Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Where to even Begin?

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dexter74656
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Joined: 12/29/06
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Topic: Where to even Begin?
Posted: 12/29/06 at 2:29pm

Hi everyone!

I've been tossing around the idea of starting a small summer-only community theater for a while, and I've secured a partner-in-crime who is willing to jump right on board and start this together.

Theaterical wise, we're not too worried - we're hoping to be able to do the shows out of the local high school where we both graduated (and where I am a part-time employee) and we're lining up meeting with at this point at least two people involved in the theater scene for tips and directions of what we need to be doing.

Our problem lies in that we don't even know where to *start* in regards to the business side of things and while we're hoping to get that direction from our discussions with people, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We're only looking to do this during the summer months, one or two shows - max and we're confident that there's enough of a talent base in the area (the town is very small, but the flip side is that we know a bunch of people who were in the drama department back when they were students). Like I said, it's just the business side that we're not sure how nor where to start.

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Kathy S
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Joined: 8/21/04
Location: United States
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Posts: 303

Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:30pm

Try searching through the articles posted on this website, as well as previous posts on this board.... there's been LOTS of discussion on this very topic and you will find TONS of advice -- go also to aact.org for more information. Break a leg!

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dexter74656
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Joined: 12/29/06
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 36

Posted: 12/30/06 at 5:08pm

I've been reading a lot of the posts in these forums - but I find most of the articles on the site are broken? Is anyone else running into this? I know my computer is having a couple issues getting the forum to work so it might easily be my end...

thanks for the help kathy

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Mike Polo
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Community Theater Green Room

Joined: 2/01/04
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 286

Posted: 12/30/06 at 8:57pm

Dex,

Try clearing your cache and then refreshing... we had a problem with the links on the articles page that was fixed last night.

Mike Polo
Community Theater Green Room
http://www.communitytheater.org

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NagarWSF
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Joined: 1/11/07
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:48am

Dexter,

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!

Working Class Theatre Company
www.workingclasstheatre.org

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whitebat
Celebrity

Joined: 8/05/07
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 137

Posted: 12/02/07 at 10:52pm

How did this work out for you, Dexter? At our HS, we found out, it would be prohibitively expensive to open the school & pay janitors for a summer show. We've performed one show at the Middle School, since one of our members is secretary there, and can be the school employee present. Also, another member is a band teacher, and also had a key, which was useful sometimes.

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Running Your Theater
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Theater Administration :Running Your Theater

Author	Message
dexter74656 Lead Joined: 12/29/06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36	Topic: Where to even Begin? Posted: 12/29/06 at 2:29pm
	Hi everyone! I've been tossing around the idea of starting a small summer-only community theater for a while, and I've secured a partner-in-crime who is willing to jump right on board and start this together. Theaterical wise, we're not too worried - we're hoping to be able to do the shows out of the local high school where we both graduated (and where I am a part-time employee) and we're lining up meeting with at this point at least two people involved in the theater scene for tips and directions of what we need to be doing. Our problem lies in that we don't even know where to start in regards to the business side of things and while we're hoping to get that direction from our discussions with people, any advice would be greatly appreciated. We're only looking to do this during the summer months, one or two shows - max and we're confident that there's enough of a talent base in the area (the town is very small, but the flip side is that we know a bunch of people who were in the drama department back when they were students). Like I said, it's just the business side that we're not sure how nor where to start.

	IP Logged

Kathy S Celebrity Joined: 8/21/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 303	Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:30pm
	Try searching through the articles posted on this website, as well as previous posts on this board.... there's been LOTS of discussion on this very topic and you will find TONS of advice -- go also to aact.org for more information. Break a leg!
	IP Logged

dexter74656 Lead Joined: 12/29/06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36	Posted: 12/30/06 at 5:08pm
	I've been reading a lot of the posts in these forums - but I find most of the articles on the site are broken? Is anyone else running into this? I know my computer is having a couple issues getting the forum to work so it might easily be my end... thanks for the help kathy
	IP Logged

Mike Polo Admin Group Community Theater Green Room Joined: 2/01/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 286	Posted: 12/30/06 at 8:57pm
	Dex, Try clearing your cache and then refreshing... we had a problem with the links on the articles page that was fixed last night.
	Mike Polo Community Theater Green Room http://www.communitytheater.org
	IP Logged

NagarWSF Walk-On Joined: 1/11/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:48am
	Dexter, 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!
	Working Class Theatre Company www.workingclasstheatre.org
	IP Logged

whitebat Celebrity Joined: 8/05/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 137	Posted: 12/02/07 at 10:52pm
	How did this work out for you, Dexter? At our HS, we found out, it would be prohibitively expensive to open the school & pay janitors for a summer show. We've performed one show at the Middle School, since one of our members is secretary there, and can be the school employee present. Also, another member is a band teacher, and also had a key, which was useful sometimes.
	IP Logged

Topic: Where to even Begin?( Topic Closed)