Stage Money

by Donahue, Tim

• ISBN13: 9781570039072
• ISBN10: 1570039070
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-31
• Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Pr

Summary

Stage Money is a groundbreaking guide to understanding professional theater finances today through the use of the tools and metaphors of the business world at large. This approach results in a comprehensive picture of the economic realities of theater production that is radically different from the assessments typically espoused elsewhere. Tim Donahue and Jim Patterson combine their experiences in the financial and creative aspects of theater production to present in straightforward prose their keen insights into the micro- and macro-economic aspects of the commercial stage. Tangible data, charts, and graphs are counterbalanced with illuminating "intermissions" between chapters and interspersed sidebars throughout to provide specific examples of key concepts, collectively presenting an expansive overview of the contemporary theater business. Stage Money is an unparalleled tool for theater professionals and enthusiasts interested in garnering a better understanding of the business's inner workings at present and its challenges for the future.

Author Biography

Tim Donahue (left) holds an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina, where he recently retired from the Department of Theatre and Dance as the director of marketing and development after nearly ten years.
Jim Patterson (right) is the author of Stage Directing and the coauthor of Theatre in the Secondary School Classroom and the seventh and eighth editions of The Enjoyment of Theatre. Patterson retired as a Distinguished Professor of Theatre from the University of South Carolina. A member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, he has earned numerous awards for his work as a director and educator.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. viii
Preface: It's All about the Money	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Commercial Theaters vs Not-for-Profit Theaters: Key Differences	p. 1
Intermission: Disney on Broadway	p. 5
Commercial Theater On- and Off-Broadway: Finance and Legal Structures	p. 8
Intermission: Broadway and the Shubert Foundation	p. 25
Risk and Return in the Commercial Theater	p. 30
Intermission: The Chitlin' Circuit	p. 56
The Road and Las Vegas	p. 60
Intermission: Playbill	p. 79
Ticket Pricing	p. 81
Intermission: The Glut of Performers: Actors' Earnings and Actors Equity	p. 95
The Not-for-Profit Professional Theater	p. 104
Intermission: Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the Stages of Financial Growth	p. 124
Shall We Dance? The Commercial and Not-for-Profit Theater Relationship	p. 131
Afterword: Looking to the Future	p. 150
Appendix: 2008-2009 Broadway Season Summary	p. 155
Selected Bibliography	p. 159
Index	p. 165
About the Authors	p. 175
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