Running Your Theater: Touring to schools?

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Touring to schools?

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Theater Administration
Forum Name: Running Your Theater
Forum Discription: General questions about how to make it work
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3074
Printed Date: 11/22/24 at 10:12pm
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Topic: Touring to schools?

Posted By: landon2006
Subject: Touring to schools?
Date Posted: 3/26/08 at 12:36am

Hello everyone,
I Board member today called me and asked me if I knew anything about touring productions around to either Elementary, middle or high schools. Somehow, they seem to think because I have a few years of Theater experience that I'm smart on all aspect. However, I do not know the answer to this. I looked on the net, but I can't really find any touring companies that go around only to schools.

Is anyone aware of such companies?

Also, does anyone here know how you would charge for such a service. From what I figured, at minimum the cost would be $3,200 for us to even bring it to a school. Would youi charge the school a small fee, then charge each student a small fee ($4-5) to see the show or ask the school to pay the entire $3,200?

Also, does anyone know if this requires a special license? Is there a difference between a regular license and a "touring license"?

Thanks,
Landon

Replies:

Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 3/26/08 at 7:38am

You may want to check out Missoula Children's Theatre.

http://www.mctinc.org - www.mctinc.org

They come into your town with everything needed for a great kids show except the cast.

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Patrick L. Davis
Fort Findlay Playhouse

Posted By: landon2006
Date Posted: 3/26/08 at 7:41am

That must be some performance... with no cast & all. ;-)
Thanks!

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Posted By: Nanette
Date Posted: 3/26/08 at 8:08am

What Missoula does is cast members of the community/school in the smaller roles, much as touring companies of Nutcracker do. They work with the kids for a week and then put on the production for paying audiences.

Florida Studio Theatre (Tampa, FL) also tours shows, mostly plays from their 'Write a Play' program. Theatre IV (Richmond, VA), American Theatre Arts for Youth(worldwide), and Childsplay (Arizona) also tour productions.

There are probably dozens more, but those were the few I found doing a quick Google search. Try "bring theatre to your school" or something similar and see what you come up with.

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In a world of margarine, be butter!

Posted By: biggertigger
Date Posted: 3/26/08 at 9:01pm

I also know of some other companies that bring related school subjects to various schools, such as the theater of the deaf who brings a wonderful production that is signed by the deaf cast with a translater that performs all the characters "voices" for them.

http://www.ntd.org/ - http://www.ntd.org/

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The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes.

Posted By: JoeMc
Date Posted: 3/26/08 at 9:20pm

There are a couple of groups here, who do what Patrick posted.

Travelling to bush & regional towns, utalising the local school students, to put on a show.

They bring the sets, lighting & costumes. Then set up rehearsals over a week & bring in all the school & parents for a paying performance.

usualy the only have a production team & some times a couple of main characters role performers, with them. they also promote the show to all the other schools in the catchment area & even arrange to bus them in for the shows.

Unless you have the infrastructure in place, to tour a large production or even a paired down production.

Me thinks they should think it out again & get a few shows under thier belt!

There again short tours like spokes of a wheel, can work well.

With payment for shows by the schools, we have presold the house, to the P'nC commitee & they keep a percentage of each ticket sold, as a fund raiser. which is like giving them a the lowest ticket price for us to be viable. they in turn can flog them for whatever price they wish or can away with.

Trying to get schools to commit to a fixed price, I have found is like pushing 'it up hill with your nose or harvesting chooks teeth!

But giving them an incentive to fill thier piggy banks, works everytime.

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

Posted By: landon2006
Date Posted: 3/27/08 at 6:55am

I don't know that they where really "wanting" to tour productions around to schools just yet. I think it was more of a curiosity. Or maybe just local schools... Not 100% sure.

It was brought up today though that we are might go down from Three shows per year too Two, and tour those productions around to around 8 Theater here in Indiana. I tried to kind of talk them out it, but I'm only 1 of 9!

Tours to me seem like they would cost an ugly sum of money and a headache upfront, due to having to book all Theaters, find sponsors in each town, coordinate advertising, hotel, food, etc. They had wanted a 4 week, on-the-road tour to all the Theaters (4 shows per week) but I was able to talk them into a cheaper alternative, which is to just put on shows on Fri & Sat at each Theater and come back home between each one (saves food & hotel 5 days a week anyway!), but it will increase the tour time to 8 weeks. At least the first show they chose it somewhat lite on sets (Sound of Music). We have not voted on it yet though, so I'm not sure which was it will go.

PS) They still have plans to do "Annie" here though, to get up some upfront money for the possible Tour. They wanted to tour Annie, but it's not available for tour because of the current national tour, which holds the tour rights till the end of 2012!

Thanks!

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Posted By: whitebat
Date Posted: 3/29/08 at 11:31pm

Our dearly defunt CT used to tour shows. Not that I know that much about how they did it. The "Utah Shakespearean Festival" and "No Holds Bard" both tour shows (and have websites). Our HS did "teaser" shows at the elementary schools in our town (just some scenes). The Community College toured "Annie" (I think) and "Oklahoma" to all the towns they serve (with mixed cast from all the towns). I understand they lost the director over that (ulcer, nervous breakdown, heart attack, all 3?). We considered touring to another local town with the "Sweet Adelines" but it did not work out as not everyone was available. You have to decide to tour or not before auditions... I would suggest starting with just one other location and see how it goes.

Posted By: spikesgirl
Date Posted: 3/30/08 at 4:01pm

On the West Coast, we have something called "Theater Works that offers children's theater. They frequestly rent our big road house and consistently sell out every seat to the local grade schools. you might want to check out their website if this is a company that you could use.

Charlie