It’s a Numbers Game
This week's story about the fate of the Source Theatre space ("Arts for Arts Space,” 8/11) has some people wondering whether I thought hard enough about the questions I raised. My reasoning was flawed, one correspondent suggests, and my analysis incomplete—at least when it comes to what constitutes affordable performance space for a small theater company. Besides, would I rather have the pool hall?
My correspondent suggests that the projected $3,000 cost of renting the new Source space for a four-week, off-hours run is in fact pretty cheap, if you think about it in terms of how many seats the place has. That math goes like this: Four weeks x five performances x 150 seats = 3,000 seats. Why, that's only $1 a seat to rent the place! And producers sell those seats for as much as $25 each! How is that not affordable?
Now, that correspondent acknowledges that a producer can't budget for a sellout smash—but even if the show played to half-full houses, the cost would be a mere $2 per occupied seat. Still, how is that not affordable?
Here's how. Or at least here are three realities that aren't factored into that equation yet:
- Even assuming half-full houses is an enormous stretch for a genuinely small theater company doing anything but the most familiar, mainstream work—especially if we're talking an off-hours run. Because at the Source space, “half full” translates to an average of 75 people in the audience every night. And in 11 years as a critic covering theaters large and small in this town, I've been to many a weekend show, to say nothing of a Wednesday-night or Sunday-afternoon performance, with fewer than 20 people in the house. The Washington Shakespeare Company, unless I misremember, played to a crowd of 13, including nonpaying myself and my nonpaying guest, on one particular weekend evening this past June—after a positive Washington Post review of its beautifully staged Two-Headed. And WSC is a mid-size company with a 15-year track record, a PR budget, and an aggressive e-mail marketing operation.
- Likewise, a $15 ticket price is probably a more reasonable assumption for a small company than $25 or even $20—and even then it's worth noting that Catalyst Theater, which until recently charged $20 to $30 depending on the night, has abandoned that pricing structure in part because they couldn't fill a house that's nowhere near as large as the Source space.
- Lastly, many truly small companies can't manage five shows a week. Four strikes me as the more common model (qua Catalyst's eleemosynary, for example, or Solas Nua's most recent production), though I admit I haven't done a comprehensive survey. And Landless Theatre's upcoming production of Cannibal: The Musical is scheduled to run twice a week. Four performances changes all the calculus above; anything less throws it out the window.
So let's run those numbers again: Four weeks x four performances x 150 seats X a more realistic 20-percent occupancy rate = a grand total of 480 paying customers. Let's assume each paying customer coughed up $20—but remember, that's not the conservative assumption. That's $9,600 in revenue.
Now what's affordable? A $3,075 rental space, representing more than 30 percent of your earned income and an occupied-seat cost of $6.25? You've still got actors, designers, carpenters, the director, and maybe the playwright's royalties to pay.
Oh, and no: I wouldn't rather have the pool hall. I just have questions, and it seems to me that when I have ’em, it's my job to ask ’em.
If you've produced theater in D.C., or if you've worked with a small company, I'd love to hear your thoughts. The financial challenges of putting on a show here may be something most of us—not even most theater writers—don't think about enough. So enlighten us. The comments thread is open.
10:54 pm
as an independent artist, i can't even afford to walk on the same side of the street as this newly envisioned source. i recently produced two of my own plays (one at CapFringe). i am not a theatre company, nor do i want to create one, so i don't know how relevant my comments will be, but nonetheless...
since i teach at the national conservatory of dramatic arts, i got to use the national conservatory of dramatic arts's 50-seat blackbox for free for one week this past spring to put up my play Jupiter Zoom. we got around 20 people a night, which I was told was about twice the size of many audiences at Charter shows in the same space.
