Does anyone have an idea what a fair price would be for church basement rehearsal space? This is an old church in the midwest--no a/c, undependable heat. The church needs money so we want to be fair, but, being a community theater, our funds are limited.

Thanks.

We have paid everything from $30 an hour for a large theater with Tech, to $10 an hour for a large room to 25% of our gross income (also included the performance space) to 50% of our net income (also included the performance space). One of our more successful rehearsal spaces was an empty store in a shopping center - I paid them $100 a month (the rent was $850 a month) until they rented it. They actually held off renting the space till we were finished with it.

We have usually been able to find space for free when we needed it (usually for early rehearsals). Unused conference room in a motel,
training room in the fire hall, yacht club meeting room, public meeting room at our local electric utility and so on.

More to the point is how much you can afford to pay. When I deal with a rental space, I have out budget in mind and want to be fair with the venue but also do not want to break the budget. Most people know that small theater groups do not have a lot of money and I use the good old "I'd like to pay you more but just can't afford it" story. If you are going to use the space on a regular basis for rehearsals, your on-going financial support should result in lower rental rates.

Hope this helps.