Educational Theater Administration

Everything backstage,
finally in one place.

The Drama Desk is purpose-built for school theater directors — from audition registrations to permission slips, from budget tracking to program night.

Beta Sign-Up → See What's Inside
32+
Modules
0
Spreadsheets needed
100%
Browser-based
Sound familiar?

Running a school theater program
is a second job.

Between managing students, chasing permission slips, tracking budgets, and coordinating rehearsals — the administrative load is real. Most directors are doing it across five different tools (and a notebook).

📋

The permission slip chase

Media releases, participation agreements, field trip forms — tracking who's signed what across 60 students is a full-time job in itself.

📅

Rehearsal scheduling chaos

Building a 40-rehearsal schedule one line at a time, then updating it when conflicts arise, then communicating it to everyone — over and over.

🎤

Audition records everywhere

Handwritten evaluation sheets, email registrations, callback notes in a notebook. Casting decisions are made on memory instead of data.

💰

Budget tracked in your head

Or in a spreadsheet that's already three versions out of date. Royalty fees, costume rentals, ticket revenue — all scattered.

👨‍👩‍👧

Guardian communication gaps

No easy way to get the right message to the right people — cast families vs. crew families vs. the full program. And no record of what you sent.

🏥

Field trip night scramble

Who has an EpiPen? Who's still pending their media release? Which guardian is chaperoning? Finding those answers shouldn't take 20 minutes backstage.

What's inside

One desk.
Every part of the job.

The Drama Desk covers the full arc of running a school theater program — from the first audition notice to the final strike report.

Every module is built around how school theater actually works — not how a generic project management tool thinks it works. Students have grade levels and guardians. Permissions have due dates and reminder flows. Auditions have cycle-specific registration forms you can share by link.

Data lives securely in the cloud — sign in from any device, any browser, any time.

🎭

Productions

Track every production with status, dates, venue, playwright, rights, and notes.

Core
🎓

Students

Full profiles with grade, eligibility, media release, conflicts, guardian links, and production history.

Core
👨‍👩‍👧

Guardians

Guardian records linked to students, with contact info, volunteer interest, and communication history.

Core
📋

Permissions & Forms

User-defined form types, per-student tracking grid, due-date alerts, and one-click reminders.

Core
🎤

Auditions

Cycle management, evaluation scoring, callback tracking, cast assignments, and online registration forms.

Core
🕐

Audition Slots

Create time slots per cycle, assign students, or bulk-generate a full schedule in seconds.

New
📅

Rehearsals

Schedule builder generates a full block of rehearsals from a date range and day pattern in one step.

Core
🎬

Performances

Track performance dates, venues, house managers, stage managers, and chaperone assignments.

Core
📌

Callboard

Internal announcement board with audience targeting and a public-facing board for guardians.

Core
💰

Budget Tracker

Per-production income and expense ledger with categories, running totals, and surplus/deficit summary.

Core
📜

Royalties & Licensing

Track licensors, fees, payment status, max performances, expiry dates, and contacts.

New
🎟

Ticket Sales

Log house capacity, tickets sold, comps, and revenue per performance. Auto-calculates house percentage.

New
📐

Costume Fittings

Nine-field measurement records per student per production, with fitting status tracking.

New
🧥

Assets

Costumes and props inventory with character, actor, source, status, and quick-change notes.

Core
🏗

Scenic Inventory

Track flats, platforms, furniture, drops, and set dressing with dimensions, location, and status.

New
🎛

Tech Crew

Assign board ops, spot ops, deck crew, wardrobe, and other positions per performance or rehearsal.

New
📤

Schedule Export

Export any production's full rehearsal and performance schedule as an iCal file or printable list.

New
📄

Program Builder

Auto-generate a print-ready playbill from your cast evaluations, production team, and performance data.

New
🔄

Understudies & Covers

Map cover relationships — primary, understudy, swing — with type classification per role.

New
📖

Script Distribution

Log every script issued — person, version, number, date out, return date, and lost/returned status.

New
🏥

Medical Reference

One-page printable quick-reference of student medical and allergy notes for field trips and show nights.

New

Volunteer Hours

Track guardian volunteer time by event, role, and production. Running totals per guardian.

New
📨

Communication Log

Automatic audit trail of every email blast and permission reminder sent. Manual entries too.

New
📇

Vendors & Suppliers

Contact cards for costume houses, lumber yards, lighting companies, and other recurring suppliers.

New
The arc of a production

From first notice
to final curtain.

The Drama Desk follows the natural shape of a school theater season — every module connects to the next.

1

Open auditions

Share a link — students register online. Their info lands directly in your cycle.

2

Evaluate & cast

Score each auditioner, mark callbacks, assign roles. Generate the cast list instantly.

3

Build the schedule

Set a date range and days of week — the schedule builder does the rest. Export to iCal.

4

Manage forms & families

Track permissions, send reminders, and give guardians a portal to stay informed.

5

Run production week

Tech crew assigned, program printed, medical reference ready, chaperones confirmed.

6

Close it out

Budget closed, scripts returned, volunteer hours logged. Ready for the next show.

Built for the whole community

Not just for the director's
desk.

The Drama Desk includes public-facing pages your students and families can use — no login required on their end.

🎤 Audition Registration

Share a link — students sign up online
  • Branded with your school name and production
  • Captures grade, guardian contact, vocal range, conflicts, and experience
  • Submissions import directly into your audition cycle
  • One "Copy Link" button generates the full URL

📌 Public Callboard

Announcements your families can see
  • Shareable callboard URL for guardians and students
  • Posts can be targeted to specific audiences
  • Auto-refreshes — no login, no app to install
  • Distinct styling for guardian-specific posts

👨‍👩‍👧 Family Portal

A home for guardians
  • Shows live callboard announcements
  • Guardians can submit permission acknowledgments electronically
  • School contact info surfaced clearly
  • Link generated from your Settings in one click

🕐 Audition Time Slots

Organized audition scheduling
  • Create slots manually or bulk-generate from a time range
  • Assign students to specific times
  • Summary view shows assigned, open, and total counts
  • Per-cycle, per-production organization

The administrative part of directing is invisible work. It happens before the first rehearsal, after every run-through, and at 11pm when the permission slip emails start coming in. It deserved a real tool.

William A. Smith — Playwright & Creator of The Drama Desk
Early access

Free for beta directors.
Always.

Beta participants get full access at no cost for the full length of the beta testing period. In return, I ask for honest feedback — what's broken, what's missing, what's actually useful. Your input shapes what this becomes.

Beta Access
Free during beta

Full access to every module for your school's theater program, at no cost for the full length of the beta testing period. Cloud-backed data, secure sign-in, available on any device.

  • Unlimited productions, students, and records
  • All 32+ modules included
  • Secure Supabase cloud storage
  • Public audition forms, callboard, and family portal
  • Schedule export to iCal / calendar apps
  • Priority support and direct access to the developer
Apply for Beta Access →

Beta participants will be notified before any paid tier is introduced. Founding users receive preferential pricing.

Your program deserves
better tools.

Join the beta and help shape the Drama Desk into exactly what school theater directors need.

Beta Sign-Up →
Built by a playwright who has been in the room.