Touring
Wed, 12 Jan 2000, 10:33 amWalter Plinge3 posts in thread
Touring
Wed, 12 Jan 2000, 10:33 amHow many local theatre companies seriously consider touring their shows around the suburbs ?
I know that in the past the financial risks have been too great and the audiences too small, however, I believe that the lack of audiences in a lot of cases was the result of poor infra-struture support for the concept.
I am currently offering the following deal with the intention of testing my hypothesis.
At the Quarry Amphiteatre's cavern which seats 100, the Kwinana Arts Centre which seats upto 250 and the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie, which seats 210, I will provide a guarrentee of $500.00 against 50% of the gross box office for companies who wish to extend the life of their shows and gain greater exposure.
We will provide the venue, front of house ( if requested, although it might be fun to tour your own....) and the publicity.
You provide the production and related costs.
At it's logical extension, this type of programme could see every community bsaed theatre hosting an event every couple of weeks rather than the current five or six a year. It would develop a real theatre going audience, with a broad range of product and lift the profile of the media to match the professional theatre companies, purely on the basis of availablilty.
Anyone who wishes to discuss this further, get typing, or call me.
regards
Ian.
008-94390291
I know that in the past the financial risks have been too great and the audiences too small, however, I believe that the lack of audiences in a lot of cases was the result of poor infra-struture support for the concept.
I am currently offering the following deal with the intention of testing my hypothesis.
At the Quarry Amphiteatre's cavern which seats 100, the Kwinana Arts Centre which seats upto 250 and the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie, which seats 210, I will provide a guarrentee of $500.00 against 50% of the gross box office for companies who wish to extend the life of their shows and gain greater exposure.
We will provide the venue, front of house ( if requested, although it might be fun to tour your own....) and the publicity.
You provide the production and related costs.
At it's logical extension, this type of programme could see every community bsaed theatre hosting an event every couple of weeks rather than the current five or six a year. It would develop a real theatre going audience, with a broad range of product and lift the profile of the media to match the professional theatre companies, purely on the basis of availablilty.
Anyone who wishes to discuss this further, get typing, or call me.
regards
Ian.
008-94390291
RE: Touring
Fri, 14 Jan 2000, 07:35 pmHi Ian
> How many local theatre companies seriously consider touring their shows around
> the suburbs ?
I guess the answer is not very many. Although some have tried it and many have talked about it.
> I know that in the past the financial risks have been too great and the audiences too
> small, however, I believe that the lack of audiences in a lot of cases was the result
> of poor infra-struture support for the concept.
> I am currently offering the following deal with the intention of testing my hypothesis.
It's great to see you're prepared to back this proposal with incentives!
But...
> At the Quarry Amphiteatre's cavern which seats 100, the Kwinana Arts Centre which
> seats upto 250 and the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie, which seats
> 210, I will provide a guarrentee of $500.00 against 50% of the gross box office for
> companies who wish to extend the life of their shows and gain greater exposure.
50% of gross box?
hmmm... i believe there's something wrong here
not just with the deal that Ian's offering (i applaud his reasons), but with what this is saying generally about the work done in community theatre.
volunteers in a community theatre spend literally hundreds of hours preparing a show, invest a small fortune in unreimbursed expenses and then perform for free.
Half the ticket money goes to pay for the use of the venue, some FOH and publicity? What value the hundreds of hours of work provided by volunteers?
I don't for one minute question that Starlight can demonstrate they are taking a significant financial risk and don't stand to make anything like the money they would by charging full rates for the venue.
But i wonder, if we applied the same financial reasoning to the contributions made by the volunteers, whether we would arrive at their contribution only being "worth" 50% of door takings?
OK, perhaps i'm performing an orthodontic examination on the proverbial equine beast, but 50% of door won't keep any theatre company running very long - not with the other costs they have to bear. How long before there would be no theatre companies able to take advantage of this offer?
Incidentally, the Blue Room offers a substantially better deal in financial terms - including a direct $500 subsidy. Yes, they have a government subsidy through the Australia Council and ArtsWA, but perhaps Starlight could approach local councils seeking similar supports in partnership with community theatre companies?
*snip*
> At it's logical extension, this type of programme could see every community bsaed
> theatre hosting an event every couple of weeks rather than the current five or six a
> year.
