I've written a play and would like to produce it. Non-Profit. What are light

Question:I've written a play that I would like to direct and produce myself. I've performed for 25 years, but don't know how much I would need to produce a production. I have three theaters that are considering the work, but I have to come up with a budget. The play takes place in present day, in a livingroom, and is a non-musical.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I've written a play that I would like to direct and produce myself. I've performed for 25 years, but don't know how much I would need to produce a production. I have three theaters that are considering the work, but I have to come up with a budget. The play takes place in present day, in a livingroom, and is a non-musical.

Are you talking about renting a theatre and producing it yourself? That's not clear. If so, keep in mind - you aren't just non-profit because you say you are. You have to file with the feds and your state government, report annually, have a board of directors, pay the filing fees (about $700 all told), and be approved. The process takes several months. Some companies have a lawyer do it for them. (It's tricky.)

As a very general guesstimate, I've worked on small non-union low-budget non-profit shows that cost about $10,000. I've worked also on small union productions that used equity actors and iatse stagehands, and those cost about $40,000, rock bottom. It all depends on who is getting paid, how much, and how much cash you spend on production values.

With a lot of volunteerism and a good deal at a small theater, you could probably do an amateur production for a few thousand, and have it look pretty decent to boot.

What will the three theaters charge you? What will you get for your money? You need a business manager who knows what is needed and what it will cost.

There are SO many factors that go into this, that it is really hard to answer.

First, geographic--things cost a lot more in NYC than they do in Provo.

Second, how big is your company--two actors, five actors, ten...

Are you using union actors who have to be payed scale, or amateurs.

The theatres already (should) have a house manager, box office staff, ushers, a lighting person, etc, and the theatre will be able to tell you the cost of that.

Building the set--you are going to need materials, carpenters, painters, and depending how elaborate you get, electricians, riggers, etc.

You'll need rehearsal space for your company and publicity costs.

And these are just what I've come up with off the top of my head. Get a business manager to help you draw up a business plan.

Before you rush into production think about workshopping it. It takes place in a living room anyway, so use your own. Get friends or look for actors who are willing to volunteer (most out-of-work actors will do this experience and also the potential of getting a role when the play is produced) to read the script on-book. It will help you see where the play works, and where it doesn't, and also you can invite your friends, and friends of friends, etc. and members of the local theatre community to participate and get interested in your work.

You're going to need more help than anyone on here can give you. You have an idea of what it should appear like and what type of lighting it should have. Then you'll need to figure out what types of lighting can reproduce the effects you want. That's going to take either someone who knows lighting or a class or two or hands-on experience in a theatre.

Sets, you should be able to get a rough figure on that from props, furniture, and any special effect props or scenery you might need. Without a background in theatre, you may be unawear of what can and cannot be done reasonably. Or what types of backgrounds will have the best effect for centering your action on the actors and what's going on in the play rather than a curtain behind them.

They say there's there's no substitute for a black curtain. You could see what the theatre has and adapt.

But, I think you'll save yourself a great headache by teaming up with someone with a bit of experience in these matters.