Introduction to the Theatre

THE 101 / University of Idaho

 

 

Chapter 7 / The Producer

The Producers Role and History

     The producer is the most unseen hand in theatre and basically serves as the overall administrator of the production.  They raise money, establish budgets and hire personnel.   Additionally, producers exist in both public and the private sector theater and oversee both non-profit and commercial organizations.

     In the public sector, producers subsidize and provide theatre as a civic duty and as a cultural offering.   For instance, universities theaters serve as good examples of public sector producing organizations.   Although, private sector theater can certainly be non-profit, public sector theater almost always tends to be non-profit or subsidized theater.   Subsidized theater is theater that is underwritten by the government.  Subsidized theater is quite common in other countries, but rare in the United States - with The Living Newspaper being a noted American exception.  However, non-profit theater is widespread. 

     To become non-profit, organizations must show that they are organized and will operate for purposes that are beneficial to the public interest - this is generally interpreted as educational, charitable or religious.  In addition, non-profit organizations must prove that any money they make will go back into the organization so that it may continue to produce, hopefully, good works.  Non-profit organizations are eligible to receive grants and people can deduct any donation made to non-profit organizations on their taxes. 

     In contrast, commercial theater - which tends to be privately owned, is a business venture.   Where a non-profit producer might be seeking corporate donations and writing grants like crazy to stay financially afloat, a commercial theater producer seeks wealthy investors and corporate tie-ins.  Additionally, any profits from the production go to the investors.  It’s like investing and playing in the stock market.

     Historically, the role of producer is attributed to Greek Theatre.   Since theatre was part of a national festival and attendance was considered a civic duty, a producer or archon (angel) was assigned.   This Archon was responsible for the arrangement of the festival and the competition and the archon was usually a government official.   Individual companies were assigned a choregos (chorus master) who clothed and fed the company while they rehearsed and as a result, the choregos was usually a wealthy citizen.

     In the middle ages, theatre was presented in large festivals as well.   These festivals were called pageants or cycles.   Each pageant had a pageant master who served as producer and each pageant wagon was sponsored by a trade guild, such as the goldsmiths or wheelwrights and these pageant wagons depicting the different chapters of the Bible.

     In the romantic period of the 1800’s, actor/managers like David Garrick, served as their own producers.   This is the period of the star and the benefit system.   Other great actor/mangers of the age were Junius, Brutus, Edwin, and John Wilkes Booth.   In America, a group of theaters banded together to form the theatrical syndicate.   This syndicate used booking agents to promote their own produced work.   Independent producers like Sarah Bernhardt, were not always welcome, resulting in her "blackballed" first tour of the American continent.

     As the realism movement grew, producers began looking at a changing audience.   Not everybody was interested in the new realism and audiences became annoyed and dissatisfied.   To solve this problem, producers started the independent theatre movement.   This movement used a target member audience of subscribers.   Subscribers could attend the theatre of their choice, which produced the productions they wanted to see.   Subscriber audiences also provided producers with front money to feed the productions.

     As taste and audience composition changed, many countries felt that their national literary heritage might disappear.   Many governments like England, Germany, and France set up national theaters to produce the works of their indigenous playwrights.   Subsidized theatre (as well as dance, music, and art) became a way for governments to preserve and produce their cultural heritage.

     Today, theatre is produced in a combination of all these ways.   In New York, the Schubert Theater Organization owns most of the big theaters.    The Schubert Theater Organization replaced the theatre syndicate of the past and rents theater space to producers and producing companies.   Thus, the theatre owners’ control stops at the rent check.   New York, for decades considered the heart of the theater in America, is composed of several theater districts; Broadway, Off Broadway, Off-Off Broadway.   In addition, New York has public, regional and academic theater.   Broadway is known for producing the main line hits like The Lion King and Phantom of the Opera.   Off Broadway is known for its showcases of revived theatre work like Death of a Salesman or imported hits from England’s West End like An Inspector Calls.   Off-Off Broadway is known for its fringe work, experimentation, and exploration into gender, cultural and racial issues and as a result, Off-Off Broadway is home to most of the ethnically diverse theater companies in New York.   New York also has several civic-minded producing organizations.   The Lincoln Center could be considered good example of a ‘subsidized’ public theatre.   Regional theatre - like the New York Shakespeare Festival, offers theatre in Central Park, while New York is filled with academic theatre offerings from the universities in the CUNY and SUNY systems.

