How is your theater doing financially?
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Topic: How is your theater doing financially?
Posted By: dougb
Subject: How is your theater doing financially?
Date Posted: 10/17/05 at 12:40pm
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In our area about 80% of the theaters are seeing significant reductions
in their income. Some 50 year old theaters are fighting for
survival. Two major theaters have skirted with bankruptcy.
Theaters who could always plan on being sold out for the run before
opening night are now having to learn promotion to fill their houses. People who were season ticket holders are now buying individual tickets. Other people have reduced their support levels. Donations (both personal and corporate) have dried up as people give to "higher" priorities (hurricane's and other natural disasters) and disposable income is being eaten away by higher prices for gas and utilities. How is your theater doing? Have you made any changes to your operations as a result of changes in income? |
Replies:
Posted By: PatrickArmagh
Date Posted: 10/17/05 at 1:48pm
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I think this is situational. I have been involved with a number of theaters that are all flourishing in the last three years due to poplulation increase. In addition, two of the theaters undertook major capital projects to improve the environment of their theater, including building a new parking lot on the side of the building and refinishing the interior with new bathrooms, lobby and theater space. With increases in gas prices, individuals do not want to travel as far for the arts, but still want the amenities of the large downtown theaters, including well dressed ushers and alcoholic beverages. One theater has 1200+ season subscribers, up from 732 three years ago. This was done by choosing very safe shows with broad appeal. Unfortunately, one concession of increasing attendance is to pick shows for the audience, and not for the art. For every Miller and Simon, you need to perform three shows by unknown names to yield the same attendance. It is not the preferred method, but then again, reality television promotes itself even though there is little merit.
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Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 10/18/05 at 8:39am
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We belong to five theaters in our area (about a 50 mile spread from the two farthest) One is an asset of a major remodled theater that brings in music/comedy/etc acts from around the country. The CT part of that orginization has no expences other than postage for thier mailings. Of course they get no profits other than from thier membership fees as the house not only provides all costs, but takes all proceeds. Another theater is very small, but very well off. It is only a 125 seater, but it is in a very wealthy town. Not only does it have a generous patorn base, it also was bequeathed several very nice donations of the life of the theater. They do not struggle, and are in a position to be happy as long as things break even. Yet another theater is very thrifty, but doing very well on a capitol improvment sence as they are just a couple of years away from realizing thier dream of a new builiding. The fourth one has a very nice facility, but suffers from an "inbred" management system that is about to cripple it. They are fairly deep in debt and close to the edge. Sadly, the fifth theater, which for the last decade was hanging by a thread, has gone under. In a way, it was a blessing as thier building was in a bad part of town, and falling down around thier ears. Now a small dedicated group has gone back to basics and to the beggining, getting interst in the community up and producing in the high school or other such venues. It really runs the gambit...
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Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 10/18/05 at 10:06am
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My theatre has also seen a reduction in ticket sales in the past 4-5
years...even as recognition and awards have increased. So, we definitely notice the decrease in ticket dollars. We're fortuante - we have several large corporate sponsors, as well as grants from the state Council on the Arts, in addition to a fairly large yearly grant from Proctor and Gamble. The main change we're trying to make is doing more popular well-known plays - we have always pretty much done what we wanted and didn't bother with fill-the-seats titles. However, we actually are (argh) talking about doing a production of The Odd Couple. Unless you knew me, LOL, you can't imagine how that's going to pain me. LOL |
Posted By: POB14
Date Posted: 10/18/05 at 10:27am
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Why? Aren't you doing the little-known all-nude version? ("Oscar . . . that is NOT a ladle!!") ------------- POB Old Bugger, Curmudgeon, and Antisocial B**tard |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 10/18/05 at 1:49pm
 
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