Is it normal to be charged a bond in amateur musicals?

There are a number of individuals around this country who put on big shows privately out of their own pockets. They all tend to have the same line of patter about how much it costs them to mount the show and how if you want to be involved you need to show your commitment by putting up a show fee and or a bond. They give the impression that they are doing this as a service either to the wider community or to the various dewy eyed innocents that get caught up in the excitement of the whole process. The show goes on and sure they stand a chance of losing their shirts but it's my experience that they usually don't. They usually walk away with a nice lot of money in their pocket. Some people get paid, usually the hardened cynical old pro's who won't do it otherwise but the aforementioned dewey eyed innocents don't. They pay a show fee, they pay for their own costumes and all their expenses and are left feeling that they have acheived a step up in their career. They usually haven't. I'm not saying this is one of those cases but I have ceratinly experienced this in many places. In my opinion a reasonable budget for a top end amateur musical (outside of Royalties which are usually based on a percentage of door and theatre hire) would be in the region of 20,000 to 50,000 depending on how much the band costs. I put on straight plays for a sum of around $4 - $5 K. Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing. www.tonymoore.id.au