I heard a similar one just last night... It appears our big "Once A Year" musical production company is charging 50 bucks to particpate (ostensibly to cover costuming issues)  That was a bit of an OUCH to hear.  But that wasn't the worst of it. Our arts council runs a youth theater and AFTER they cast the Christmas show they announced that they too were adding a participation fee of $50. (Per kid!) That can be a chunk of money for some families, especially near Christmas. And as Ron Popeal says... "Wait... There's more!"  They even want to charge the participation fee for thier TECH people!!!!

Hoy....

Wow! I am speechless. More then anything else, I am amazed that the cast didn't protest or walk out. I directed the christmas musical last year. I had whole families involved. It would have been $300 for one family! I had four on stage and two doing tech. What a way to say thank you for volunteering!

Linda

What? I have never heard of this.  I did fall off of a turnip truck lately so maybe I am wrong.  I have been designing and making costumes for oh- about thirty years -  from kindergarten to Opera.  Never heard of it.  I think it smells. 

If the actors provide their own costumes are they exempt from the fee?  If not -  then it smells even worse.

Can other costume design/ rental companies bid on this contract to supply wardrobe? 

I'm with you, Joni...volunteers shouldn't have to pay to work -  and Marty....did I read that right?  The Tech people are being charged for "participation"?  I would "participate" in a brisk walk to the nearest exit. 

Imagine that you had two children cast in the "musical"  - now you have to tell them that they can't be in it because you don't have the 100$?  At least the parents should have been informed before they let the children get their hearts set on being in the play.  The arts council should be ashamed of themselves. 

pay to tech a show? lol no way!

Joan & Snatcher... You are SOOOOOO right.  That has been the responce of the local tech gaggle as well.. Hope they have a nice show, but the usuall tech crew which comes from our one full time CT will be missing THAT kind of fun....

At my youth theater we pay $40 to be involved the show per family. Then there is a $25 costume fee, but $15 is returned to you if the costume is returned in good condition. The extra $10 goes to dry clean the costume.

I feel the costume fee is good because when you are working with children, there always has to be a, for lack of a better word, bribe so the children won't spill on their costumes.

No one has ever complained about the money involved. My parents think of it as extremely low cost day care and so do many other parents. Also, you find out about the fee when you audition. If you can't pay it, my director will understand and still let you be in the show.

Just my two cents.

I always offer my casts the opportunity to order character shoes at cost for the same reason. Most do becuase the price is so reasonable. For those that can't, I have had number of people who hace donated thier shoes back to the theater and we can always work something out.

Linda

I teach and took over the drama program when rentals cost about $35 per change. The tradition was to charge the students or have them come up with their own costume.  I tried that once, and got hideously modern clothing for a historical piece. 

We have neither the space nor the facilities to do costumes in house--and being the only teacher, I don't have the time to produce, direct, build a set, set up the lights, mix the sound, and do costumes.

We currently use a costumer who works with our very strict dress code standards.  However, due to energy and rent costs rising in the LA area, we are now being charged over $75 a costume, with an extra $1000 for the designer to pick up and deliver as well as do the costume parade with us. 

We used to charge the fee listed as a "costume fee," but now I charge the fee as a participation fee, which is budgeted into covering the costume charges.

I have looked for other costumers, who end up being just as expensive if not more expensive when you add in shipping and cleaning costs.

Having to handle all of the drama program, there is very little time for fundraising--especially since I have to compete with all the other groups on campus doing their own fundraisers.  I've found that most of our fundraisers bring in $300 max for 20 hours of work--I can make more than that working a part-time job and donating it.

Ticket sales and program ads don't pay for everything.  Last year we were hit with gigantic set construction costs due to the increase in lumber prices (Katrina).  So far, I haven't seen lumber going down, either.

I volunteer my personal time and efforts to our program, but I can't afford to make up in budget gaps out of my own pocket.  We charge $120 (payable over three months) for participation in the program.  It works out to be cheaper than our after-school day care for the same amount of time the students are in rehearsal.

I just don't see how a theatre in our situation and area can make it without charging a fee.  If we charge too much for the tickets, we won't sell any--so raising ticket prices isn't the answer.

Since we have a very intimate theatre with minimal offsite costume/set storage, we stay away from large-scale (i.e., big budget) shows.  I try to choose scripts with costume needs that can be supplied from actors' own wardrobes and/or thrift stores.  Of course, we pay for cleaning costs of all items during the run of the show.

At the end of each show, selected costume and prop items that were bought for the show are available for purchase by cast and crew for half the original cost of the item.  Items are assessed whether or not we will actually use it again and/or if we have the storage to keep it around.  The funds collected are credited back to the appropriate budget line for that particular show.

Lots of actors like to have a keepsake from a show, especially if it's something they've worn and fall in love with.  Shoes and wigs are hot re-sell items.  Although my favorite re-sell story was a leopard print corset from Frederick's of Hollywood.  The actress who wore it on stage bought it to "thank" her husband for his patience while she was at rehearsals and performances!

I am sorry Bev, but It's not the same thing as spending money on another hobby like scrapbooking or minature golf where your responsibility is to no one but yourself. The theater, as a business, is relying on the actors to perform a function in order for them to exist. If someone misses a scrapbooking class or a round of minature golf there is no loss to anyone but them. If an actor doesn't show-up to a performance it could be catastrophic for the rest of the cast, the patrons, and the theatre. I would never ask those wonderful volunteers, who give so much in order for my theater to exist, to pay for anything. I would be mortified if the theater made a profit because the actors had paid for their own costumes. I have pounded the pavement and spent hours on the phone finding underwriters and donations. We have cultivated a costume loan system with most of the the other theaters in the area including the professional theater and the university. (By the way, the university borrowed costumes from me yesterday.) Just like any business, if you can't afford to do it, you shouldn't be doing it. You need to rethink your play selections and do things within your budget, just like any good business.

It sounds like some people should have a "damage deposit" rather than a fee (worried about damaging costumes).  We never charged a costume fee, but we do sell our scripts to the actors at cost.  If the script is not returned in good condition (and not highlighted), you are expected to pay for it.  Many people like to have the script for a memento.