling money from them and getting venues and other producers to like them. They also know how to get things for free, and know everyone on the circuit.

The Accountant
Producers can usually add up very fast. I’m pretty weak on this front. They can usually do crazy stuff on excel and this allows them to tell people off for going over budget. Also, if there’s money left over they can make the most of the resources to hand.

The Outside Eye
The good producer can walk into a rehearsal run and be able to spot the cracks in the plot. They can pick up on whether the sound and the lights aren’t working for the piece. They can tell the director if the piece is too long or short, and help the director to reach their deadline.

The Project Manager
The producer has planned the deadlines. They are responsible for putting them into place. It’s their job to ensure that everyone is clear about what needs to happen and are communicating with each other to get the information that they need. That all of the merchandise, fliers, posters, marketing campaign, press campaign is suitable for the show. And crucially, that everyone is working to budget.

The Provocateur
The ultimate producer knows how to provoke and facilitate artistic practise. What I mean is that whilst creating a ‘safe’ working environment for their artists, they are constantly questioning and challenging them when it is appropriate. They allow artists to take risk but also know when to reign them in. The artist should be able to trust a producer to listen to their ideas and to be able to bounce off them. An astute producer knows instinctively when to step in, and when to back off.

The Referee
Occasionally there are theatre fights. These can be detrimental to the project. The producer needs to make sure everyone is cool. That if the 1 star review comes in that the company aren’t going to fall apart. That when a name gets misprinted that people don’t start yelling. This is when their charm comes in handy.

The Oracle
The most brilliant producers I know, and now I’ll have to name check them, Kate McGrath (Fuel), Neil Murray (NTS), Geraldine Collinge (Apples & Snakes), seem to know everything. They know every play, show, designer and director. Every piece of music, every film reference, everything on the news, and they feed all of this information through to add spark and layers to work. I’m still working on this.

I hope this answers your question Rukus!

I’m sure that there elements that I’ve missed out. Do comment and add to this very simple guide.

Angie