I'm going to be working on a student production over the summer as a sort of SM-TD-Dogsbody chimera, and I'm bumping up against the question of what to do with alcohol.
On one hand, I need to enforce policy. Campus Security forbids open containers of alcohol outside of licensed premises, it's highly unprofessional (IMO) for anyone to be drinking during a show, and the Department of Theatre officially forbids company members from drinking while working on a show.
On the other, these are students. I can't be everywhere at once, and the director has made it clear to me that the departmental policy has usually been honoured in the breach, particularly at opening and closing when pre-drinking in anticipation of the cast party is usually quite rampant.
I'm also at a bit of a loss as to what I can actually do. I don't think I can rely on my ASMs or dressers to keep an eye on things, and I have better things to be doing mid-show than rifling through dressing rooms looking for chorus members swilling out of concealed bottles.
Aside from emphasizing that these policies are in place for a reason and that I'm required by the department to confiscate any open bottles I run across, can you think of anything else I might be able to do in this situation?