(This is the fourth of a five part series called “Lessons of Producing.” You can read the previous Lessons 1, Lesson 2 and Lesson 3 on our blog.)

Costs of Producing a Show

In addition to actor salaries, there are five elements that should be taken into consideration when a producer looks at the costs of doing a show:

• Set
• Props
• Costumes
• Lighting
• Sound.

Each of these can add to the cost of doing a show in ways that a playwright usually does not consider, and each can potentially affect the decision for a producer to do a show.

Sets

When thinking about sets, a playwright needs to think about the costs involved in building, maintaining, changing, and insuring the set.

I’ve heard playwrights say, “but it’s only one set,” as if that made a difference.

As a producer I want to know if it’s a realistic set (usually more expensive to build) or an impressionistic set (usually less expensive). I wonder if there are any maintenance issues. I once produced a play that had a large white cube for a set. It needed to be repainted after every show. Big unanticipated expense.

If your play has more than one set, make the transitions easy. Easy transitions require a minimal crew , and are quick and easy to do. Thinking about a multi-level set? Don’t even ask what a multi-level set will do to your insurance premiums.

Props

Props are either functional or non-functional. They also have to be bought or constructed. I’ll never do a show again with a working firearm. Much too big of a headache.

Props can be consumable or not. Props that are consumable have to be replaced, and food has to be safely stored. A cast with food poisoning is not a happy cast.

Costumes

As far as costumes go, the fewer and the more contemporary the better.

Costumes have to be constructed or purchased, and cleaned. The best show in my opinion is one set in a sauna, with large towels as the only costume. The worst would be a period show where everything must be dry cleaned.

Lighting

Actors need to be seen clearly on the stage. Lightning that does more than that may look cool and may be a great special effect, but it may also be so costly that no one wants to produce your show.

Consider that before you become entranced in special effects.

Sound

Same thing for sound. Actors need to be heard, of course, so make sure that you have the basics.

If you just have a play (not a musical), then you don’t need live music. And if you have special sound effects that are complicated to execute, then that is usually just one more thing that will possibly go wrong. Every night.

Remember to KISS (keep it simple, stupid).

Lesson: Watch Your Production Costs

Now, none of these things individually will make a producer not do your show. However, more than a few of the above may. They all accumulate. They all add up

If you’ve been reading this series and are paying attention, by now you may have a play a producer has read and liked and wants to produce.

Oh, things can still go wrong. For instance, you need an agreement with the producer to allow him to produce your show. By insisting on an unreasonable deal financially, a production may not happen.

That is the subject of next week’s blog.

(This is part two of a four part series.)

The Second Lesson on Producing: How to Get Your Play Produced

Mark Twain is supposed to have said, “Writing a play is easy, I’ve written hundreds of them. It’s getting one produced that’s hard”.

Every playwright can understand and sympathize with him.

If only there was a formula. One which, if followed, would absolutely guarantee a production.

There isn’t. Sigh. I wish there was.

There is no guarantee, but there are things that playwrights do that make a production less likely. The next few weeks I’ll be talking about them so you can learn and NOT do them.

But for today, let’s talk about how to move the odds in your favor to get your play produced.

Three Steps to Getting Produced

There are three steps to getting a play produced.

• First, you need a producer to read and like your play.

• Then you need the producer to decide to produce it.

• Finally, you need to come to an agreement with the producer about what kind of production it will be.

Easy, right?

#EasierWay

There’s always an easier way.

In the case of Rhymes Over Beats, the first part, step one, is easy.

• You go to our website
• Read the rules for submission
• Follow them and submit your play to us by January 31, 2019.

We will read your play to see if we like it.

If you have a play you don’t think we’d like and want some other producer to read it, then  things may be a bit more difficult.

My rule of thumb is that I do things for friends that I won’t do for strangers. I usually like to read two kinds of plays: those written by friends, and those a friend gave to me written by someone else, usually one of their friends. Networking is still important.

On a rare occasion I’ll read a play that I’ve been pitched because the pitch was so good.

So you want to increase the odds that your play will be read? Make friends. You can never have enough friends. And practice your elevator pitch.

However…

Just because I’m your friend does NOT not mean I have to like your play. (I’m an Off-Broadway producer, remember.)

The way you know if I might like your play is by looking at my (or any other producer that you’re pitching to) producing record. I’ve mostly done plays which deal with serious social or political issues.

Now because I founded Rhymes Over Beats Theater Collective, it should probably be hip hop, or speak to the hip hop community. But not necessarily. I did produce a very funny traditional musical, My Life is a Musical, a few years ago. But again, and there is no guarantee, but the odds are greater you’ll get a production from me if you make it hip hop.

Let’s assume I love your show and want to produce it. Will I ?

Next week we’ll start talking about the things that will make my head outvote my heart.

Submit your plays to Rhymes Over Beats. #EasierWay

I am a Producer

Every time I read a play or a musical that I like, I want to produce it. I want to be the person who brings it to the world. I want to be the person to have done the world premiere.

We say we want stories. We do. The more the better. We exist to produce stories.

But they have to be stories that we can produce.

This means two things:

• First, we have to raise the money to produce them. This means the playwright cannot just sit back and say, “I wrote it. The rest is up to you producers”. This doesn’t work. If your friends, family and fans aren’t confident enough to invest in you, why should strangers be?

• The second and more important thing is that the show has to make enough money to earn back some of the expenses it took to produce it. As we are a “not for profit” we don’t have to cover all of our costs, but the closer we get to that goal the more shows we can produce.

Producing Budget Basics

Every show has three budgets.

1. The Capital Budget. This is the amount that needs to be spent to get the show to opening night. It includes things like rehearsal expenses, deposits with theater unions, and rent for the theater. All these things must be paid before you have even sold a single ticket.

2. The Weekly Run Budget. That is the amount you have to pay everyone on a weekly basis. Actors need to be paid. The people who work the front of house and back stage have to be paid. Marketing people have to be paid so they can tell everyone what a great show it is. There are many people who help put your show on week after week, and they must all be paid.

3. The Recoupment Budget. Take your weekly ticket sales total and subtract the weekly expenses, and you know how many weeks it will take you to recoup (or to make back) the capital budget.

Some of the reasons for a negative weekly number are obvious.

• If you can sell ten thousand dollars worth of tickets, but have 20 actors that you must pay one thousand dollars a week in salary, the play can’t be produced.
• There are some reasons that are not so obvious. If your play has one child in it, the child can cost three times what an adult actor would cost.
• Some sets cost more to build and to insure than others.
• Each choice the playwright makes when writing the play can make it more or less producible.

We want your stories, but they need to be producible.

The next few blogs will talk about what can be done to make what you send us more producible, so stay tuned.

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