Directorial Paid Touring Staff Director The Acting Company New York, NY US 07​/30​/2026

General

The Acting Company seeks a Staff Director for their 2026-27 National Tour. This person serves as the associate director for pre-production, rehearsal, and tech. Collaborating with the Director, they help oversee each element of both the creative and logistical elements of the production. They also travel with the tour as the leading creative supervisor as the show moves between venues. They are responsible for overseeing each tour stop and maintaining the quality and consistency of the work over time, both as it adjusts to different spaces and as roles settle for the ensemble.

They will work closely with the tour’s associate producer, stage management team, and production crew, and the ensemble throughout the process. They will also oversee, with the stage management, building all understudy plans and preparing the understudies to be ready to go on for each role.

This position reports to the Director during rehearsal and the Associate Producer while on tour.

The Acting Company ((Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).) is a fifty-four-year-old theatre company dedicated to developing artists and audiences through national repertory tours. This season’s tour will be a production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (directed by Devin Brain, Producing Artistic Director). The tour will rehearse in NYC in January, tech at a venue in early February 2027, before touring nationally from February 2027 – April 2027 in a wide variety of theatrical venues.

There will be times when the tour remains on the road continually, traveling from venue to venue; there will be times when the tour comes back to NYC, and tour stops are done as “run-outs” from NYC; there will also be smaller performances for schools in the NYC area and across the country. The tour will include a sit-down run at a Manhattan venue in March 2027.

Travel mostly takes place on a coach bus. The span of day is usually long, depending on the individual venue’s schedule, with load-in, performance, and strike often occurring all in one day.

• Attend all production meetings (in person or virtually). Participate creatively and logistically in planning the production and the tour.
• Attend all rehearsals, including technical rehearsals.
• The Staff Director is the Associate Director for the process, assisting the Director in all elements of the project. This can include leading a rehearsal or tech rehearsal in the Director’s absence, working with actors individually and together, consulting with designers, and helping coordinate between departments.
• Helping the Director oversee the process, this could include working with actors, designers, etc.
• Working with stage management to oversee the preparation of all understudies.
• Be present for all performances and rehearsals during the tour.
• Work closely with the Associate Producer and Tour Staff to adapt the design elements to each venue while maintaining the vision of the originating artists.
• Work closely with Stage Management to help the actors adapt the show to each new venue, while maintaining the vision of the originating process.
• Lead the education work on tour – coordinating workshops with venues, working with the ensemble as collaborating teaching artists for each workshop, serving as moderator for all post-show discussions, and leading any pre-show discussions.
• The staff director will serve as an understudy / swing for the production.
• Ensure full reporting of education work, including participants served and programs conducted.
• Update final working script for archival purposes.

• At least 5 years of experience in directing, acting, or dramaturgy.
• Soft skills:
  
  strong communication skills, written & verbal; strong interpersonal skills; experience working with early career professionals; experience working with communities of all kinds.
• Experience as a teaching artist / theatrical educator.
• Previous experience with heightened language text is a plus.
• Previous experience with clowning is a plus.
• Previous experience and training as an actor is a plus.
• Previous experience with theatrical touring or travel is a plus.
• Must be local to the NYC area. Housing &…