management « Theatrical Musings

February is always a fun time for the theatre I work for. February is the time of year where we select our next season slate. Our season runs 6 mainstage shows from July through June which means right about 1st Quarter of any given year, we need to sit down an decide what our upcoming season will be. With 2 shows left in the existing season, we have an opportunity to market our next season to our existing patrons.

Going into season selection is always an interesting thing. In the past, before I accepted the role of Managing Director, I was always excited about what was going to be picked. I was a little younger then, but there was always an excitement about what shows we were going to do. I remember one year the we picked both “Cabaret” and “The Graduate” in the same season was very exciting from an artistic point of view. It was just a good season and as an director and artist I was very excited about the shows we were going to put on

Fast forward a couple of years and I am now our Managing Director. My focus has changed greatly from where it was before. While there still is a focus on artistic merit, it has also moved into something I never thought I would be looking at….the financial aspect of our season.

The process goes as this. My Artistic Director takes submissions from local directors who are passionate about directing the show they are submitting. From those submissions, she puts together her season of 6 shows (plus some season extras). She presents it to the board and we vote on the slate. She has to figure out what 6 shows, with what directors, in what order, will fit on our stage. Coming from an artistic point of view, there usually is a through line where we try to ask, artistically, about this upcoming season. What is the through line? What are the directors that we have going to bring this season? Who are the best directors for these shows? What kind of actors can we expect to audition? These are all questions that the Artistic Director asks herself.

I don’t really care about any of that.

Ok, I do. As a director who wants to direct a show a season, I work very closely with my Artistic Director on my submissions and how they fit into the artistic through-line for the season. However, as the Managing Director, my main questions are: Are these shows going to bring us money? Are they situated in such a way that will bring us money? What are the costs associated with teh production of these plays?

And THAT’S what you have to think about when going into a season from a BUSINESS point of view. Artistic Merit is extremely important, but, as a theatre teacher I once had said to me, for every avant garde show you do, you have to do “Oklahoma.” And in this economy….you have to do “Oklahoma” twice. You need name shows to bring in your $$$$$$$.

So, what are my criteria for looking at shows my Artistic Director picks:

1. Name shows – As an audience member, I want to see name shows. I want to see “Barefoot in the Park.” I want to see “Romeo and Juliet.” I want to see a “Cabaret” or a “Graduate.” These are name shows. Name shows people see and recognize. It doesn’t matter what marketing you use, people see these titles and remember them. They will say, “God yes, I want to go see ‘The Goodbye Girl’, cause I really like that song.”

2. Director’s concept – Not in regards to artistic merit….but in regards to “How much is this going to cost me?” It’s great if I want to do Chicago, but if the director wants to do this giant set with expensive costumes….it’s not going to help the bottom line. We can’t do that type of show. I LOVE seeing a show which would have possibly cost me a bundle, pared down because the director thinks they can get the point across very minimally.

3. Production through-line – When picking a season, I need to look at what type of production elements there are in the various shows. For example, did my Artistic Director pick shows that work together artistically that all have living room sets? All living room sets mean minimal build time and minimal lumber costs because we are just moving around doors and doing set dressing. Lumber and paint is a HUGE cost for me. Also, Actors get on a finished set earlier which helps tremendously with their blocking. And then, because I’ve saved all these costs, I can then have one HUGE tent-pole show in a season.

4. Royalties – Royalties are what we have to pay in order to put a show on. If my artistic director wants to put on a musical, that’s going to have HUGE Royalties associated with it and I am going to want to know what other royalties I’ll have to pay for each of the remaining shows. Remember, royalties occur before we start sewing costumes, hanging lights, or casting actors. They cause every show to start at a net loss. ANd it’s not just musicals which cost a lot. If “Barefoot in the Park” is submitted, that play is going to cost me about $50 more per performance on average (Neil Simon) than other shows. It’s almost the cost of a musical! I have to ask myself, is this financially worth it? Am I going to get the same or better return on this show than others with lower royalty costs? Same or better than a musical? And, should you find a royalty-show that doesn’t have high audience attendance and low ticket sales, your profit percentage on that show will be closer (if not better still) than other shows that season, simply because there are no up-front royalty costs.

5. Ticket Prices Our theatre has several different discounts for various conditions of who you are: Student, Senior, Military, Groups over 10, Groups over 20…..and on and on and on. When picking a show, I need to look at what that audience for that show is. You do “Romeo and Juliet,” you’ll probably get a lot of high school kids (as long as you market to high school kids). Student prices are obviously lower…meaning I’m going to have a lower RevPAS (Revenue per available seat), lower average ticket price, and lower box office return. However, I may also get a higher occupancy which will cover the lower revenue. I nned to look at each show and kind of figure out what my revenue rectangle for each show we have is. If I think we can sell the show to it’s intended audience and get the profit % we need…I’m happy. It’s great if you want to do “Closer” and try to get those full price tickets, but if you offend your lower ticket cost people and don’t get as full houses you want at the higher ticket price, you may not make the revenue you need.

6 Cast Size – I alway look at how many people are in any cast. The more people in a cast, the more people who are instantly connected with that show. A show like “Three Days of Rain” has three cast members. Those 3 people only know a fininte number of people and it’s way less than something like “To Kill A Mockingbird,” which has a cast of 17. Look at the math….if each actor brings 8 people to see the show, I get 24 paid seats in “Three Days of Rain” and 51 out of “Mockingbird.” For a community theatre, the number of paid seats is crucial. Stack your season with too many small cast shows and you run the risk of losing paid seats which would have been there with the large cast show

So, as you can see, there is WAY more that goes into picking a season than what shows would be fun to put on or what shows have artistic merit. Those things are VERY important as well, but you have to keep a head for your business or you won’t have a theatre to perform those shows in.