We started out in Sept of 1999. We have never gotten any institutional financial support (although we do get some donations). Between 9/99 and 12/00 we did over $12,000 worth of business. We have done about a dozen readers theater productions, four full productions and several training programs. I didn't file my 501 (c)(3) until last fall. I filled it out myself and had no problem getting approval. It doesn't take a lawyer to file it. A CPA would be more like it.

When we started out, our first production was a full production of TO GILLIAN ON HER 37th BIRTHDAY. I agreed to put up to $3,000 of my own money into the production. We rented the local theater and went ahead with it. It was also my first directing stint (other than a one act at the end of a directing course). I produced the show. We made $1,000 on the show.

We have since done many more shows and we only lost money on one (about $80) - surprisingly, it was one of the best shows we put on. We do two full productions a year and the rest are readers theaters. We concentrate on involving new people and making quality productions. If the quality is there, people will come.

We work hard to get along with the main theater and not compete with them. I have been surprised by how many people are coming to us with requests to do shows for them. We do our readers theaters at local resturaunts. We just closed a Noel Coward play (readers theater) last night. The resturaunt was full and they sold a lot of dinners they might not have without the attraction of a play. Chapter Two (a full production) opens on Valentines Day in one of our resorts.

We have been asked to do shows on holidays and we have just been asked to do a dinner mystery theater. The local theater has asked us to put up a full production for them this summer. The secret is to start small - never have more money at risk than you can lose. And quality, quality, quality! You can do a readers theater for $250 or $300 for three shows (thurs, fri, sat) and do it in places that want you there and don't charge you for the space. We occsionally pay for a place to do our shows but that is the real exception rather than the rule. We charge $5.00 for the show. You break even with 15 to 20 people per show.

We have bought several thousand dollars worth of lighting, set materials and other technical equipment and have over $1,000 left in our bank account.

Let me know if I can help.

When our group started we plowed ahead without thinking. The cast agreed to pay for their scripts. We chose a play with limited set requirements. We were able to work out a deal with the owners of our venue to pay for the rental after the production. We put together a quality program and collected the advertising revenues prior to sending the program to the printer. We had a booth at a local octoberfest. We had kids games with prizes, face painting and sold baked goods, as well as raffled off tickets to our performances. We also applied for local cultural council grants. From a germ of an idea in someones living room, we managed in four months time to have a successful play under our belt and nearly $500 in the bank account. We have also used tag/yard/garage sales which can quickly generate a couple hundred dollars.

We've had several successful fundraisers. One huge hit is our annual tricky tray. Getting the donations from local merchants is a big task, but from there .....it's easy.

We've also done some smaller scaled things i.e. breakfast with Santa; a haunted house, craft fairs.

The possiblities are endless. Best of luck to you and your company!

What is a tricky tray?

you can always try getting corporate sponsors, or even local businesses. you can offer ads in a playbill or "sponsored by" status of a production or even an evening of a production. there are tons of grants out there if you are aggressive. and, yes, though they are not fun, a way to get your name out there for increased attendance would be a bake sale or sponsored walk if you could pull it off.