| Job Description: |
The School of Theatre + Dance in the College of the Arts seeks a highly skilled and motivated Scene Shop Manager to join our team. This position requires leadership, expertise in scenic construction, and a passion for creative problem-solving. The ideal candidate will play a key role in supervising scenic shop processes in collaboration with the faculty Technical Director, working closely with staff, students, faculty, and guest artists to realize scenic designs for theatre and dance productions. The Scene Shop Manager ensures the efficient operation of scenic production work, overseeing the installation and strike of scenery, maintaining shop tools and equipment, and managing production schedules. The scenic area supports three to five productions per semester (fall and spring), as well as one to two summer productions. Scenic production activities take place in the school’s proscenium theatre, black box theatre, a versatile dance studio that also serves as a performance space, and the scenic shop. This position reports to the Technical Director.
The School of Theatre and Dance intends to engage in people-centered production practices. We work collaboratively to encourage healthy work-life integration and believe in fostering a positive work atmosphere that recognizes and appreciates the contributions of all of our team members.
The University of Florida College of the Arts intends to be a transformative community, responding to and generating foundational shifts in the arts and beyond. As business and academic professionals, artists, scholars, advisors, and teachers, we, the staff of the College, embrace the complexity of our evolving human experience and seek to empower our colleagues, students, and faculty to respond to and shape that experience fearlessly through critical thinking, creativity, constructive questioning, and respectful dialogue. We seek a colleague who engages with openness and enthusiasm for the work and the mission of the college. We seek a colleague who possesses skills in designing and facilitating work that advances curiosity, inclusion, open intellectual discourse, and the well-being of all in an environment of complex diversity. We seek a colleague who identifies as a trusted steward of resources, balancing institutional requirements and the demand for innovative solutions.
The University of Florida is an equal opportunity institution.
Responsibilities:
Daily Operations and Shop Management (approximately 30% of the job)
- Leads day-to-day scenic production operations in collaboration with the Technical Director, including the building of scenery, installation and strike of scenery and portable seating, organization, cleanliness, storage, and maintenance of scenic spaces, tools, and equipment.
- Coordinates scenic area schedules and facilitates daily scenic area communications.
- Collaborates with Technical Director to oversee inventory, equipment/tool purchases and inspections, rentals (including shipping) and invoice processing, creating and maintaining the related institutional documentation, as needed.
- Assists with off-site storage management and production facility upkeep.
- Ensures equipment and materials are maintained for safe and efficient use.
Design Realization & Technical Supervision (approximately 30% of the job)
- Collaborates with faculty Technical Director, other staff, and students to construct scenery within budget, labor, and time constraints.
- Works independently as a carpenter to construct scenery.
- Reviews, interprets, and provides feedback on technical drawings and related paperwork.
- Responsible for completing the implementation of scenic designs for all school productions by supervising scenic builds. Supports the faculty Technical Director in supervising load-ins, some tech rehearsals, strikes, and production work calls.
- This type of work includes working at heights and in hard-to-reach places (ladders, lifts, catwalks, scaffolding), with the physical ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds, with assistance as needed, and perform various physical tasks such as climbing ladders, squatting, sitting, standing, kneeling, and pushing/pulling.
- Supervises production work in various venues including the school’s proscenium theatre, black box theatre, a versatile dance studio that doubles as a performance space, and a dedicated scene shop.
- Provides technical support including addressing unexpected tool/equipment malfunctions and minor repairs during the production process.
- May attend and contribute to occasional production meetings.
Student Instruction, Mentorship & Training (approximately 25% of the job)
- Instructs and mentors undergraduate and graduate students with production assignments/lab work in the scene shop.
- Fosters a positive and productive learning environment and models timeliness, helpfulness and efficiency in communication, creative problem-solving, and collaboration.
- May attend crew watch/crew orientation for each production to train student deck crew members.
Safety & Compliance (approximately 10% of the job)
- Ensures compliance with safety standards during all scenic production activities.
