Wayland’s Vokes Players recently launched its first production of the 2025-26 season with “Vanya and Sonia and a Masha and Spike” to an appreciative audience.
Good acting is not the sole ingredient for a successful production; strong direction is also essential. The director plays a crucial role in bringing a play to life, overseeing the creative vision, guiding actors, and ensuring a cohesive production. His work is both artistic and organizational, playing a key role in the success of the stage performance. To better understand the process, director James Barton discussed the directorial process of producing a play like “Vanya.”
According to Barton, every director has their own approach to making a production happen. His first task is to select a producer — the person who essentially acts as a project manager to “keep the train on the track.” He chose his wife Tara as the producer for “Vanya.”
His next task was to assemble the design team and actors. Once that team is selected, a process of six to nine months begins with a series of pre-production meetings, during which the design team reads and reviews the play and charts the final approach and design.
The next step is open auditions, where actors either perform a monologue they’ve prepared or read a short scene from the play. Auditions take place about a month before the six- to eight-week rehearsal period. During production, the director manages logistics, gives input to the actors and designers, and provides feedback while watching initial performances.
The 2025-26 season includes four additional plays: “A Christmas Carol” on Dec. 19 and 20, “The Lifespan of a Fact,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and “Over the River and through the Woods.” Tickets are sold for individual shows and as seasonal subscriptions. Subscribers can also take advantage of special events during the year, including the troupe’s’ annual Scenes and Song Night. For more information, go to vokesplayers.org or call 508-358-4034.
