As a director I want you to know that the director ALWAYS gets a gift. A trip to Hawaii is usually a good gift.

Unfortunately, my casts are more inventive and thoughtful. Several years ago, a cast gave me a glass beer stein with the play name and dates etched on it. Since that time, I have been given the same thing by each cast - I have quite a collection now. I love every one of them. I like to clean them myself - it always brings back wonderful memories. I have also received an autographed cast picture, tickets to a nationally touring play that was in our area that I wanted to see, a dummy newspaper front page (made to look like Variety) with articles about the play. One of my favorites (it hangs on the wall by my computer) is a montage of pictures from a late rehearsal of The Female Version of The Odd Couple, each picture cut out with pinking shears (sp) and dialog balloons with the actors making wisecracks like they always did in rehearsals. I still go back and look at them from time to time.

When we did Tribute, we needed a sketch of the lead actor in the Hershfeld style. They also did a sketch of me peeking out from the curtain (which I would NEVER do) in the same style. That one sits in my living room.

There are many others - it is not the cost involved - I like to get something that reminds me of the fun we had doing the show. Something to put on a table or on my desk in my office (before I reired) or on the wall. It really is the thought and originality that is important.

Hope this helps.

In our theater it has always been a tradition that the cast take up a collection and give a gift to the director to commemorate the show. Our traditions also include a small gift from the director to the members of the cast and crew. Over the years, the various gifts have overwhelmed the decorating scheme in our house... I now describe it as "eclectic theater gifts".

I have to agree with everyone else a gift to the director is an unwritten rule! The director really does put in the major time, they are there even when all the cast is not. We, often times, also give a gift to the Music Director. Also cards are nice for the Stage Manager and Tech people, even a candy bar can be good for them.

Usaully it just takes one person to coordinate a gift, usually the female lead seems to take this responsibility. Even finding something specific on E-Bay. Gifts are usually something to do with the show. For example in Our Town we gave the director a time capsule. Music Man we gave the director a shovel with all of our names on it(that was for shoveling all the Sh*& we give them!)

We try to keep it light. Giving no more than $2 to $5 per person.

The type of gift I prefer to get as a director, and to give as an acotr, is something that is reminiscent of the show. Obviously, any acknowledgement is nice, especially when a cast may include young out-of-work actors who may have little spending money. When I was in "Moon Over Buffalo", we gave our director a poster from the original B'way production that we had all signed, and the director gave each of us a toy buffalo, which I still have in a prominent place.

When I was in college, we also had cute, but standard gifts for our crew people. Lighting people were given candles or little flashlights; sound people were given bells or other "noisy" gifts.

I do think that it is important to acknowledge the amount of work that a director has put into a production. I once worked on a show where the cast pretty much despised the director, and they very blatently did not give him any sort of acknowledgement. It really made the whole production end on a sour note.

Hope this helps!

Our group gives the Director a Director's Chair with his/her name on it and the logo of the show.