(and hey, i know the conservatory gets picked on frequently [esp. in the City Paper] but i have to say that ray and nan ficca are two of the most generous, supportive colleagues i've ever had the pleasure to work with. they have given me a home base and steady work, two great gifts. plus they're punk-rock cool.)
since i was the playwright, there were no royalties for Jupiter Zoom. I charged about $700 for props, postcards, and whatnot. at the end of the day, for a one-week run, i was able to pay each of 12 people a little over $100 after i repaid myself production costs--that includes a share given back to the conservatory as a thank-you donation. i did not take a larger share than anyone, nor did i squirrel any away for future productions.
for MAY 39th @ capfringe, costs were several hundred dollars more because of CapFringe fees, $175 in a sign-interpreted performance THAT NOT ONE DEAF PERSON ATTENDED (lesson learned), and a City Paper ad. we sold out a 60-seat house for five performances, and at the end of the day (and i haven't seen the box office breakdown yet), i hope to be able to pay each of six people a little over $200 (again, one share is a donation to the conservatory for giving us rehearsal space).
i know it's small potatoes, but keep in mind that $200 is more than i've earned from most of my DC acting gigs for an entire run of a show.
so that's about a $1200 profit for each show for a handful of performances. at church street, i'd've lost money. at this new source, my profit would've been cut in half.
i learned A LOT at the feet of ian allen. i worked on six cherry red shows/readings in one capacity or another and was in awe of his business and marketing skills. we always had lines down the block for our shows at metro cafe. to me, the only thing that matters is the product. you stick a hit show in a smelly bar with sticky floors and you'll make money.
i also believe firmly in a $15 ticket price--both the ethics and the psychology of it.
i don't understand why an artist would want to pay for an office--aren't home offices all the rage? and isn't most networking done electronically these days? i don't have time for a commute. i have a hard enough time paying rent on my apartment much less an office. but i guess maybe it's different for a theatre company--they surely have different needs than the individual artist.
so i'm doing okay keeping everything simple. i don't want to create a non-profit, have a board of directors, or be helen hayes eligible. i'm not doing this for any other reason than to share my work and now i want to use my modest business model to promote the work of my fellow female DC theatre artists in DC DOLLIES & THE ROCKET BITCH REVUE.
there was a rumor a while back that CapFringe was going to keep active year-round by linking individual artists with found spaces and such. don't know if that's still in the works, but i'd be interested in something like that.
i'd also be interested in doing shows on late nights or off-nights if it were more affordable.
thanks for reporting on this, Tboy!
10:56 pm
omigod i am so totally sorry at how long-winded that was.
12:08 am
http://www.atlasllc.net/
12:39 am
Trey's assesment of the potential needs of any organization wishing to produce in the revamped Source venue are touching only the tip of the iceberg in terms of cost. There are issues such as liability insurance, witholding taxes, DC licensing fees, Equity pension and health contributions (if it is a professional theatre), costs of an ad in the Post's, Guide to the Lively Arts,if you want to go that route for over $100/day. Source had become, and was for a couple of years, more than the incubator that Bart had established. It grew in many ways that he would have approved of. Essentially what happened was that after Pat Murphy Sheehy left, the person in charge wanted nothing to do with the day to day running of a theatre, just wanted to direct and had no idea at all as to how to keep the operation going. I was a witness to this--One day as he was leaving to "do lunch" with someone, he walked by the big honking trash can at the front of the upstairs office space and announced-"This stinks-somebody should take this out!" and then, swinging his ponytail, went down the stairs, right past the outside trash cans. Not long after that, I taught an auditioning class at Wooley. I noticed a sign on the wall that delineated a series of maintenance tasks to be performed by everyone in the office on given days. I was heartened to see: "Tues. Howard cleans bathrooms."
Ultimately, what I'm saying is that it will be a possible solution to the loss of space, but everyone in there will have to contribute more time and effort than they had imagined, to make it work. I sincerely wish Ms. Corbett, the CuDC and the entities who will be there the best of luck, but be prepared to take out the trash and clean the bathroom.
11:39 pm
Having a fairly close relationship with some of the smaller companies in DC I can say most will not be able to touch the Source. The facts are most smaller companies do not have people that even know how to apply for or win grants to keep themselves going. It is a shame that DC does not support the arts like its neighbors across the river in Arlington. Recently Charter left DC and moved over to a town that supports theatre companies.
Who will be able to afford the Source? The companies needing the space operate day to day, production to production. many companies have gone to shorter runs to afford putting on a production threatening their Helen Hayes eligibility. Its just sad that some companies have so much and others so little.
I saw a great show at DCAC last night, part of the Hatchery Festival.. The place was sold out.. Could they have sold out Source? Maybe.. but what happens if they don't? Why take that chance?
8:33 pm
Lucky Spinster's tales of putting up her own work are inspiring to all performing artists, so a strong shout-out to her and those she mentioned, such as the Ficcas, who support her efforts. It is sadly telling, I'm sure she would agree, that at the end of the Day, the last people to be paid (if at all), are the interpreters of her work: the actors.
1:14 am
still alert--aw, thanks! i am a firm believer in paying everyone who works on one of my shows an equal share of the profits, and i do my best to keep the costs low so the profits are as high as possible, if still paltry. i insist on paying people who won't take money (there were 3 such people on jupiter zoom--paul macwhorter generously donated his share back) because i believe that paying the artists as much as possible is critical.
plus it's just good karma.
theatre is by its very nature ephemeral and i believe it's important to honor that. i am kind of suspicious of institutionalized theatre because it goes against the nature of the work. (and also because i, for one, can't afford to see it unless i'm comped in.)
4:25 pm
Renting the Source for a future show sure sounds prohibitively expensive to me !!!
5:53 pm
I am a few days late on this one. However, I really appreciated and felt refreshed by lucky spinster?s comments on the process of producing theatre here in DC. It is tough ? and one has to be wise. Taking on the Source is huge ? finding folks to rent it for what the foreseeable costs are to run, upkeep and manage the building - for the purpose of producing theatre is a feat that I hope CuDC takes on with vigor.
As far as having to pay rent on an office: I hear you ? home offices are all the rage ? and as I spend a lot of time in my living room and at my kitchen table and rarely at our offices at Flashpoint. I wonder ? perhaps opening a kinkos for the arts is in a service organizations future. It is in the copying, printing and a conference room that are needed?not the full on office scenario.
And?what about the storage space issue. We have acquired and storage space. While sure it is a good deal. I keep running the numbers in my head of actual cost of items in comparison storage space compared to the cost?
2:16 pm
Tboy, LS and others who have posted comments have hit on many of the costs that companies bear and theatergoers don't think much about. But added to all these already-mentioned costs of running a small theater company are publicity (not just the expensive Guide to the Lively Arts - no this is not free space provided by The Washington Post as a public service, our typical Lively Arts ad costs at least $200/day - but also printing flyers and postcards, buying postage for the mailings, regularly updating the website, hiring a photographer, making posters, printing playbills, buying banner ads, etc.) and the other simple matters of company overhead which include easy-to-overlook items such as maintaining a separate phone number with a recorded message (who would have thought this would cost $650/year?), paying the website host ($240/year), and making regular purchases of office supplies, ticket stock, printer ink, necessary software and the like. I could go on and on, but one gets the point: there's no shortage of other costs to compete with the costs specific to the creation of the artistic effect of a particular production.
12:30 pm
A home office works great for some people and for some organizations, but I get a lot more done (and frankly, have a much healthier relationship with my work) in an "office" office.
Our office is at Flashpoint, where I have learned countless things from people at the other resident organizations here. I've also taught them a few. There's a sense of collaboration and community here that may wax and wane (we're all very busy people), but is real.
I expect the spirit of community at the new Source to be even stronger, since all the resident organizations will have a vested interest in one another's success. The opportunity to create an arts community at Source is mighty appealing to me. And the opportunity to connect a performing arts venue like Source to the 14th and U corridor's nightlife scene is a huge one.
Someone asked whether a show that sells out DCAC can sell out Source. Ultimately that depends on how good a match it is for that size venue, right? Some shows are perfect for DCAC and there's no reason for them to be elsewhere. Source isn't really competing with DCAC. But if we (and by we I mean small and medium-size performance arts companies, and the funders who want to be a part of their success) don't muster all the enthusiasm and support we can for the plan to save the 149-seat venue IN THE FIRST PLACE, then we'll never see what could succeed there. Because there won't be a "there" there.
It is the easiest thing in the world to speculate and poke holes in a plan and predict how it might fail. A much more difficult (and more responsible) task is to become a part of the creation and execution of the plan's success. I think CuDC would welcome everyone into that process.
Mark
6:27 pm
I ask this as an admirer of all those who have posted already:
is there a good home for a company that CAN afford the kind of money that Graham and Henley project this space will cost, at this point in time?
I love the rough-and-ready quality of spaces like DCAC, the Warehouse, and Church Street. But if we want companies that use those spaces to one day become companies like my favorite more established companies, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theater, Signature, et al., they're gonna have to increase their capacity to earn and to spend.
I don't disagree that there are too few spaces that are affordable enough for the most daring and newest work out there, and I'd love to see more of those too.
But I also feel there are not enough spaces for the companies that are on their way to ramping up for a capital campaign to buy a new space, for example. The Kennedy Center and the Folger Theater used to do some of that work, and both Woolly and ACTCo. benefitted from the capacity- and audience-building they did in the old AFI space. But I don't believe either venue rents an appropriate space any longer for theaters.
Financially, theater in DC is probably never going to pay well, and all spaces are always going to seem too expensive. Most theater companies appear to take a financial risk every time they put on a new show, and the riskiness of the theater here is part of what makes it exciting.
I would like to see more companies out there for whom $3,000 in space costs is a stretch, but one worth risking, and I don't think it has to be at the expense of theater companies for whom $1,200 is the biggest risk they can afford. In fact, I think we NEED to see ticket prices for theater in DC creep up, in order to sustain and nurture more companies of all sizes.
Thanks for listening.
11:13 am
As General Manager of Meat & Potato Theatre, I was both excited and curious about the proposed use of the old Source space . . . until I learned how much it would cost.
In our 1 year of existence, we have mounted 4 productions, three of which played to sold out houses at the end of their runs due, in large part, to positive press.
We cannot begin to afford either Flashpoint or the new proposed Source space. This is not a complaint; it is a financial fact.
Let's take a look at some real numbers.
Mr. Graham's revised numbers are still very ambitious. My experience says that a company like ours could reasonably expect to sell 250 tickets during a 4 week/5 performance run that includes prime weekend evenings. Assuming we could get the same audience on off-nights, and if we charged $20 a pop, that's only $5000.
Subtract the $3075 for the performance space, and that leaves only $1925 to pay for:
1. Artists/designers/etc.
2. Publicity/advertising/comps
3. Programs
3. Props/costumes/set
4. Administrative costs
5. Rehearsal space
6. Miscellaneous
You can see the problem.
Meat & Potato aspires to be funded by ticket sales and grants -as opposed to donations from company members, family, and friends- but that day is not here yet. Until then, you'll have to catch us at less expensive venues. btw - We'll be at Playbill Cafe in Oct/Nov with an adaptation of George Orwell's "1984".
http://www.meatandpotato.org
1:10 pm
This is exactly why Cherry Red sought out non-traditional spaces -Chief Ike's, State of the Union, Metro Cafe, Warehouse (before it was established), etc. These spaces are often open to a "percent of gross" arrangement in lieu of a flat rental fee. Tech may not be perfect but hey, that's the price of poverty.
This assumes, however, that the producers are trying to make money (Cherry Red was and is a for-profit company). This would be an incorrect assumption in the case of most of the small theaters in DC - they are habituated beggars who don't even try to show a profit. Nor are they (and I'm speaking in generalities, of course) capable of taking advantage of PR and promotional opportunities available to them, since they don't have any sort of machine behind them, and sometimes, lack training in this dept.
Spaces like Clark Street and Source were eeked outta nothing by space frontiersmen of yesteryear. Where are these people today? Studiously writing grant proposals? Squatting at Source? Complaining about high rental rates?