     However, you do not have to go to New York to see theatre.   There is plenty of regional theatre across this country.   Some specific examples of larger more noteworthy non-academic theaters the region include: the Seattle Repertory Theatre, the Tacoma Actors Guild, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.    In addition, there are numerous theatrical offerings from university, community college, and community theatre groups.  In fact, academic theater is responsible for producing more theater than all of the other types combined.

     All of these organizations have producers, working behind the scenes, finding the money to put theater on the stage.   Here is a short list of some notable producers and their projects.

Florenz Ziegfeld                        The Ziegfeld Follies

David Merrick                          Dolly, Gypsy, 42nd Street

Harold Prince                           Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, A Little Night Music

Cameron MacKintosh              Les Miserable, Cats, Phantom, Miss Saigon, Little Shop of Horrors

The Producers Process

     Producers may be involved in single play productions such as Broadway or in multiple play productions such as regional repertory theatre.   Regardless, they must choose a play to do.   Producers may choose to gather and read the scripts themselves or hire readers.   Some producers actually ‘import’ successful productions from other states or countries.   In any case, they are looking for plays that will offer them the lowest costs, produce the most benefits, and contain the least risk.   They must examine the market, target their audience, and plan their marketing strategy.   This is a give and take proposition.  A plays' potential must be weighed, and a balance needs to be struck between risk and possible gain.   Finally, the producer considers the cost to acquire the property and any options that it may have.   How much will exclusive rights to the production cost?   Does the producer have rights to the sale of T-shirts and coffee mugs?

     Once the producer has decided upon a play(s) and his marketing strategy, he or she will need to find investors or backers.   Unless the producer has the financial where-with-all to produce the play themselves, they will need to develop partnerships.   At this point the producer needs to decide upon either general partners or limited partners.   General partners share in the decision making as well as the profits.   Limited partners share in the profits only.   Producers may also offer shares of stock in the enterprise to willing investors.   The selling of shares helps to offset the production costs.   Non - profit producers struggle with a completely different financial problem.   Since they receive subsidies, they must maintain a 60/40 ratio between ticket sales and either granted or invested funds.   Variation of this ratio could leave the producer and his organization without they’re not for profit status making them eligible to pay taxes.

     In addition to financial resources, a theatre space is found for the production.   In the case of a single production, a director is hired.   In the case of a multiple production, an artistic director is hired who then hires separate directors for each production.   Theater spaces can range from1500 seat opera houses to warehouses.   It is important to remember that in New York when you rent a theater you get a big empty building and nothing more.   All your lights, all the actors, designers, craftspeople, artisans, ushers, ticket sellers and takers, costumes, scenery, and the transportation thereof, costs extra.   As an indicator of the extreme costs of theatre, a normal Broadway production costs from 8 to 12 million dollars to mount a successfully run.

     Producers need to worry about one last detail, the unions and theatre affiliations.   Specifically, Actors Equity Association (AEA), the International Association of Theater and Stage Employees (IATSE), United Scenic Artists (USA), and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).   These unions specifically address the rights of theatre workers and their wage scale.   Obviously, they all have special interests and focus.   Producers must deal effectively and efficiently with the theatrical unions.   In addition, their theatre affiliation will complicate this.   If the theater is a League of Regional Theatre (LORT) member or a United Repertory Theatre Alliance (URTA) theatre member they must maintain strict guideline for the balance of union to non-union members.

This is determined by application for membership that results in a ranking reflecting location, size, and reputation.

     Once the play has been selected, the financial backing secured, theater found, and worker affiliations identified, the producer organizes a board of trustees to manage the financial state of the enterprise.   To handle the aesthetic concerns of the enterprise, the producer hires the artistic director.   Finally, the producer will hire a managing director who will mange the production and performance finances.   Both the artistic director and the managing director report to the board of trustees.   At this point the producer's job is done.

     Finally, it should be said that no matter whether theater is public or private, commercial or non-profit no particular type of theater is “better” than the other, it merely impacts kind of plays that are produced, how they are produced and the type of person needed as the producer.  Luckily, it is the audience that benefits by having a choice.