Community Theatre of Howell Director Search for the 2026-27 season

Although our CTH 40th Anniversary Season for 2025-26 is just getting underway with the all-time classic The Wizard of Oz, it is not too soon to be thinking ahead to 2026-27. We at CTH are very appreciative of your contributions of time and talent in the past, and invite you to once again help us to build another season that we can all be proud of.

We welcome all submissions as we realize that to do their best work directors must be passionate about their project. If helpful, a complete list of past productions by the Community Theatre of Howell is available. Please note that if we have not reviewed the script you propose in the past, we will ask the Director Search Committee to do a formal review to get additional perspective on how it could fit into our season and our organization. We are eager to assist you in any way possible by access to our extensive script library, arranging with royalty houses to obtain perusal materials for musicals, providing reports on various works prepared by our Script Evaluation Committee, or in any other capacity which might be helpful. You can also let us know if you’d like to be informed about upcoming new licensing releases, as we get regular notifications from the royalty houses as well as independent playwrites.

We already have Anne of Green Gables in place for our 2026 Fall Musical as an extension of our 40th Anniversary Celebration, so we will be looking for additional titles to complete our season. Below is a synopsis of what a typical season would look like for us.

Mainstage Productions

These are selected in order to be compatible with our primary venue, a 400-seat auditorium with good technical features but limited wing space. Typically, this portion of our season is comprised of a musical performed in November with 12-14 weeks allowed for rehearsal time, a Play in February with about 10-12 weeks for rehearsal, our School Show which is a youth production of about one hour in length performed in March for local schools which must meet some curriculum criteria to garner district support, and a play or musical in the spring. We may also offer the opportunity of at least one additional production which may be either a play or musical based on director interest and facility availability. All proposals will need to demonstrate, at least, a breakeven budget.

Also, please note that folks that have not yet directed for CTH, need to serve as assistant director, stage manager or direct a black box for us before they can direct a mainstage show.

Black Box Series

These are intended to be offered when our main facility is typically dark and may be performed either in our Green Room, an offsite location, or possibly on our main stage with a modified seating arrangement. These are presented with minimal set, costuming and budget, an expected audience size of 25-60 and modest admission cost. This series is intended to allow the opportunity to present works of high artistic or entertainment value, but which might have limited audience appeal.

WCTH Radio Series

These are additional offerings of classic radio shows which are presented about two weeks prior to our mainstage productions at no charge.

Applicants in all categories (except the WCTH Radio Hour) must submit their proposals to the Director Search Committee. There is an application form (in 3 formats) attached below that needs to be thoroughly completed and returned with your theatrical resume. Our application deadline is December 15, 2025. The Directors Search will review applications and hold interviews beginning in January and complete evaluations by early March. A recommendation will be made to the Board of Directors at the April 2026 Board of Directors Meeting.

We are very much looking forward to working with you.

Thank you,

Gil Bazil

Chair, CTH Director Search