Money Talk: Question about Theater "Reserves"

Question about Theater "Reserves"

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Theater Administration
Forum Name: Money Talk
Forum Discription: Questions about fundraising and promotion
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2966
Printed Date: 11/22/24 at 6:06am
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Topic: Question about Theater "Reserves"

Posted By: JohnnyOneNote
Subject: Question about Theater "Reserves"
Date Posted: 2/09/08 at 3:16pm

I am curious to know how many of you have actual reserves in the bank for your theater? And if so. about how much?

We currently have about $45K in a stock account for our theater.

And what is your budget for the year?

Our annual budget is $150K and our production budget (Including royalties, sets, costumes, etc) is around $64K (Which I think is low)

We always end the year with at least 40K to 50K (NOT counting the reserves!) - which in my many years of running theaters seems to be way too high.

Yet our board is always screaming "POVERTY!"

I think that it is because many on the board were in business for years and view the theater as a "Business" not a "Non Profit Business"

They seem to not understand that you start the year with a good income because of pre-sales and membership sales and then throughout the year you eat away at that.. unlike a Regular business where you want to see profits each month, in theatre, it usually goes down each month.

(We actually went up with our last production as it was well received)

But in general that is the way theaters work.

The major consensus of the board is if we go below $40K we are BROKE!

Just wondering if any other theaters out there are as flush as we are?

And how do you convince your board that we are LUCKY and really are not spending what we should be or giving the patrons the quality we could be giving them.

Don't get me wrong, we should all be conservative and frugal, but sometimes it just appears that they are just being CHEAP. :)

Thanks

Replies:

Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 2/09/08 at 3:43pm

Originally posted by JohnnyOneNote

Just wondering if any other theaters out there are as flush as we are?

Well, we certainly aren't. We've been running somewhere in the $2,000 to $4,000 range but I know it's been much worse on multiple occasions in the past.

Posted By: JoeMc
Date Posted: 2/10/08 at 6:00am

It seems to be a natural thing for Ameatre with gold in the bank, to act as though they are completely skint.

The more they sit on, the lesss they have to do, to stay in the black.

Some of the best theatres I have worked in, are on the bones of thier backsides, it seems to bring out the best in them!

The ones that have gold to spare, are the worst & least likely to spend on even the basics.

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

Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 2/11/08 at 8:51am

Your submission scares me a bit Johnny. That cushion in the bank is one of the big reasons our theatre is still in operation. Last August we went through a devestating flood loosing almost everything but our auditorium and tool room. Thanks to that cushion we were able to rebuild loosing only one show from the season. 40K is only a dribble when a true act of God happens. "Not for Profit" does not mean that you should operate on a shoestring always relying on one show to pay for the next. If you should happen to find yourself in our condition (and I pray no one ever does) you will be greatful that someone had held the reigns on the spending a little.

-------------
Patrick L. Davis
Fort Findlay Playhouse

Posted By: JohnnyOneNote
Date Posted: 2/11/08 at 1:38pm

Don't get me wrong I am GLAD we have those reserves, few theaters do.

A theater nearby had their theater burn down, so yes I do understand the benefit.

But each year they want to add another 40K or so and limit what our productions COULD be and actually in the end make more money. The old saying "Spend money to make money"

As I said.. "we should all be conservative and frugal" but there is a difference between being fugal and being cheap and not giving the patrons what they deserve.

My real question is What is YOUR reserves and what is your Budgets?

Just wondering what others do, it seems to have hit a nerve that I mentioned my feelings on the reserves and the attitude of "Don't spend, don't spend the productions are GOOD ENOUGH" - nothing is "good enough", things can always be better. Granted Money doesn't make a production better.. but it certainly can't hurt when you have 4 other theaters within 20 miles of you that spend far more and get far more patrons.