Consulting Services:
Audience Development Program Building Marketing Services Curriculum Planning
Custom-designed Posters and Program Covers at Affordable Prices
ABOUT THEATRE SOLUTIONS
At Theatre Solutions, we understand what it's like to be a "one-man show" in your theatre department. One drama teacher often serves as artistic and managing director, scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designer, props master, set dresser, technical director, production coordinator, box office manager, producer, secretary, treasurer, and occassional custodian — all at the same time!
Dean Slusser, Founder and CEO of Theatre Solutions, began his career as a one-man show at a small college theatre program in the mountains of Virginia. Now, with over 40 years of experience directing, marketing, and managing theatre and fine arts programs in high school and college settings, he wants to share his experience and his expertise with other small programs to help them be the best that they can be while imagining what they can become.
Since his retirement in December of 2022, Dr. Slusser has been in conversation with colleagues from across the country to learn what services would be most beneficial to small theatre and fine arts programs. Those discussions are what led to the birth of Theatre Solutions. You have the ideas - you just don't always have the time you need to make them happen. We want to help!
PHILOSOPHY
- The Arts are Academic!
- Theatre experience teaches and reinforces workplace skills — especially soft skills.
- Every student should have access to the arts.
- Every teacher should have access to resources to create and sustain a successful program.
CUSTOM-DESIGNED POSTERS
SETC SPECIAL!
Save $50
$150 per production Flat Fee
Offer good through March 31, 2024
Package rates available.
- Design Meeting
- Three 11" X 17" contract-compliant sample designs
- Feedback/Review session
- Final Revision and Review Meeting
- PNG poster file for use with online marketing activities
- PDF poster file to take to your local printer
STOCK POSTERS
See a layout under sample work that you like?
We will update existing posters with your information for $100.
(Extra fee required for artwork with copyright)
Additional promotional materials (program cover, social media posts, website banners, etc.) are available a la carte.
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
A sustaining audience is a key component of educational theatre programs that is often overlooked. Schools often have the freedom to build a sustaining audience through ticket sales and patronage programs. Let us help!
PROGRAM BUILDING
Looking for ways to build a program that becomes an integral part of your school, your system, and your community? Theatre Solutions is ready to share our decades of experience in creating the foundation for strong programs that will last.
MARKETING SERVICES
When you begin to build a sustaining audience, the need to sell individual tickets doesn't go away! What is your marketing plan? What resources do you use to reach the individual ticket buyer? Let us help you with branding and positioning to improve your local profile, while connecting you with additional resources that can substantially improve your online profile and streamline your box office procedures!
CURRICULUM PLANNING
The foundation of any successful school theatre program is the curriculum. What courses do you offer? In what sequence are they taken? How do you balance classroom curriculum with rehearsal and production elements?
TECHNICAL THEATRE & DESIGN
Do you work with a team? Or are you a one-man show? When you are seeking technical expertise that is beyond your skill set, we can help connect you with the answers. Whether the issue is lighting, sound, scenery, costumes, makeup, or props, we can tap into our network of educational theatre consultants to get you the help you need.
SAMPLE WORK
The bulk of Dr. Slusser's work over the last 25+ years has been with Camden County Schools on the Southeast Georgia coast, where he served as Theatre teacher and System Fine Arts Director. Below you will find several samples of the layout work he did during his tenure there, as well as a few additional items he prepared for local and statewide organizations. Click to enlarge images.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Dean Slusser, Ed.D., began performing in theatre and music programs at the age of six. He directed his first production at Bowling Green State University in Ohio where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a specialization in Theatre (1982) and a Master of Arts in Theatre (1983). He served as director of theatre at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College (now Mountain Gateway Community College) in Clifton Forge, Virigina and Gordon College in Barnesville, Georgia. He subsequently founded the theatre program at Peach County High School in Fort Valley, Georgia before moving to the southeast Georgia coast where he served as Theatre Director, Fine Arts Coordinator, and Fine Arts Director for nearly 28 years before retiring in December, 2022. He earned Specialist degree in Educational Leadership (2003) and a Doctorate in Educational Administration (2008) from Georgia Southern University.
During his tenure with Camden County Schools, he oversaw the growth in the arts that included expansion of programs, curriculum and faculty, major rennovations to the fine arts auditorium, and the addition of a self-contained fine arts academy housing a total of three performance venues and multiple arts and academic classrooms and studios.
Dr. Slusser served for more than three decades in various positions on the boards of the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) and the Georgia Theatre Conference (GTC). He also served for nearly a decade on the board of the Georgia Thespian Society. He is a member of the GTC and Georgia Thespian Hall of Fame, a recipient of the GTC Leighton Ballew Award for Outstanding Service to Theatre in Georgia, the Suzanne M. Davis Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to the Southeastern Theatre Conference, and the National Federation of High Schools' Outstanding Speech, Debate & Theatre Educator Award for Georgia (2022) and Outstanding Theatre Educator Award for Section 3 (2023).
In addition to operating Theatre Solutions, Dr. Slusser serves as a part-time consultant with the architectural firm of James W. Buckley & Associates.
