I'm wanting to start a theatre company in my town. Well, maybe town isn't the word for it- a village of sorts, with a population of around 2,200. I want to have plays in my town, and I want to know how to do it. I really love theater, and I'm really determined to make this happen. I'll do it myself if I have to. I just don't want to end up in jail.

Soo.....

I've given this a lot of thought, and think I have come up with what would work best. I want to have two productions a year, one in aprilllllish and one in novemberrrrrish. I'm not worried about the cost of a set, of props, or of costumes- people around here will be dying to see their couch or clothes on stage. We'll stick to small casts, starting off with heartfelt comedies- i'm thinking barefoot in the park, or steel magnolias as possible beginings. I think area residents would have no problem donating money to see something get started, and i really do believe that the turnout would be outstanding. I think the best way to handle things would be to charge a small admission fee or ask for donations, so we can pay for the royalties and anything else that comes along. Everyone involved in the production would volunteer, and I know there is a good base of people that would act, direct, produce, or do stage management- whatever they could do to help. I know what I want, but don't know how to get it. I want to start something here that people will love and accept as part of their community- I want to leave something here that I can be proud of. I'm ready to go door to door right now for donations. Just let me know how to start. Thank you all so much in advance.

Thanks for the speedy reply! I have a partner in crime, and we're looking at "Barefoot in the Park." We're sure we'll have more than enough people to fill the roles. I have a question regarding the money, though. (Which, be forwarned, will become a long, string of questions)

The group of people I've found that are interested in doing this will be able to financially pay for the first play. (That is, we will pay for royalties, scripts, etc.) We would like to charge a small admission fee- enough to pay for royalties and scripts for the next play and any other costs involved. We hope that this would start a cycle of paying for a play with income from the last play. Does this sound reasonable? In your opinion, will it work?

How can I start this? All I can think of to do is to start an account at the local bank, and put all money donated into this account. After we've come up with enough money, we could buy scripts and royalties, and the first play production would begin. Any and all income that we make on this play would be put directly into this account. This money would be used only for other plays, and to continue to build the organization.

Would that work?

If so, (here's the end of my string of questions), at what point is it necesary for our organization to have a name and become a real-life non-profit organization? I'm assuming to do this you'd have to fill out a bunch of forms. At what point in my plan listed above do I have to do this? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

While I wasn't a "founding father" I was in the first production of our group.  Basically a couple of people went to the bank, put their names on the dotted line and borrowed about three grand in order to do our first show, The Music Man.  The papers had already been filed to get the non-profit status.

Obviously the point was to get enough money to pay the royalties, costumes and get a set together.  We found that there was no need to pay for advertising the first year.  We had no mailing list, but the newspaper was behind us as a new group and we had a lot of photos and articles that year as we rehearsed ... many of them on the front pages of the paper.  The community support was great.

We made enough to pay off the loan and enough to start the next show.  I think that's pretty much the goal for a lot of us small theatres.  We're not looking to build up the bank account ... just enough to pay for the next few shows.

There will be some shows that will lose money, so you do need to be a bit conservitive with your money for a while.  Our goal is to stay about 5 shows ahead.  With that type of padding we can afford to try something different ... or larger if we like.

Personally, I would suggest filing for non-profit status fairly soon or be affiliated with another group.

Scott

Well Drewjones, you are off to a good start!  You're doing something about establishing your community theatre.

Now; covering the costs can be daunting.  Insurance; Rights; Venue hire; and so on all seem to want to take money from your non-existent bank account.  Take heed from the good advice given -- local Council grants, donations and sponsorship all help defray the start-up costs.

You should budget for a profit from each show.  That will cover costs (repay your debt) and, in time, set you up to float the next production from those profits.

I know of two companies with similar backgrounds.  Both started abour 20 years ago, much as you are describing.  Now, one has about $10,000 in the bank; the other owns its theatre and separate warehouse space.  Both have loads of fun.  How big are your goals?

I wish you well; and, Cheers...

Kathy is right, Drew.  'Ow ya goin' Mate?  Now that you've got the attention and support of a few people around the world, please keep us informed.

You say you want to do two shows per year.  One Company that I work with here in Melbourne, Australia, does two shows per year.  Remembering that our school year is coincident with the calendar year, the first show in the year (April/May) is a musical and the second show (September/October) is a play or comedy.

This format is deliberately choesn because the musical typically has a large cast of younger people who can devote the time to the production.  This has a side benefit, too: young people means that a lot of relatives and peers attend.  This is the real money-making venture for the Company.

Later in the year, the play has a much smaller cast -- usually out-of-school age -- which means that the younger members can devote their time to their studies.  Of course, the aim here, too, is to not loose money; but it is recognized that it is not the big earner for the Company.

If you can use this format for your Company (arranged to work in with your school year), then so much the better.  Because you are getting started, I am sure that you'll absorb all sorts of ideas.  But at the end of the day, you know your community and, therefore, your target audience.

As previously, Good luck...