Benefits of being a member?
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Theater Administration
Forum Name: Running Your Theater
Forum Discription: General questions about how to make it work
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3298
Printed Date: 5/06/24 at 7:43pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Benefits of being a member?
Posted By: tonyboling
Subject: Benefits of being a member?
Date Posted: 7/19/08 at 5:40pm
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In your community theatre group....what is the benefit of becoming a member? Not like a board member, but just a member of the community theatre. Our CT has like 38 members but that's just like "paid memberships". Plenty of people act and work on shows but rarely are they "members". So other than voting rights....what else do you offer paying "members"? |
Replies:
Posted By: JoeMc
Date Posted: 7/20/08 at 11:57am
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Actually Tony in most of the groups here, you get Sweet Fanny Adams. besides a Newsletter every now & then. Although these days that doesn't happen, unless you have a MacHines & get via email.
With my mob I have introduced giving one complimentary per production season, to each member. Some groups give a reduced ticket price, but not much more.
They do tend to wheel out the old Furfy of "your not covered by Insurance, unless your a member". Which is a load of rubbish, but it tends to get the unknowing to shell out the fee. Also some groups have a modified member ship fee, that is charged & covers only the time of the production they are in. Of course in a lot of cases males get membership for free anyway! ------------- [western] Gondawandaland "Hear the light & see the sound! TOI TOI CHOOKAS {may you always play to a full house!} |
Posted By: spikesgirl
Date Posted: 7/28/08 at 4:54pm
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Our theater has become very successful in the past few years and we have a large annual membership. We hold opening night parties, invite groups of a certain level of sustaining memberships to dress rehearsal, free passes, etc..
In addition, if you renew early, you are given a VIP pass which is good for two additional tickets to any show you choose. We have in the past given out book marks, hats, tee shirts and so forth, but we've found that our members prefer us to keep our ticket prices low and offer great theater as opposed to freebies.
Charlie
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Posted By: vickifrank
Date Posted: 7/28/08 at 5:25pm
In one group that I worked with the 'membership' included 2 tickets to the dinner theater style opening night. They always sold out and had a huge waiting list for this membership. Here's the deal, it was a "dry" county (you could not sell liquor) but you could serve it  as long as people didn't pay for it. So they had wine and crackers served "free" for their members. The membership was their major fundraising source.
It was truely brilliant, because the libated customers always LOVED
 the opening night of the show even when they couldn't remember many of the details and would talk the show up to friends. Sold out first show was good for publicity too. So they really ended up with a sold out house almost every night (It was a very small house--about 100 people) and they had many performances, which was tiring for the performers but made them feel wonderful. I loved the business strategy.  ------------- _____________ http://www.studio-productions-inc.com 1-800-359-2964 The theater scrim people |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 7/29/08 at 8:50am
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Our "membership" has a few perks. First and foremost is the ability to call yourself a member (oh the feeling of belonging and camaraderie). Then there is the newsletter which goes out somewhere between once and ten times a year. The biggest perk is a free drink at our annual awards banquet. All this for the amazingly low price of $5.00. It's such a good deal, why not join twice? ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 7/29/08 at 4:55pm
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Well the first part of your statement is true Pat (acutally its all true) but it is the ability to call yourself a member. Yes that is the main privilage, accompanied by the responsibility to help with all the thankless chores that keep a theater running... Can't wait to sign up again next year... lol ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/03/08 at 10:24am
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You can't be on our stage, backstage, or in the booth involved in a production unless you're a member... You get a discount on tickets You get a discount at our concession stand You get to usher for shows you're not involved in (And ushers get to see the show for free) You receive our newsletter a few times a year. You have the privilege of attending Board Meetings, and voting on issues at our AGM... All for 20 measly bucks a year. ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 8/04/08 at 5:32pm
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Wow... You even get the privilage of paying $20!!! Cool, I was going through some old records the other day and I found that, not only do we only get to pay $5, it has been that way since AT LEAST 1965... (Jim will tell me if its longer) Now THATS entertainment!!! Again, face it folks, if you make it too hard, no one joins, if no one joins, the work gets done by only a few.. But, for me, getting to help do the work and occationally help guide the ship is why I WANT to be a member...
(don't mind me, nothing to do this afternoon, so I felt like chiming in again) ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/05/08 at 11:54am
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"not only do we only get to pay $5" Why even bother with memberships in that case? "if you make it too hard, no one joins" if 20 measly bucks a year is "too hard", then I don't want you to join... You probably have bigger fish to fry than community theatre ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 8/05/08 at 12:22pm
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"if 20 measly bucks a year is "too hard", then I don't want you to join..."
Rather harsh it would appear. There are many people who may have trouble finding that extra 20 but would work a whole show without complaining. In our theatre we are trying to earn our money through putting on quality shows and brining in door and patron sales not by milking our workers.
Membership is for the workers/actors/crew/friends of the playhouse. Moneymaking and fundraising is a whole separate creature. ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/05/08 at 12:46pm
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Oh please... 20 bucks... a YEAR? If that's too hard for you to come up with, you likely have more pressing concerns than community theatre.... Finding recipes that cover the taste of cat food for starters. And besides, there's plenty of work to be done that doesn't fall within the privileges I listed above... Come help build set... Help make/alter/find costumes... Run the vacuum around the house... Learn how to hang/focus light... the list goes on and on and on... At 20 bucks a year, we're not even close to being the most expensive membership in town... other groups are 50 bucks or more... ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 8/05/08 at 3:47pm
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Ahh.. Irony of ironies Guess my sarcasim isnt what it use to be... ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/06/08 at 11:09am
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Tone of voice doesn't work in text-only communication. ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 8/06/08 at 3:24pm
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There are some things that ring loud and clear.
OK everyone read into that. ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: Kathy S
Date Posted: 8/07/08 at 1:16am
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Membership in our community theatre is $25 a year. Our "perks" are the occassional newsletter, advanced personal notice of tickets being on sale, invitations to the annual meeting and awards night, and frequent emails asking for help on sets and anything else we are working on. However, we have many people who are great contributors to our theatre that have never paid a membership. We consider them equally valuable as those who pay a membership. They are willing to fold table tents and staple them, they work on sets, do tech for the theatre, bring cookies to serve during intermission, and act on our stage. We do not require that our volunteers pay up in order to help. That would defeat the purpose. Many of our members can ONLY support us by paying a membership and coming to shows -- they are too elderly to come and swing a hammer. Everyone who wants to give, gives what he/she can. That is community at it's best. |