- Collaborates with faculty and staff to document, communicate, and implement safety practices and protocols.
Professional Development and additional duties, as needed (approximately 5% of the job)
- Professional development for this position could include attending UF specific and live entertainment industry safety courses, leadership courses, and workshops in emerging technologies.
Location and Schedule:
100% In person in the Nadine McGuire Pavilion, UF Gainesville, Main Campus.
Normal work hours are weekdays 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. with an hour lunch from 11:50 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
In production weeks, schedule may be adjusted to meet technical requirements of SOTD productions, which may involve evening rehearsals until 11:00 p.m. Occasional weekend work may be required.
SCHOOL OF THEATRE + DANCE: The light-filled Nadine McGuire Theatre and Dance Pavilion is home to the School of Theatre + Dance (SoTD). The School’s international full-time faculty of 35 recognized artists and researchers, complemented by adjunct and guest faculty and staff, including full- and part-time professionals. The School offers MFA curricula in acting and in design, which includes scene design, lighting design and costume design; BFA programs in acting, musical theatre, and theatrical production with concentrations in costume, digital media, lighting, scenic, and sound; and a BA with concentrations in general theatre, stage management, and theatre management. The School features two degree programs in dance designed to develop the individual voice of the dance artist, a BFA and a BA. Approximately 200 students major in the artistically diverse curricula of the School of Theatre + Dance. Through its production program, outreach and innovative programming, the School of Theatre + Dance provides multiple cultural opportunities annually to thousands of members of the University and the greater community. The University of Florida is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance and the National Association of Schools of Theatre. For more information, visit www.arts.ufl.edu/theatreanddance.
THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: The mission of the College of the Arts is to be a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond. We achieve the university’s mission by training professionals and educating students as artists and scholars, while developing their capacities for critical study, creative practice, and provocation. The College offers baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Approximately 1,700 students are pursuing majors in degrees offered by the College of the Arts under the direction of 135 faculty members in its three accredited schools— the School of Art + Art History, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre + Dance, and in the Center for Arts in Medicine, the Digital Worlds Institute, and the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship. In addition, the college comprises the University Galleries, and the University level of the New World School of the Arts in Miami.
The University of Florida: The University of Florida is a comprehensive learning institution built on a land grant foundation, ranked one of the top five best public universities in the nation in U.S. News & World Report. We are The Gator Nation, a diverse community dedicated to excellence in education and research and shaping a better future for Florida, the nation and the world. Our mission is to enable our students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit. UF is a graduate research institution with more than 50,000 students and membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Gainesville, which is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most livable cities, is located midway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the University and the community comprise the educational, medical and cultural center of North Central Florida, with outstanding resources such as the University of Florida Performing Arts (Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Squitieri Studio Theatre, the Baughman Center, University Auditorium), the Harn Museum of Art, the Florida Museum of Natural History and in the community, the Hippodrome State Theatre and Dance Alive National Ballet.
In addition to salary, the University of Florida (UF) offers low cost State Health plans, a number of Dental plans to fit you and your family’s needs, and Vision. Domestic partner coverage through GatorCare is also available. Optional plans such as life, disability, legal and accident insurance are also available.
UF provides a variety of leave programs including vacation, sick leave, 11 paid holidays, personal leave days, and family medical leave. TEAMS employees accrue approximately 22 vacation days annually, 13 sick days annually, and 4 personal leave days, typically used during the holiday closing period (accruals based on full-time employment). UF also provides you the flexibility to deal with life’s challenges by offering paid family leave, eight full weeks of leave over a 24-month period.
Build a retirement roadmap with competitive pension plans, investment accounts and a host of voluntary add-ons, such as 457 deferred compensation and 403(b) plans.
UF Employees are also eligible for the GatorPerks discount program, which provides big savings at various business and retailers!
Explore UF’s plethora of benefit options here: TEAMS Benefits |