I've had this post stored away on the computer since September. We were running Adam Bock's The Thugs and it was not going very well. (The show itself was fantastic, but we were losing a lot of money very quickly.) I wrote this in a fit of desperate depression. I offer it up here and now as a bit of cold comfort for others who might be experiencing theatre-making troubles. (Like we are now.)
I'm actually typing in the lobby. The Thugs is running just about 50 feet away. There's a really tiny audience in there. Adam (Bock) sent me an email today asking if we're having fun. No, Adam, at this moment I'm definitely not having fun. Here's how it goes.
We had a "Pay-What-You-Can" night, as we do every Thursday. This week, 7 people are watching the show. One of them is the guy who ran box office for us tonight. We've made a total of $39. That includes $2 from concessions. (Water is a buck, snacks are free, but hardly anyone ever takes the snacks. What?!)We've got 14 reservations so far for the rest of the weekend. That's 4 more shows. We're doing a 10pm performance on Saturday, in addition to the usual 8pm. Another one of my dumb ideas. Someone stole the extra role of gaff tape I left at the theater (where we pay $750/week and still have to pull the whole set down every night) so the carpet isn't taped to the floor. It looks pretty raggedy. Ugly, really. I'm praying the set can withstand the strain of going up and down every night, given that we had to build it really quickly with inferior materials.
Looking at Quickbooks, I see that we're still $500 away from making back the money we (meaning my wife and I, though really meaning my wife since I'm too busy building the set and arranging everything to keep a steady job) have spent so far to put the show up, and then we need to earn the rent, royalties, and the actors' paychecks on top of that. We better get more than 6 tix and 1 comp per show from now on. Luckily, we have a third weekend (for the first time) and we're counting on that to help our final attendance numbers grow. It's all about the average house, not the big ones or small ones, right?
Of course, even if we do miraculously break even on this show, that still leaves us almost a thousand $$$ in the hole because of the massive failure of the last show. Luckily, everyone was willing to work for free, so it's not as bad as it could be.
This is not what I was hoping for. AGAIN.
When is enough enough?
The season got better after that, and right now it's getting worse. I'm sure that'll turn around again, after all "This Will Be the Year." Right?
Wow, I just re-read that old post, and had a good laugh. All of that and more has already come to pass, and we've still got 3 shows and a half-dozen readings to go before the end of the season.
I'm not complaining, after all I asked for this, but I am hoping we catch a break sometime soon.
Anyone care to commiserate in the comments?
Comments (1)
Wow, man.
That is one harsh reality check you shared (even if it's four months old). Thanks for writing it. Thanks for posting it. Thanks for doing all that you do, in spite of the challenges you face.
No wonder I admire you so much.
Posted by Anonymous | January 27, 2008 2:25 PM
Posted on January 27, 2008 14:25