Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Glee summer workshop- lots of questions

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jag0071
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Topic: Glee summer workshop- lots of questions
Posted: 9/27/10 at 3:03pm

Hi all.

I am student at UNT in Denton TX taking a grant writing course. We are using the class to help a local community theater secure much needed grants. However, in doing so we are expected to generate a program (mine is a Glee summer workshop for kids 14-18) and a subsequent budget. The workshop would conclude with 1 ticketed performance for the community. I was not in theater or a performing choir so I have no frame of reference. I was hoping some of you could help me think of items necessary for my budget and an approximate dollar figure. The community theater itself doesn't seem to know how to anticpate these costs either. I can't win them money if I don't have an accurate budget. With school budgets for the fine arts shrinking, I think I have a good shot at winning a grant.

Can you please help? I'd love to write a grant that would actually secure them much needed funds as well as hopefully generate some revenue for them! Please correct me if I am using any improper terminology.

So far my budget items include:

1 director

1 choral coach

1 choreographer

wardrobe

props-?

sheet music

background music arrangements

marketing (flyers, mail outs, stamps)

utilities for their facility (I can write in some of their operating costs this way)

Thank you all so much for your insight.

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KEB54
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Posted: 9/28/10 at 1:37am

In addition to being a director, producer, and actor, I am also a grant writer.

It looks to me that you are approaching this in the wrong way. A budget tells the same story as the proposal only using a different language. You can either drive the proposal with a budget, or drive the budget with the proposal.

In the first case, a funder, for instance, tells you the amount of funds available (or a maximum award) and you develop a proposal that fits in that limitation.

It sounds to me that your's is the opposite where you develop a proposal first and then develop a budget. So the key is project planning. Once planned, then identify the costs.

To do this you need to be finding out what the organization wants. They need to own it or ir won't work. They should have a main person to own the project, probably the individual that will run or manage it if it is funded. You need to interview him/her and plan. Also, don't work in a vaccume. Get many, many people involved. Get their input. No surprizes. CEO, Board Members, finance people, marketing, janitors, workers, etc.

After the plan is developed, go through methodically and assign costs. Whenever you say you're going to do something or purchase something, make sure there is an associated cost, one that makes logical sense. If you say you have a director, make sure that a cost is there. If he is working 80 hours and you've assigned $500, that doesn't make sense (unless you can explain why he only will make $6/hour. Likewise, $4,000 in postage won't make sense if in your proposal you don't mention any mailings.

Anyway, the short of it is PLAN and gets lots of input. As a grant writer you need not be an expert in anything other than synthesizing other's ideas and organizing them, and translating them into a budget.

KEB

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jayzehr
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Posted: 9/28/10 at 5:46pm

Originally posted by jag0071

The community theater itself doesn't seem to know how to anticpate these costs either.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if you charge admission for a performance you're also going to have to obtain rights to the music.

This thread might be pertinent.

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JoeMc
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Posted: 9/28/10 at 9:41pm

Well no Jay it's a furffy & you can find ones self up the preverbial without a paddle!

Any public performance no matter if admission is charged or not will atract Royalties & Rights;- http://www.aact.org/making/rights/index.html

This may help to understand the mine field, as there are further links there covering most questions on the subject.

Edited by JoeMc - 9/28/10 at 10:14pm

[western] Gondawandaland
"Hear the light & see the sound!
TOI TOI CHOOKAS
{may you always play to a full house!}

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jayzehr
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Posted: 9/30/10 at 4:17pm

Originally posted by JoeMc

Well no Jay it's a furffy & you can find ones self up the preverbial without a paddle!

Any public performance no matter if admission is charged or not will atract Royalties & Rights;- http://www.aact.org/making/rights/index.html

This may help to understand the mine field, as there are further links there covering most questions on the subject.

I was reading one of those articles linked at AACT.org and now I'm more confused than before.

"Small performing rights essentially means the right to play or perform the song publicly, in an out-of-context way, where the song does not play an integral role in the overall performance. Typically, this includes radio airplay, live performances in a restaurant or bar. In a more theatrical situation, one example might be the use of a CD to play pre-show or post-show music, or in a revue type performance or concert.

Where the music in question is ‘important to the arc of the show’ as in the question at hand, we’re talking about so-called “Grand” performing rights."

http://theatrelawyer.com/2008/01/21/music-rights-for-plays-and-musicals/

Our group has recently been under the impression that even pre-show music required obtaining "Grand" performance rights. A director wanted to use one song before the lights came up and after much rigmarole and far too much money for an obscure 70 year old song (IMHO) we got the rights.

Going by the above advice, however, we didn't need to do that and wouldn't even need to for a revue as that would (I assume) be covered by the blanket fees to ASCAP and BMI paid by the theater we rent.

I think you could even argue from his interpretation that music used between scenes isn't really "important to the arc of the show" and would be covered by small performance rights.

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JoeMc
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Posted: 9/30/10 at 8:09pm

Like you Jay I get easily confused with the Rights game of what's what & who's paying the bill?
With APRA {[Australian Performing Rights Association]AMCOS} the which is similar to ASCAP, we pay fees for actual pieces used once each year after it is used, listing the music piece details & the length of time it was played, to me this is rather backward, but that's how they do it. This is over & above thier yearly fees of course.
As I mentioned previously this is a mine field & you can expect a hiden 'IED' or UXB' that can explode in your face every now & then.
One that comes to mind is in the song 'The 12 days of christmas' in the '5 Golden rings' line bit, normaly on the word golden we tend to go up on goOOolden, these 2 or 3 notes are copyright seperate from the orginal song, as it was adapted by some bod later & yet everyone sings it that way normaly anyway, he still holds a seperate copyright for these few adapted notes.

Also the song 'Happy Birthday' is aparently still in copyright.

Edited by JoeMc - 9/30/10 at 8:54pm

[western] Gondawandaland
"Hear the light & see the sound!
TOI TOI CHOOKAS
{may you always play to a full house!}

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Topic: Glee summer workshop- lots of questions( Topic Closed)