John Redman Produces Arsenic And Old Lace
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from April 1975.
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What did he do to get his name in the programme?
To find out why he merits a mention in the programme we asked John what a producer does. "Its hard really, in a very few words to sum up the duties of a producer," he said, "I suppose basically he does everything - or sees that everything is done - that nobody else wants to do." "Until you have produced a play it is very hard to imagine the tremendous amount of work that has to go behind the scenes, from set construction and costume making, publicity, make-up, lighting, sound, to the less obvious thing like collecting the props seiling advertising for the programmes, making sure the seats are laid out, selling tickets and cleaning out the hall and dressing rooms once a night. All things have to be done and either the producer has to find someone to do it or he has to do it himself." John pointed out that he has a large and very capable army of people behind him to do these task, it is his task to wield and coordinate this army so that everything is ready and in place on the opening night and everything runs smoothly through out the production. "Actors have got enough problems on stage anyway without a wrongly placed chair or a missing glass, or something, throwing them off balance.
"It is the producer's job to make sure that chair or glass is there and in the right place on the night. He need not do it directly - strictly it is the stage manager's job, - but he is responsible for the stage manager so it is his responsibility."
PRODUCTION STAFF Another problem, he explained, is making people feel wanted and appreciated. Members of the production staff could spend hours working away getting something just right, and often people just don't realise how much went into it.
This particularly applied to props and costumes where resources on Grand Cayman. were limited. "You could get them from Miami or London," said John, "but if they send the wrong thing or it does not fit, you're good and stuck. You cannot go around the corner and pound the manager's desk for a bit." "I think, though, that our audiences realise this. The Cayman Drama Society aims for authenticity but at times you just cannot achieve it. You have to stick something together and hope it will work."
Summing up he said, "There is not much glamour in being a producer. Its all hard work and headaches, and if anything goes wrong they start screaming for the producer's blood. But there is something superemely satisfying when it all works and hangs together."
