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Observership Program

Observership Program

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION  |  APPLICATION  |  DATES  |  TESTIMONIALS  |  HOUSING

Whether you’re an aspiring or experienced director, choreographer or music director, Goodspeed’s Observership Program provides professionals, students, and professors a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can’t be taught in a classroom. This tuition-based program pairs theatre artists with world-class theatre professionals, allowing them to observe a Goodspeed creative team member during the rehearsal process of a production.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The process of preparing a Goodspeed show begins when the cast, creative team, and staff convene in The Goodspeed green room for a welcome dinner. The next morning in the rehearsal studio, there is a bagel breakfast for everyone to kick off the rehearsal process. Four weeks later, the show plays its first performance on stage. Observers are engaged in the process from the welcome dinner through the first weekend of performances, observing a member of the creative team and the overall process of mounting a musical at a professional regional theatre. 

Through a Goodspeed Observership, participants gain invaluable contacts, attend all rehearsals, have access to best-at-curtain tickets to Goodspeed shows, and reside in on-campus housing. Our goal is that Observers will become part of the Goodspeed family and leave with the skills, experience, and network necessary to succeed in the musical theatre industry.

Goodspeed produces both revitalizations of existing musicals and new works. The Observership period will end the Sunday after the show opens.   

This program is highly selective and will involve a phone interview process and reference checks. Only one Observer may be accepted for each show in each of the three areas mentioned above, so apply now!

APPLICATION

Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2020 season. Check back soon for information on the 2021 program.


Application Deadline: Applications are accepted up to 1 month before the arrival date of the show you would like to observe. If you would like to apply later, please contact Erin Coffey at 860.873.8664 x521 or ecoffey@goodspeed.org  to inquire if space is available.

TUITION:

  • Total Tuition: $2,500
  • Deposit Due with Application: $400
  • Balance of $2,100 due within one week of acceptance

If you have any questions, please contact Erin Coffey at 860.873.8664 x521 or ecoffey@goodspeed.org.

Housing & Transportation

Housing on the Goodspeed campus and transportation from the Old Saybrook, Connecticut train station or Bradley International Aiport are included in the registration fee.

CLICK HERE to learn more!

2020 PROGRAM DATES  

The Goodspeed
Observers should expect to be on the Goodspeed Musicals campus for about 33 days, from the Welcome Dinner through the Sunday after the first performance.

  •  Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2020 season. Check back soon for information on the 2021 program.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Goodspeed Observers join us from all over the world and at all stages of their careers, applying the knowledge they gain on our productions to their work across the industry. Our Observers have gone on to pursue many different creative paths. Past Goodspeed Observers are now:

  • Artistic Directors at regional theaters across the country;
  • Music Programmers and Associates Off-Broadway and internationally;
  • Working for management and casting agencies serving Broadway, Off-Broadway, touring productions, and regional theaters;
  • Writing, producing, and adapting original productions for regional theaters, colleges, and summer programs;
  • Directing productions at institutions such as Steppenwolf Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Raven Theatre, and various companies in New York City.

TESTIMONIALS

"My time at Goodspeed was one I will always remember. It was a wonderful experience and I feel honored to have been given the opportunity. Working on a new musical was an experience like no other in theatre. It was magical. It was frustrating. It was inspiring. It was fresh. It was new! Hunter Foster was an exceptional director with a great vision. Learning from him and his AD was the best! I highly recommend this program for any and all aspiring directors at any level in their career. I am so inspired by my time there and Goodspeed will always have a special place in my heart."
-August Garritano, Executive Director, Performing Arts Workshops

"The Goodspeed Directing Observership Program is a valuable educational experience for any current directing student, beginning professional, or seasoned director, and particularly for those whose credits and interests are primarily in the area of musical theatre. As a university directing and performance teacher who spent a few years in regional theatre but most of his creative life in academic settings, I wanted to refresh my knowledge of how a well-established professional organization runs and observe the creative process of putting together a developmental production of a new musical. The Directing Observership Program provides an excellent opportunity to gain valuable insight from members of the visiting artistic team and the Goodspeed staff into all areas of production and management. The atmosphere is welcoming and supportive and I found everyone connected with A Sign of the Times to be accessible and willing to include me in discussions, meetings, and various tasks when appropriate.  There are numerous and obvious benefits to the program for anyone who is beginning or in the middle of their professional directing careers, but I encourage those in academia who are seeking a quality professional development opportunity to consider applying. I know that when I return to the classroom this fall, I will draw upon the experience in ways that I am unable to predict at this time. I also know that the professional, artistic, and personal aspects of my life have all been enriched by my time at the Goodspeed."
-Kenneth Risch, Directing Observer (Professor of Theatre at Utah State University)

"The Observership Program at Goodspeed allowed me so many opportunities I had not realized were possible. Under the Music Direction Observership, I began my first week in the rehearsal studio behind the piano, watching the music director accompany throughout. As I had seen this kind of production process before, I became interested in the other responsibilities of the music department. I was allowed the opportunity to work under the Music Assistant as he taught me how to tape and bind music books for the musicians, how to program on a music software, and how to format orchestrations and music parts. This was the side of the production I didn’t know existed, and I wanted to learn all of its parts. Being allowed that opportunity made me feel like I was included and involved, and therefore, an active participant within my surroundings - something I wasn’t sure whether to expect from a program titled “observership.” But perhaps the most important part of this program was that I determined the value I got out of this experience. This program is truly what you make of it, with several supporting hands guiding you to any direction you are interested in going."
-Misao McGregor, Music Direction Observer

“A Goodspeed observership is a must for any aspiring director.”
-John Curtis, Directing Observer 

“It was an absolutely worth-while experience. People were very friendly at the Opera House and I felt like a part of the production.”
-Tom Xi, Music Direction Observer

“The program was a wonderful experience, and I would recommend it to any young director. Everyone at Goodspeed was generous and welcoming, and there’s so much to be learned from the high quality of work that gets produced there.”
-Andrew Willis-Woodward, Directing Observer 

“Goodspeed's Observership program was very exciting and eye opening for me. It gave me an insight into how the professional theatre industry really works, essentially having a backstage pass to most meetings and conversations throughout the rehearsal process. I know I also made several new contacts with which I can continue to grow and learn about the expectations and realities of working outside of an educational or community theatre setting. This was a fantastic experience that helped me discover an excitement to be where all of these professionals were.”
-Cody Jordan, Directing Observer 

Read an article published in Theatre Topics journal written by a participant in Goodspeed’s Observership ProgramTheatre Topics is an official publication of  the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE).

Goodspeed Musicals The MAx Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre