What do i take into account when setting up a theatre company?

Question

by that i mean, what elements do i need in the team (producer, director, actors) but in detail.

Answer 1

If you are from the UK then Unlimited Theatre run courses that help you get started. For details check out http://www.unlimited.org.uk/education/startingout.php

As a general guide, as far as staffing is concerned you would need

Performers
Director
Choreographer (depending on the work you are planning on doing!)
Production manager
Stage management
Set design
Lighting design
Sound design
Lighting/sound operators (depending on the scale of the work, stage management are sometimes able to do this)
Marketing/Press officer
Possibly someone for education liaison

Most of these would probably be freelance and who you actually need would vary from show to show.
I'd say most important would be your production manager as they will know what technical staff you will need. I'd also reccomend permanent marketing/press person, as this person could also deal with ticket sales. You'll also need someone to book venues for you to perform in and organise some sort of funding.

Hope this helps a little, I cant possibly tell you everything you need to know (and i've probably missed a bit of important information out!) so just do some research. Theres lots of information about. I'd highly reccomend getting in touch with some other companies and finding out how they got started!

Good luck! Be prepared for lots of hard work!

Answer 2

You need a strong producer and an enthusiastic team of talented people. Someone has to take overall responsibility otherwise whatever goes wrong will always be someone elses fault! So unless you really, really, really know and trust someone with your livelihood you need to get good people on board, but YOU need to remain the Captain of the ship.
Identify your market, budget your show, never risk doing anything without clearing the performing rights! (and as above insure yourself against disaster!) Be realistic about ticket sales or guarantees from venues, you can easily lose your shirt in theatre! Most west end shows lose money, and of the ones left most only break even.
You're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea...if you spend too little on a show it looks cheap and who wants to go and see something they feel they can do better themselves...spend too much and are you just giving money away?
However if you're starting small, in church hall/school size venues, five hundred pounds will buy you enough wood canvas and scenic paint to create a very acceptable professional looking box set. Spend less money and more time and you can create beautiful puppets, but however you create your show with whatever people you have working on it. Always remember that you want your audience leaving happy, thinking they got their monies worth.
This might be a useful example for you these shows cost about 1500 quid to put on.
See how they run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4P7ko3vrh4

The ghost train
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSnHAOMnwQY&mode=related&search=
The shop at sly corner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C2i9TSxg20&mode=user&search=


An initial set building cost of 500 on "see how they run" with flattage used again and again. 500 in rehearsal and performing venue hire 250 on publicity and printing, and the remaining 250 on props, costumes theatre licenses scripts etc. We used our own sound systems an the venues rather poor lights if anyone is wondering (oh and in see how they run penelope didn't have her cossie ready for the photocall.)

Answer 3

I've been down this road several times, and something unexpected always arises. It's impossible to overplan for an enterprise like this, even with a small company. Two pieces of advice from personal experience: First, don't forget about insurance. You'll need to have a policy to cover anyone who enters your theater -- actors, technitions, audience, etc. Research this carefully and shop around for the best coverage at a reasonable rate. Second, be wary of anyone who volunteers to take over your marketing and advertising. There are a lot of talentless weasels out there who will only be interesting in taking your money. I think it's best to find someone you know to handle advertising and publicity, someone with interest and enthusiam for the project, even if he or she lacks experience. In general, if it's your project, you have to be in charge, but don't take on all the work yourself -- find friends who will be honest contributors and share your vision. It can work. Best of luck!

Answer 4

I agree that a sole dealer could be best. There are a pair of stuff you're able to evaluate that could merely make a business enterprise useful. in case you ought to dedicate to massive money up front, including hall hire, then you quite ought to run the threat of a loss in case you probably did not sell places on the direction. additionally in a constrained business enterprise environment the staff could have shares interior the business enterprise and paid their share of income by making use of skill of dividends. yet I nonetheless sense that a business enterprise could probable be a pointless trouble for you.

Answer 5

This may help you.
http://www.aact.org/index.htm