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First of all, congrats on trying to take on this endeavor. If you pull it off, it will be one of the most gratifying things you'll ever do!

Anyway, a few bits of advice to get started, if I may? I did the same thing last summer. On a whim, I started the Webster Shakespeare Festival, in Webster, NY. We opened with 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in August. The whole genesis of the event/company happened at a snowball's pace. From a "hmmm, what if..." idea late April, to full blown production beginning of August. And it ended up being a huge hit, and is now an annual event.

But there were a couple of things we did (we being me, and a few friends I rounded up to be the admin/production staff.) I guess that is the first thing you should do. Line up your production team. Get them committed. Assign production budgets (if you have any! We had a couple hundred $ to work with) and any stipends (if you have any! We didn't!) Then secure the rehearsal and performance dates and venue(s).

 

The points below are in no order of importence or sequence, but I think they will be helpful: 

 

First of all, we performed out doors in a park in the village. Getting people to come sit indoors during the summer for live theatre, is tough. (Even with great airconditioning!) People typically are looking for things to do outdoors that they can't do other times during the year.

 

Secondly, give your community something they can't find elsewhere. In our case it was Shakespeare (innovatively staged within modern settings and contexts.) Whatever you try to do, it should be different enough to peak interest, yet not so foreign that people would go "Huh? I don't want to go see that." 

 

Third, get support from your local town or village board. Make your company and productions about serving the community by giving them a cultural outlet that will result in improving the quality of life in the place where they live. Your town or village board may even have some $$ to give you. (Not much, but maybe a little.)

 

Fourth, make it free man! In the summer, people love to find free stuff to do. They are desperate for it. You can solicit donations during the performance, if you want. We raised anywhere between $600 to $1000 dollars during the intermission. That paid for the production, and put a little in our pocket for next year.

 

Fifth, once you do determine what you are doing, where and when, get a website built fast! I got our website up an running within a week of formulating the project,and I started getting hits immediately. Local arts and culture sections of the newspapers and calendar type mags search the internet for what is going on or coming up in the area. That can lead to a call from a reporter wanting to find out about your project, and possibly do an article.

 

Sixth, be proactive about press. Call them. Tell them you've got this new thing happening in your town, and they really should do an article. It's not too early to have a small article about this company forming and their plans for the summer. Then they can do a more indepth follow-up article closer to the actual productions. It may take repeated calls, but it will pay off.

 

Lastly, be passionate, have fun, and no matter what, get it done. Give folks a great event, not just a production of a play, but an event, and they will come screaming back for more next year! Good luck in your endeavor!