help needed re workings of amateur theatre group

ajaye

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I'm writing about a small town amateur theatre group and need some info on things like -

how many shows might they put on a year/how long would they need to prepare for a show

what would be the minimum number for a cast - say for Sound of Music or Grease

and anything else you think may be handy

A big thanks in advance.
 

cornflake

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I'm writing about a small town amateur theatre group and need some info on things like -

how many shows might they put on a year/how long would they need to prepare for a show

what would be the minimum number for a cast - say for Sound of Music or Grease

and anything else you think may be handy

A big thanks in advance.

I think a lot of that depends and would be better answered by someone more familiar with a small-town community theatre.

However, in general, be careful with what you'd have them do - Grease for example, will, I believe, still cost you $$ to put on. I think many community theatre groups try to stay in domain or new works for that reason.
 

Shakesbear

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How long to prepare for a show depends on when you start - that is from a committee making the decision to stage a production, or when rehearsals start. The committee might take suggestions from members and then research stuff like the cost of performing rights, if they have the 'right' type of members (no good planning the Sound of Music if there is no one to play Maria), cost of sets/props (hiring Audrey 2 for Little Shop of Horrors can be expensive). Costumes - do they have a store or will they hire? They would have to do some sums to make sure that ticket sales will cover expenses. Which leads into the venue and hiring it.

Number of cast members needed to stage a show can vary from group to group. I've seen a production of Henry V performed by six actors. A production of MacBeth had five (the witches were played by one actor with masks). It really is up to the director who may choose to cut scenes to reduce the time the plays running time and to fit the number of actors available.

Apart from those on stage a good amateur dramatic group will also need: set builders, sound, lighting and techie people, props people who find and or make props and organize their use on stage, costumes - hiring,making storage of and maintaining. Make up and hair people. Scene shifters and set change people. The group might also need to find Front Of House people to help the audience before, during and after a performance. An FOH manager might also be useful. If the play involves weapons they might try to find an armourer to look after them may also need a fight co-ordinator. Also someone to produce fliers, deal with the press, advertising and to design and produce a programme.

Is the venue open air?

Just thought - somewhere I have the costings for LSOH - I'll try to dig them out for you.
 

ajaye

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Thanks Cornflake. I was thinking my group's version of Grease or Sound of Music would be quite an amateur and abridged version, but I hadn't even thought of paying for rights. Hmmm.

Thanks Shakesbear, you've given me some great detail and given me a lot to think about and work with.

I'm writing short stories about the committee group and its dynamics, but I need to know how things would actually work so I don't trip up too badly.

Thanks again :)
 

randi.lee

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Hi Ajaye,

I've belonged to a theater group for a while now and have staged/produced some of my own plays. If you have any more specific questions you'd like to ask, feel free to shoot me a PM :)
 

Shakesbear

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Thanks Cornflake. I was thinking my group's version of Grease or Sound of Music would be quite an amateur and abridged version, but I hadn't even thought of paying for rights. Hmmm.

Thanks Shakesbear, you've given me some great detail and given me a lot to think about and work with.

I'm writing short stories about the committee group and its dynamics, but I need to know how things would actually work so I don't trip up too badly.

Thanks again :)

You are welcome. :)

I've been very lucky - the group I have worked with are not a lot of Prima Donnas! Some groups are riddled with power battles and political infighting that make professional politicians look like cute kittens!
 

ajaye

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Thanks Randi, that's very kind of you.

Shakesbear, sounds like you've been with a good group for sure.

So if my committee put on one show a year and worked on that show for the twelve months leading up to it, that would sound normal?
 

Bufty

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Why not join the local group and get first hand experience?
 

ajaye

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Good idea Bufty, but afraid I have little to offer in the way of talent :/
 

Bufty

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Forget about talent. Not all drama group members want to act - there's stacks of other things to get involved with and that need to be done for the group to function.

In any event why not approach them for the info you require? They all love to natter about what they do - and gossip as well.

Approaching them is going to be far more helpful character-wise than the bare info you get here.

