When we were talking about making an honest theatre company out of The Incoherent Theatre Company, we all had big dreams of putting on full seasons of brilliant original plays, written by all and sundry in the company and produced with all of the furnishings, production elements, and special effects we wanted. We had put on our own productions before, of course, but until then, they had been produced by an already established theatre company, Theater...for a change, and all we really had to do was turn up and do what we do. We also had John Cisar at the helm, with his business sense and bottomless drive and a seemingly endless cache of spare time. When the curtain came down on TFAC two seasons ago and they we lost John unexpectedly a year later, suddenly the Incoherents were faced with carrying on and growing a fledgling theatre company on our own. The main problem? None of us had a clue what we were doing. Oh we understand the mechanics of theatre production, once we have the space and the materials and the money, but this was different. This was theatre from scratch. This was the pie crust of theatre, and you can't just go out and buy it ready-made at Theatre Companies R Us.
So, here are some things they didn't tell us when starting a theatre company.
1) Theatre. Costs. Money. Lots of it. You don't just pay for sets and costumes and props. You have to rent rehearsal space and a venue to perform and marketing materials. Nothing is free, and just because your company members will work for free doesn't mean the people you are partnering with will. Little costs pop up here and there when you least expect it. You have to buy insurance and pay state tax on your ticket sales and t-shirts and concessions. Which brings us to...
2) Sales Tax? Really? None of us even considered this until we were putting together a cost list in our last production meeting. Do we have to pay sales tax on our ticket sales? Nobody knew, and nobody really knew how to find out. There was research done and phone calls made and sure enough, sales tax DOES apply, even to teeny tiny theatres doing one show a year for peanuts.
3) Most public venues won't rent you space unless you have liability insurance. How does one procure liability insurance for an entity that isn't really a business, but is certainly not a non-profit. We're not really anything yet. Fortunately, my dad is an insurance agent, and he has a line on a company that sells insurance policies to performing arts groups. Awesome. One problem. Insurance costs money. This is the part where I shamelessly ask if anyone is interested in underwriting the cost of liability insurance, there is a "Donate" page here.
4) There's no SPACE in Des Moines. Rehearsal space is precious in Des Moines. What is abundant is expensive and what is reasonably priced is very hard to come by. If you have a church basement or office conference space or empty classroom you aren't using in the evenings, The Incoherent Theatre Company will gladly fill that space for you!
The main lesson is this: As the duck appears to be floating placidly on the pond, beneath the surface, a dozen company members are running around making sure the water is clean and the pond rental is paid and the duck is insured and when the curtain goes up, that little duck just keeps on swimming.
So, here are some things they didn't tell us when starting a theatre company.
1) Theatre. Costs. Money. Lots of it. You don't just pay for sets and costumes and props. You have to rent rehearsal space and a venue to perform and marketing materials. Nothing is free, and just because your company members will work for free doesn't mean the people you are partnering with will. Little costs pop up here and there when you least expect it. You have to buy insurance and pay state tax on your ticket sales and t-shirts and concessions. Which brings us to...
2) Sales Tax? Really? None of us even considered this until we were putting together a cost list in our last production meeting. Do we have to pay sales tax on our ticket sales? Nobody knew, and nobody really knew how to find out. There was research done and phone calls made and sure enough, sales tax DOES apply, even to teeny tiny theatres doing one show a year for peanuts.
3) Most public venues won't rent you space unless you have liability insurance. How does one procure liability insurance for an entity that isn't really a business, but is certainly not a non-profit. We're not really anything yet. Fortunately, my dad is an insurance agent, and he has a line on a company that sells insurance policies to performing arts groups. Awesome. One problem. Insurance costs money. This is the part where I shamelessly ask if anyone is interested in underwriting the cost of liability insurance, there is a "Donate" page here.
4) There's no SPACE in Des Moines. Rehearsal space is precious in Des Moines. What is abundant is expensive and what is reasonably priced is very hard to come by. If you have a church basement or office conference space or empty classroom you aren't using in the evenings, The Incoherent Theatre Company will gladly fill that space for you!
The main lesson is this: As the duck appears to be floating placidly on the pond, beneath the surface, a dozen company members are running around making sure the water is clean and the pond rental is paid and the duck is insured and when the curtain goes up, that little duck just keeps on swimming.