Stage North is celebrating 35 years of quality live theatre in Fort St. John. Having its roots with Workshop Players, Stage North began in 1977 when Northern Lights College launched a drama program as part of its curriculum. Over 150 productions later, Stage North is thriving in 2012. Look for more from the archives of local theatre throughout the year in celebration of 35 years of Stage North.
Where Does The Money Go?
Gone are the days when a live theatre production cost in the low hundreds to stage. In the 60’s and 70’s, Workshop Players in Fort St. John took over a gymnasium of an elementary school for a weekend, pulled together costumes from home closets, and advertised by telling their friends and colleagues. An entry fee of $2 covered most of the costs and a few dollars were left to start off the next production.
A typical Stage North production now costs about $8,000 to $10,000 to stage, with the popular musicals having large casts costing as much as $17,000.
So where does the money go? The production rights for each show can vary from $50 a performance to $1500 a performance. The musical Cabaret paid $6000 in production rights to Tams-Witmark Music Library and The Good Game coming up in February will pay $325 to the playwright.
The cost of the performance venue has increased with the development of a fully equipped theatre with sound, lighting and raked seating for the audience. Casts and crews have the advantage of working in a proper theatre instead of a make-shift gymnasium. Gone are the days of hauling in the lights and the sound and setting up benches for the audience. Audiences have comfortable seating now and do not have to sit on the hard gym floor. Technical expertise comes along with the sophisticated venue and the total cost can be as high as $7500 as it was for Cabaret.
Rehearsals take place months in advance of the show opening on stage. Stage North pays rent for rehearsal space which triples as costume storage, set storage and set construction space as well. Commercial rent is required for 12 months of the year since rehearsals are back to back and sometimes overlap. Rent is now just over $20,000 a year since Stage North downsized to a smaller, less versatile, but a more affordable space.
Set construction requires lumber and paint. Costumes require materials and notions. Makeup requires replenishing between shows. The costs vary according to the type of show, the design period of the show and the number of cast members. All assembly and construction labour plus the cast and crew time is volunteer but materials, though sometimes donated, are often costly.
The advertising, promotions and program require thousands of dollars per show. Stage North is fortunate to have wonderful in-kind support from local radio and newspapers and additional print media like the Northern Groove. Hamilton’s Copiers helps by printing programs and posters. The total costs per show would be much higher than indicated above if all promotions and publicity required cash payment.
Who pays for the production costs of the show? The audience ticket sales are a main source of revenue but the support of annual Sponsors and donations from Friends is vital to the success of Stage North. At the end of the year, Stage North considers it a profitable year if it has some funds in the bank to start off the next season.
Starting off this 35 Years of Celebration, Stage North will stage The Good Game, a comedy about the hockey old timers team returning to the ice 20 years after winning the championship. The locker room banter will be familiar to every hockey player anywhere. The show runs February 17 – 25. Tickets are now available online at tickets.npcc.bc.ca or at the NPCC ticket office.
For further information: www.stagenorth.ca