I couldn't agree more. It's outrageous that some community companies with exclusive use of facilities are only staging five to six shows a year. The occupancy level generated by a half dozen, two to three week seasons per year leaves the theatre dark for nearly two thirds of the year. This is insufficient to adequately maintain the interest of local theatre audiences. Would you think to frequent a shop that was closed 8 months of the year?
> It would develop a real theatre going audience, with a broad range of product
> and lift the profile of the media to match the professional theatre companies, purely
> on the basis of availablilty.
Agreed again - although i believe that community theatre already has a profile on a par with that of our professional theatre; not as glamorous, but the audiences are there. Central to the demise of our local professional industry has been decreasing theatre attendance. There's less local professional theatre available than perhaps ever before and what is available is so expensive that cost becomes a real factor in choosing to attend. When there is so little on and people think twice before paying top dollar for tickets, they get out of the habit of attending theatre.
Greater availability - both in terms of a broader range of product, as Ian suggests, and at realistic ticket prices will build theatre audiences. We all stand to benefit - perhaps we might even be able to afford to pay theatre managers and technicians if the venues aren't dark all the time.
Cheers
Grant
> How many local theatre companies seriously consider touring their shows around
> the suburbs ?
I guess the answer is not very many. Although some have tried it and many have talked about it.
> I know that in the past the financial risks have been too great and the audiences too
> small, however, I believe that the lack of audiences in a lot of cases was the result
> of poor infra-struture support for the concept.
> I am currently offering the following deal with the intention of testing my hypothesis.
It's great to see you're prepared to back this proposal with incentives!
But...
> At the Quarry Amphiteatre's cavern which seats 100, the Kwinana Arts Centre which
> seats upto 250 and the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie, which seats
> 210, I will provide a guarrentee of $500.00 against 50% of the gross box office for
> companies who wish to extend the life of their shows and gain greater exposure.
50% of gross box?
hmmm... i believe there's something wrong here
not just with the deal that Ian's offering (i applaud his reasons), but with what this is saying generally about the work done in community theatre.
volunteers in a community theatre spend literally hundreds of hours preparing a show, invest a small fortune in unreimbursed expenses and then perform for free.
Half the ticket money goes to pay for the use of the venue, some FOH and publicity? What value the hundreds of hours of work provided by volunteers?
I don't for one minute question that Starlight can demonstrate they are taking a significant financial risk and don't stand to make anything like the money they would by charging full rates for the venue.
But i wonder, if we applied the same financial reasoning to the contributions made by the volunteers, whether we would arrive at their contribution only being "worth" 50% of door takings?
OK, perhaps i'm performing an orthodontic examination on the proverbial equine beast, but 50% of door won't keep any theatre company running very long - not with the other costs they have to bear. How long before there would be no theatre companies able to take advantage of this offer?
Incidentally, the Blue Room offers a substantially better deal in financial terms - including a direct $500 subsidy. Yes, they have a government subsidy through the Australia Council and ArtsWA, but perhaps Starlight could approach local councils seeking similar supports in partnership with community theatre companies?
*snip*
> At it's logical extension, this type of programme could see every community bsaed
> theatre hosting an event every couple of weeks rather than the current five or six a
> year.
I couldn't agree more. It's outrageous that some community companies with exclusive use of facilities are only staging five to six shows a year. The occupancy level generated by a half dozen, two to three week seasons per year leaves the theatre dark for nearly two thirds of the year. This is insufficient to adequately maintain the interest of local theatre audiences. Would you think to frequent a shop that was closed 8 months of the year?
> It would develop a real theatre going audience, with a broad range of product
> and lift the profile of the media to match the professional theatre companies, purely
> on the basis of availablilty.
Agreed again - although i believe that community theatre already has a profile on a par with that of our professional theatre; not as glamorous, but the audiences are there. Central to the demise of our local professional industry has been decreasing theatre attendance. There's less local professional theatre available than perhaps ever before and what is available is so expensive that cost becomes a real factor in choosing to attend. When there is so little on and people think twice before paying top dollar for tickets, they get out of the habit of attending theatre.
Greater availability - both in terms of a broader range of product, as Ian suggests, and at realistic ticket prices will build theatre audiences. We all stand to benefit - perhaps we might even be able to afford to pay theatre managers and technicians if the venues aren't dark all the time.
Cheers
Grant