It's important to come up with a budget for your show.
Sample Budgets for Schools, Colleges, Community Theatres and Professional Companies
Raising Funds for Your Production
Bookkeeping
Typical Budget Items (Amateur Productions)
Typical Budget Items (Professional Productions)
Typical Budget Items (Musicals)
Typical Budget Items (Touring Shows)
Approaching Investors
Touring shows bring their own unique expenses, as well as many of the expenses of more traditional, “sit down” productions. Touring shows themselves can vary, from four actors going out in a van for the day, to an entire company traveling for a major national tour. For the small-scale tour (let’s call it a day tour), anticipate the following potential expenses:
- Van rental
- Gas
- Tolls
- Parking
- Per diem (daily allowance for performer meals)
Small-scale tours, which tend to be brought in by schools or other community groups, will tend not to have much in the way of set expenses (typically everything will have to fit in a large trunk or two), and lighting will likewise be minimal (whatever is available on-site). And, of course, there’s generally no theatre rental.
For a more extended tour, add the following to the day tour expenses:
- Buses (rather than vans)—At this point, you’re probably talking about many more people, and so you’re likely to be traveling by chartered bus.
- Truck Rental—Trucks are the norm for transporting larger sets, so you’ll likely have to contract with a company that does this sort of transporting.
- Hotel (if applicable)—it is acceptable to have members of your traveling company of the same gender share a room (with two queen beds, for example), though if you have the budget, they will certainly appreciate their own space.