Abstract
The problem was to prepare a prompt book for the play A Phoenix too Frequent by Christopher Fry and to present this play for a public performance in the drama workshop at Sacramento State College. A Phoenix too Frequent was chosen because it is an excellent comedy, perhaps Fry's funniest, and because the interpretation of the beautiful poetry and subtle wit provided an interesting challenge for the director and for the actors. The scenes are well constructed and carefully planned for comic effect; the characters are clearly drawn and differentiated. In the presentation of this play the writer acted as producer, director, designer, and technician. In the capacity of director he read and carefully analyzed the play in order to plan the general style of the production. Subsequently he cast the play, prepared a prompt book, and directed the action and interpretation.The director then became the designer, for the setting and costumes had to be planned to fit into the style chosen for the production. It was necessary to do research on Greek life and costumes before making the set-drawing and the costume plates. The sets were then constructed; the designer supervised this work. Other technical duties included; supervising the lighting of the set, obtaining properties, and stage-managing the performances. As producer for the play it was up to the writer to co-ordinate all of the activities already mentioned, and to arrange for the performance dates, costumes, rehearsal times, stage facilities, programs, and publicity. All of these activities were essential to the effective staging of this difficult play. A more detailed discussion of each will be given in later sections of the paper.