Part 3-- Keep It Real, Keep It Cheap

So you figure you've got the audience, the money, and the resources to start your own company. Before long, you'll be looking for just the right play that will launch your new troupe on the road to fame and fortune. Your first show carries a heavy burden, poor thing; it's got to:

• establish your group as a legitimate theater company
• show off your group's strengths
• minimize its weaknesses
• create a bond among your cast and crew
• attract an audience
• make enough money to cover most of your expenses
• give you enough seed money to produce a second show

In other words, this show has got to be popular with your target audience, within the capabilities of your actors and crew, and cheap to do. We can't give you lists of shows that fit this bill because each company has different resources, capabilities and audiences to work with; however, if you don't have a lot of money available for your first show, here are some general guidelines on doing it cheaply and well, thereby increasing your chances of being able to float a second show.

Don't do a show just because you've always wanted to do it

If the show is right for your group and will do everything we've listed above for you, by all means go for it. But if it's beyond your capabilities, let it go until the time is right. Choose something that will let your group shine, not something that you'll have to struggle through. This first show has got to be great, or there might not be a second one.

Think small

A small-cast show - two to eight cast members - means not only fewer costumes, but a smaller stage as well. And a smaller stage means a smaller and less expensive performance space. The intimacy afforded by a smaller cast and smaller stage can also be very refreshing to audience members who may have no experience with "up close and personal" theater.

Keep it simple and portable

Choose a show with either a single unit set, or one with no real set at all, where moveable set pieces and lighting establish the locale.

Make it contemporary

Costuming will be much simpler and less expensive if the time period is contemporary. This allows actors to wear clothes that they either already own or that they can easily purchase at The Salvation Army or Goodwill.

Straight play or musical?

Musicals are more expensive to produce. The scripts and scores are rented, not purchased outright, and music directors and musicians are usually paid. Royalties are also much higher for musicals than they are for most straight shows. That said, musicals are very popular with audiences and can be good money-makers. If you want to do a musical, try a small-cast show, and see if you can get away with a small combo rather than a full orchestra - even a show done with just a keyboard player and a drummer can sound really good.

Don't precast

Open your auditions to the entire theater community, not just to your group. Especially here at the beginning, you need to attract as much talent as you can.

Don't pay anyone unless you absolutely have to

Once you start paying folks, you'll find it hard to stop. In community theater, everyone should work for free except for the musical director and, occasionally, the lighting/sound designer -- and that's only if you have to bring one in from outside.

Look for freebies from the community

Cultivate a relationship with the entertainment editor of your local paper -- it will pay off in free publicity. Ask any business whose goods or services you would normally purchase to either donate the goods or services or give you a nice discount -- in exchange for an ad in the program. Even the big chain hardware stores have damaged goods they're willing to give away -- check with your local Lowe's or Home Depot and ask if they have someone in charge of community relations who handles getting rid of damaged and discontinued goods.

Give away free tickets

If at all possible, set aside some free tickets for opening weekend. Offer them to the mayor, city council members, the head of the local arts council, local arts supporters, arts reporters and editors, and, above all, any local theater critics. The newspaper folks may prefer to pay for their own tickets to avoid a conflict of interest, but at least they know you'd like to see them there.

That's our take on what to look out for if you want to start up your own theater -- if we haven't given you a step by step guide here, we do hope we've at least given you some things to think about. And to all of you theatrical entrepeneurs out there -- break a leg!