By Mary Gray
Putting on a musical or a play is expensive. There are costumes, sets, special lights, sound requirements, ticketing, advertising among other expenses. Your school has probably given you a budget for your show, but it’s always a good idea to make some extra money for next year’s show. There are a number of ways you can make money on your performance.
Many schools ask their actors for a participation fee. This is a common requirement for athletic, music, or other school activities. The problem with participation fees is that kids who have the talent you need for your production may not have the money to pay the participation fee. One way around this is to have a scholarship fund. You can let it be known to everyone that there is such a fund, and if they need to apply, they can do so. Try to make it a discreet application so applying for your fund won’t be embarrassing to the actor or their parents.
The other big income for performances is ticket sales. It is tempting to have high ticket prices in order to bring in money, but this can backfire. If you charge less for tickets, you may get larger audiences, and parents may come to more than one performance if tickets are affordable. Look at what other schools are charging for tickets for a similar production and try to be competitive. Your audience should feel they saw a show that was worth the ticket price.
Another popular way to raise money is raffles. You can ask the parents to donate something they think would be popular at a raffle. Make sure all the items are presented in a desirable “package” – nice wrapping paper, cute signs, etc. Put your raffle items near the entrance to the auditorium so people will see them when they enter and during intermission. At the end of the show, draw names of the winners, and hand them their prizes. Be sure to applaud every winner, and to thank everyone who bought raffle tickets and the parents who donated items.
Refreshments served during intermission can also bring in income. Parents can donate baked goods, small bags of chips, candy, water, sodas, etc. Either parents or students who are not in the show can serve as salespersons.
The playbill is another source of income. You can write letters to all of the local businesses asking if they would like to place an ad in your playbill. It’s also a good idea to have students or parents personally contact a business. The personal contact usually gets a better response than a letter. Most businesses have ad copy they can give you, or they may give you a business card to be used as an ad.
Another way to make money on your playbill is to offer “Best Wishes” ads. These are ads where the parents, grandparents, or friends of the actors run a small ad of congratulations or encouragement. It could be a five dollar one-liner, like “To Anna -Break a leg! Love, Grandpa & Grandma” Or a twenty-five dollar ad with the actor’s photo and a congratulatory note, “To the best Veruca Salt ever! Love, Mom and Dad.”
Building up a fund for your future shows will make it possible to improve the production value of your shows. Just a little bit of effort can net you a good amount of income. And don’t forget to put something aside for the scholarship fund!
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