Technical Director

Technical Director

Location: Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Reports to: Production Director

Position Summary

We are seeking an innovative, highly skilled, and highly organized Technical Director to lead the successful technical planning of productions across our venues.

This is a senior leadership role for a collaborative manager and problem-solver who thrives in a fast-paced, large-scale repertory production environment. From scenic automation and complex rigging to seamless lighting, audio, and video integration, you will guide technical execution while balancing timelines, budgets, and resources.

Reporting to the Director of Production and working as one of three Technical Directors, you will collaborate closely with Designers, Directors, Production Department Heads, Stage Management, and Stage Crew (IATSE Local 461) to provide technical leadership across multiple production departments. You will oversee the planning and execution of productions, ensuring exceptional technical standards, effective communication, and a safe, collaborative, and supportive working environment.

Start Date:Late October 2026 (Some flexibility depending on situation)

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Show Realization

• Interpret design drawings, technical riders, and scripts to determine the most effective structural, mechanical, and logistical execution strategies.

• Manage the integration of all technical elements—including scenery, props, costumes, lighting, audio, video, automation, and rigging—ensuring they meet the artistic intent from rehearsal through to performance.

• Produce comprehensive ground plans, sections, and fly schedules (AutoCAD/Vectorworks) to ensure smooth operations and load-ins.

• Act as a central point of technical continuity, resolving challenges across departments and collaborating closely with creative teams to scale designs to budget constraints.

Show Leadership & Production Collaboration

• Serve as the Technical Director for assigned theatre venues and productions, managing the season’s fast-paced schedule.

• Collaborate closely with Designers, Directors, Stage Management, and Artistic Leadership, serving as the key liaison for technical production notes.

• Execute and supervise the successful, timely, and safe load-in, technical rehearsal, preview, and load-out of productions.

Departmental Leadership & Crew Management

• Provide effective, motivating leadership to crews across all technical areas.

• Coordinate work calls, assign projects, and manage schedules Stage Crew (IATSE Local 461)

• Foster a respectful, inclusive, and collaborative work culture, resolving workplace challenges with professionalism, clarity, and fairness.

• Work closely with all department heads to ensure smooth fit up and operations of productions.

• Oversee the production schedule for the venue, ensuring clear communication of all schedule changes, identifying pressure points and potential issues, and collaborating with other departments to adjust plans as necessary to support the overall production schedule.

Operations, Budgeting & Planning

• Formulate cost estimates, expedite productions within tight timelines.

• Cultivate and oversee relationships with outside contractors, fabrication shops, and equipment suppliers.

Facility Operations, Safety & Infrastructure

• Ensure compliance with Occupational Health and Safety regulations (including WHMIS and Working at Heights) across all backstage, stage, and venue areas.

• Conduct a safety evaluation of each design to ensure the production can be safely built, installed, operated, and maintained.

• Develop and implement safe work procedures for the installation, operation, maintenance, changeover, and strike of each production.

• Maintain all theatre facilities, infrastructure, and equipment, coordinating certifications, maintenance schedules, and capital upgrades.

• Strategically plan and track the technical lifecycle of each production across repertory rotations, transfers, and season-end strikes.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional theatre experience in technical direction or technical venue management.

• Proficiency in AutoCAD and/or Vectorworks, as well as Microsoft Office.

• Demonstrated operational knowledge of structural scenic construction, modern theatre technical systems, rigging, automation, and stage mechanics.

• Proven capability to motivate, direct, and collaborate with crews and cross-functional teams in a demanding environment.

• Demonstrated expertise in managing substantial technical budgets, project schedules, and competing priorities under pressure.

• Familiarity with collective agreements and experience working with IATSE crews and union environment.

• Working knowledge of current health and safety standards, including WHMIS and Working at Heights, with an unwavering commitment to safe working practices.

• Valid Driver’s License.

Preferred Qualifications

• Post-secondary education or training in technical theatre, production management, or a related field.

• Direct experience operating within a large-scale theatre or high-volume seasonal production environment.

Working Conditions

The standard schedule for this role demands flexibility; evenings, weekends, and overtime are frequently required to align with production schedules, load-ins, and technical rehearsals. This role is physically demanding and involves regular time spent in rehearsal halls, active stage environments, and shops, including the use of ladders and occasional lifting.

Contract Details and Compensation

The Shaw Festival is committed to fair compensation and providing a structured environment that supports professional growth and work-life balance.

• Annual Salary Range: $90,000 – $98,000

• Vacation: three weeks’ vacation annually prorated for 2026.

• Benefits and RSP (3 month waiting period)

Application Process