The production team behind the upcoming Sheffield University Theatre Company (SUTCo) production of Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night have opened the production’s tech call, less than two weeks after holding auditions for the show.
The tech call, the latest released by the theatre group’s semester two productions, seeks new and experienced technical members of all levels of previous experience with SUTCo and theatre generally, to create the annual charity production.
This tech call is expected to be SUTCo’s penultimate in the 2024/25 academic year, with only the group’s Edinburgh Fringe production Peace Circle yet to seek technicians and backstage team members.
In a collaborative post earlier today between SUTCo’s main social media page and the production’s offshoot account, the inaugural post on this new page, the group announced that they are “opening [their] tech call!” and urging interested students to “find the link in our bio to apply” and for a list of available roles.
Splitting their technical team into two cohorts – Senior and General – the production are seeking applicants for seven different positions, across four technical departments.
The senior tech team, composed of the production’s Stage Manager, Set Designer, Costume Designer and Sound Designer will work closely with the show’s Production Manager, as well as co-ordinating their relevant department with members of the general tech team.
This team, consisting of Assistant Stage Managers, Set Constructors and Costume Assistants once assembled, will be tasked with bringing each of the technical and backstage elements of the production together in time for the production dates in May.
Unlike many of SUTCo’s other technical teams, the composition of the Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night team has a greater emphasis on costume and prop-based roles, and no opportunities in lighting, and minimal in sound, due to the limitations of the venue.
This is consistent with previous years, with the set expected to consist of the natural landscape of the performance venue alone, giving greater emphasis to the cast themselves.
Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night will be the eighth production staged by the Sheffield University Theatre Company this year, following the variety of shows they have created since October.
It will also mark the group’s return to Crookes Valley Park, the setting for the charity production, and the first time the group will have performed in the venue since 2024’s Shakespeare in the Park: As You Like It.
This year’s rendition, the subject of which was selected by public ballot earlier this year, is being directed by two of SUTCo’s Technical Officers, Leila Arbabi (Margaret Beaufort: Kingmaker, Why We Stay) and James Platt (Margaret Beaufort: Kingmaker, Shakespeare in the Park: As You Like It).
This will be the second time each have been on a SUTCo production team, having previously produced Margaret Beaufort: Kingmaker and written and directed We Are, In Fact, The Problem, respectively.
The production team is completed by Projects & Workshops Officer Darcey Severne (It Came From the Ice, Accidental Death of an Anarchist) and SUTCo’s Chair Caitlin Wood (The Importance of Being Earnest, Shakespeare in the Park: As You Like It) as Co-Producers and Adam Rajczakowski (It Came From the Ice, Accidental Death of an Anarchist) as Production Manager.
The production, which plays for two matinee performances instead of SUTCo’s regular evening slots, is often the largest company of each SUTCo year, with the cast itself numbering over a dozen roles.
Less than two months until the production is set to be staged in Crookes Valley Park, the team behind SUTCo’s Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night have now officially launched their bid to complete the company and begin work on SUTCo’s final standard production of the year.
With the production having set no formal closing date for applications, potential technical team members are encouraged to apply early, to ensure that they do not miss the opportunity to join the company.
Applications to the Tech Call for SUTCo’s Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night can be submitted here
