Amateur theatre can look like a closed club from the outside. It isn’t. Societies are always looking for new people, onstage and off, and most of what feels mysterious at first (auditions, who’s in charge, what all those job titles mean) is simple once someone explains it.
I did my first show in 1994, stepped away in 2000, and came back in 2023. These days I perform with Erewash Musical Society and Arcade Players in Long Eaton. This page pulls together everything on the blog about how am dram actually works, in the order you’ll probably need it.
Getting started
- How to join an amateur theatre society in the UK: finding a society near you, what membership involves, and the difference between musical societies and drama groups.
- What to expect at your first am dram audition: how auditions usually run, what to prepare and how to handle the nerves.
- Musical theatre audition songs by voice type: how to pick a song that shows off your voice for a musical society audition.
Who does what in a production
Every show has a production team behind it, and knowing who to ask saves a lot of awkward moments in rehearsal. Here’s the short version, with a full guide to each role.
| Role | In a sentence | Full guide |
|---|---|---|
| Director | Shapes the creative vision: staging, characters and how the story is told. | Director vs producer |
| Producer | Keeps the show organised and on budget: rights, venue, money and deadlines. | Director vs producer |
| Musical director | Teaches the music, runs vocal rehearsals and leads the band on the night. | What a musical director does |
| Stage manager | Runs rehearsals and performances backstage, from the prompt copy to the cues. | What a stage manager does |
Life in a society
- Same faces, different outfits: casting fatigue: why societies keep casting the same people, and what it costs them.
- Phones in theatre: the West End phone ban and what it means for audiences everywhere.
Singing for the stage
If you’re joining a musical society, it helps to know your voice. Start with what’s your vocal type?, then work through the free singing lessons series.
More on the way
I’m adding new guides every week, so this page grows with the blog. If there’s something about am dram you’ve always wanted explained, send me a message and I’ll add it to the list.