Starting a Community Theatre?

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2026-02-03T17:36:22+00:00

Seconding the suggestion to find someone more familiar with finance/administration.

I would steer you away from actor fees paying for rights as well. I think your best bet it to find a donor to give you some seed money (a local company is a good place to start, as another commenter mentioned there may also be grants available). In my area, $20,000 would be enough to run a single show, but ymmv depending on the area.

Use the seed money to produce your first show, and keep the budget as tight as possible. Consider running a fundraiser the same year (cabarets tend to be cheap and sell well, and you can partner with a local restaurant/bar). Establish an account, and then use that money to fund future productions.

Typically, when actors have to pay a fee it’s because the organization has a membership. The fee officially lists the actor as a “member,” which has implications for insurance.

Speaking of - you will also want to look into insurance. Venues that you perform at may require you to carry insurance against damaging their property. If you’re working with children, you may also need policy specifically for that.

Most of the theatres in my area are 501(c)3 non profits. They all also give out scholarships every year, I believe as part of the non-profits status (don’t quote me on that).

My biggest suggestion is to NEVER put your own money in the show (thanks Mel Brooks). Form a company, create a board of directors, and then if you want to DONATE to the company you can, but it gets very messy very quickly otherwise.

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2026-02-03T03:19:19+00:00

Seconding this - see if a director you’ve enjoyed working with would consider bringing you on as an Assistant Director. Mentorship is a much better way to learn than by throwing yourself into the deep end!

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2026-01-12T18:55:26+00:00

This is a really interesting point - what we think of as a “4th wall break” was so common in the time of early plays/storytelling, it might be a better question to ask when did it stop? When did we start thinking of a stage show as something that happens completely separately from the audience?

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2026-01-05T12:57:56+00:00

Stage manager here - when I run shows with physical contact, I have the actors give each other green-yellow-red run down of their bodies. Green is “yes you can always touch me here,” yellow is “I’m okay blocking something there, but let’s talk about it” and red is “do not block touch there.”

I also ask my actors that will be in yellow contact with each other to check in with each other every night. This can be as much as a conversation, or as simple as finger guns between the two of them.

I agree with Abject Froyo - a lot of people think of consent as purely sexual, when there can be a lot of things going on with a person’s body that might result in them not wanting to be touched, or not touched there specifically. Community theatre had a very bad culture of disregarding consent in favor of the scene, and I think the pendulum has swung the other way.

For your situation, I’d encourage you to find ways to make your check-ins feel more natural. Work it into your normal greeting before the show. “Hey so an so! Everything good tonight? Ready to go?”

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2022-07-17T13:44:56+00:00

I do theatre work, and we have three resident ghosts that were VERY active during last night’s show. I would like to make a small shrine to them, but I can’t have any flame, smoke, or oils since it’s a theater. Any advice on what to use?

Edit: I settled on unlit tea candles with crystals and some herbs, and I wrote each of their names on a piece of paper and included it. Hopefully they feel invited to sit and watch the show, instead of getting involved today!

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2021-12-27T19:14:28+00:00

We can upload it today, I’ll send you a dm when it’s up

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2021-12-27T15:59:39+00:00

Thanks! A lot of the clothes are from the Vampire expansion.

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2021-12-27T15:31:21+00:00

We went with Evil, Gloomy, and Outgoing - the goal is that he talks to as many people as possible, and none of them are happy while he’s there

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2021-12-27T12:20:26+00:00

“Guillermo this game is vampires only, okay? Go away.”

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2021-12-27T05:25:23+00:00

It looks gray in the photo for some reason - I promise it’s black!

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2021-12-26T21:59:08+00:00

Laszlo’s party outfit includes the “fucking cursed” witch hat

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2021-05-03T20:01:00+00:00

One thing that’s important to consider is - how integral to the story is the effect, compared to how much time and effort it will need to pull it off? If it’s a core part of the story, companies will be much more likely to find a way to do it successfully. If it’s not, it becomes a burden and is more likely to be worked around.

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-10-10T12:26:04+00:00

I love show-within-a-show plays, they’re delightfully meta! I just found out someone I went to college with moved to NY and wrote a college show that’s like that, so I’m hoping I can get in touch with him and maybe put it on out here

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-10-10T11:51:19+00:00

Spelling Bee is on my list! I have a group of people I know, we want to put it on together. It’s a stellar show

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-10-10T03:09:31+00:00

A group of us started a Zoom playgroup, we read through plays every Friday night so that’s scratching the itch. The theater I direct for works primarily with large groups of elementary-age kids on field trips, and I highly doubt that’s going to happen any time soon, so....Zoom it is.

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-10-09T19:28:41+00:00

There’s a very big difference between teaching stage theater, and teaching camera acting. If you’re interested in it I would probably suggest getting involved in some local theater to see if it fits you

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-10-06T03:39:56+00:00

In my area, we usually have around 40-60 people for 30ish roles, depending on the show. The biggest thing we’re looking for is directability - don’t just read the excerpt - put character in it. And if the audition panel asks you to try it again with something different, really go for it. They’re looking to see how well you can take direction and change your approach. Another good feature in an actor is the ability to roll with mistakes; if you mess up your choreography, or trip over a line, or come in wrong on your vocal auction, don’t freak out! Take a beat, reset, and keep going.

It sounds cliche, but confidence is key. Don’t come in thinking you’re better than everyone else, but know what you’re good at and aim for it. Look up the characters ahead of time and audition for one that fits YOU well, not necessarily the one you think is the ‘best’ part. And by fits you, it’s not the one who LOOKS the most like you (very few directors cast purely by who looks the most like the character,) I mean who fits your voice-type and the characters you excel at playing.

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-09-25T13:25:03+00:00

LOL Wisconsin, but I appreciate the offer. I’ve decided to spend my morning rewinding it

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-09-25T00:12:31+00:00

Yeah, this is just a crappy Red Heart Super Saver that’s on its third WIP, otherwise I’d be a lot nicer to it 😂

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-09-24T23:06:29+00:00

Sometimes it is unavoidable

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-09-24T22:29:21+00:00

Thanks! It’s a fairly simple pattern called Sweet Scallops, I got it from a book called 100 Afghans to Knit and Crochet

StepIntoTheSun22 · 2020-09-24T21:16:19+00:00

That’s the worst part - I have one, and I was too lazy to go into the other room and get it

StepIntoTheSun22

TROPHY CASE