3. Commercial Producer
runs the business (like a CEO)
sells the idea
raises money: Angels (stockholders)
The Producer can be an individual or a
consortium of people.
4. Producer negotiates Union
Contracts
11+ Unions on Broadway (from actors to ushers) –
for example:
AEA – Actor’s Equity Association (1917) - for actors and
stage managers
SDC-Society of Stage Directors & Choreographers
Musicians Unions (3-4) ASCAP, AFM, etc
Other AFL-CIO union affiliates: Ironworkers, painters,
makeup artists, hairdressers, wardrobe and costume,
carpenters, electricians, ushers/house managers,
backstage hands
5. Phantom of the Opera - 1988
As of January
2011, it is the
longest running
Broadway musical
6. June 2013…. Phantom stats
The Producers employ:
10,000 people a year - 1,200 AEA (Eauity)
There are 5 National Tours
Internationally 150 Million people have seen it
in
29 countries
in
13 languages
For a total of: 65,000 performances !
The only B-way show with 28 instruments in the pit
7. Phantom of the Opera
Money to Open
The “Nut”
$8mm
$400K/wk
Ticket Sales
Nut
Profit
$540K/wk
$400K
$140K
Compare to Week Ending December 30, 2012 - $1.75 Million Gross for the week !
8. Phantom (cont.)
40 Weeks to pay off Money to Open
Revenues from:
Ticket Sales
National/International Tours
CD’s & other merchandise
$900+ Million Gross over 25 years
nationally
$4.2 Billion Gross – internationally
12. “Spiderman”….Lights Out !
Spiderman closed this fall because the
producers lost too much money and
couldn’t get it technically ready for international
rights
It cost the producers $75 MILLION to
open the show in 2010 !
The “nut” for the show in the first year was
$1 mill ++
13. NEW YORK CITY
Several different business types of theatre
in NYC:
Broadway (Commercial)
Off-Broadway (Commercial and Not-for-Profit)
Off-off Broadway (Non-profit)
Regional theatres (Non-profit)
15. BROADWAY-COMMERCIAL
Broadway is a Theatre district in NYC with currently 40
B’dway theatres operating
House Size: 500+ seat spaces work under a
“Production” or “Commercial Broadway” Contract
“National Touring” contracts are like Broadway contracts
but include clauses for housing
Commercial appeal: lots of musicals and spectacle
16.
17. Commercial theatre is produced outside
New York in the form of:
Dinner Theatres
Comedy Improv Theatre
Tours
Las Vegas-type shows
18. OFF BROADWAY
House Size: 200-499 seats
Has its own “Off-Broadway” Contract
Located all over NYC
Alternative to pricey, commercial
Broadway
Many new plays and works
Non-profit “farm-team” for Broadway
21. OFF-OFF BROADWAY
Greenwich Village, East Village, Uptown – where ever !
Experimental and Avant-garde
Always non-profit, rarely ever Commercial
Actors, Directors, Designers work for little money or travel
expenses only
Good showcase for young professionals
Examples:
LaMama in the lower east side
T.Schrieber in Chelsea district
Symphony Space in Chelsea district
23. RESIDENT PROFESSIONAL
THEATRES or REGIONAL THEATRES
Professional non-profit theatres
League of Resident Theatres, or L.O.R.T. – special contract
with unions (5 kinds of LORT contracts – “A” through ”E”, depending
on size of theatre
Traditionally perform “in rep” (repertory) with a resident company of
actors and designers
Owned by:
Board of Directors (Trustees) - own & manage facilities – governs
Run by:
Producing or Managing Director - runs the business, produces
Artistic Director - responsible for the artistic values
28. SHAKESPEARE FESTIVALS
About 80 across the US
Operated in same manner as
LORT/Regional Theatres
Mostly Summer Seasons -- some have
moved to year-round