Good idea Bufty, but afraid I have little to offer in the way of talent :/
 

Shakesbear

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Good idea Bufty, but afraid I have little to offer in the way of talent :/

RUBBISH!! Best way of getting the info you need - you could offer to be prompt. That means you need to be able to focus on the script and follow what is happening on stage. It is, imo, the best way of being able to covertly observe how every one interacts and how the dynamics work. I found it fascinating - especially when one person had a tantrum, threw their script onto the floor and jumped on it! What larks! Or you could offer to move scenery, do FOH stuff... you do not have to act to be part of an amdram group.
 

ajaye

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Okay, looks like I might have to check them out :)
 

cornflake

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As noted above, they need people to work the house too - even if you want nothing to do with the production itself or don't feel comfortable with the production side, you can certainly get involved working in the box office, ushering, working a concession stand, etc.
 

storygirl99

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Although I am a professional actor (read: in a union but make little money), I act mostly in very low budget productions that hire a mix of union and non-union talent. I have never heard of a production taking 12 months to rehearse unless it is an experimental workshop type of thing. The standard is about 3 to 4 weeks for a professional show and 4 to 6 weeks for a community theatre production. It would be almost impossible to get a large group of unpaid performers to commit to a process that long.
 

slhuang

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I grew up in community theatre, several different ones, and have served on the board as well.

1) A year is way too long to work on one show, especially if you mean rehearsing that whole time. Eight weeks of rehearsal (maybe 6-7, rarely longer than 8) is pretty standard for community theatre. Show selection and the process of getting the rights would begin a few months before that.

2) My experience with show selection has been the exact opposite of what cornflake said. Most community theatre groups I've belonged to have striven to go for large, well-known properties. You do have to get the rights, but it's easy and not terribly expensive, and if you do something obscure you may find yourself (a) with no cast/crew interested in doing it, (b) with no audience interested in seeing it and thus no chance of breaking even. The well-known shows pay for the more experimental properties, which almost inevitably lose money. (The exception would be is if your theatre group is classical/Shakespeare, but it's still sort of true, only in that case doing Midsummer might pay for doing Troilus & Cressida.) That brings me to:

3) You have to decide what kind of group this is. Several theatres I've belonged to -- particularly the small-town type -- leaned heavily on the interest of children doing it for extracurriculars. They chose kid-heavy shows like Oliver! or Annie with (potentially) huge ensembles of children, because that brings in parents as volunteers, audience, and potentially donations/fees (some theatre groups charge to participate, some don't).
 

slhuang

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I tried to write more but I'm on my phone and it won't handle long posts. Feel free to ask if you have more questions. You'll need to think about what kind of group this is (adults/kids/mixed? Classical/modern/musicals? Bordering-on-professional vs. a few friends having fun and performing in a basement?) and how they fund themselves (ticket sales with a float, private funds, arts grants, member dues, fees for participation...?). There are all sorts of theatre groups -- it runs the gamut and it's hard to give you too many specifics before you tell us more about yours. :) If you're still trying to figure it out, you might tell us something about the town and how the group got started and maybe we can help you figure out what's likely.
 
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ajaye

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Thank you slhuang. Those are some great and handy details. I was thinking I'd start with the group deciding - and arguing :) on what show to perform at the start of the year, with the show being scheduled for the end of the year. Good point about the children, too.
 

slhuang

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Oh, and as to number of shows per year: probably 2-4, but not because they'd be spending 1/2 or 1/3 or 1/4 of the year in active rehearsal -- less shows would mean the theatre probably was a little thin on support on its administrative side.
 

slhuang

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Thank you slhuang. Those are some great and handy details. I was thinking I'd start with the group deciding - and arguing :) on what show to perform at the start of the year, with the show being scheduled for the end of the year. Good point about the children, too.

That would strike me as a little long, unless they had another show going on in the interim. It's hard to maintain momentum on one project for a whole year. If they were doing show selection a year in advance I'd expect them to be having at least one other show going on in between.

I've also never been part of a theatre group that only did one show per year. I'm sure they exist -- it's not necessarily unrealistic -- I just find it less likely, and I'd expect a story reason for it (even if it's one that only exists in your head).
 

ajaye

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Ok, yes I get it. Hmm, this may not be right for the project I had in mind but I've still got the characters and ideas in my head for a couple of shorts. Thank you!
 

Shakesbear

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You do have to get the rights, but it's easy and not terribly expensive,

It is easy to get the rights - but I would call it very expensive.

At the conclusion of this application for a Performing Licence, a refundable deposit payment of £500 must be made by credit/debit card in order to successfully complete the application procedure. No other methods of payment can be accepted.
https://www.josef-weinberger.com/musicals/license.html

I am not sure how much the full amount would be for a Performing Licence (PL). IIRC the PL for Little Shop of Horrors was about £500, quite a substantial amount for an amdram group.
 

ULTRAGOTHA

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Note that you can't go cutting plays to suit your cast without permission from the rights holder. Some rights holders do offer less complex versions of their musicals, Into The Woods, Junior, for example.
 

storygirl99

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Have you ever seen "Waiting for Guffman?" It is hilarious and well worth watching. Although it is a comedy and over-the-top, it's still based in all the truths of community theatre.