Affordable productions can be discovered
By Lucinda Garcia
4/30/10
Going out to the theater in Boston is still affordable. When prices for major theater productions in the Theater District keep going up, new original works along with established pieces are being performed in and around Boston by theatrical groups big and small.
When the company thinks of its audience, executive producer Sara Stackhouse said it keeps ticket prices under $50. However, discounts are available for students, seniors and veterans. This can bring the pricing down to $20 to $30.
New subscribers pay a little less per show, but Stackhouse said they will buy all the shows. Forty percent of ticket sales come from subscribers.
Even with last year's down economy the company has not raised prices.
She said it's because the group raises the money for its $1.2 million budget from different areas. One third of the budget comes from ticket prices, two thirds from the different foundation grants and individual donors.
The company's last performance of "Othello" was a success, said Stackhouse. "It was the best sale this year. We sold out two weekends straight," she said.
The audience size depends on the production's venue. It could be between 175 to 184 seats.
The
11:11 Theatre Company has a very limited budget. It deals primarily with new original scripts compared to the mainstream shows familiar to most audiences.
Its marketing director, Evan Quinlan, said the economy hasn't affected the way tickets are priced. "It didn't affect because we are so small you can't take away from zero. We aren't big enough to make thousands to lose it all. We've been doing better because of it [economy]," Quinlan said.
Word of mouth has been helping with filling seats, Quinlan said, adding that it accounts for an average of 30 seats. "It's been a small and slow process in making this happen [filling seats], but we're on the verge of making it bigger," Quinlan said.
The F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Company, located just outside of Boston in Wakefield, puts on great shows, but with a very low budget, said its treasurer Samantha Lebicz. The company is known for plays outside of the mainstream.
The company is a huge fundraiser and gets most of its budget from donations, she said. "We've been growing over the last couple of years, not due to the economy, but due to us."
The company's mission is to have affordable theater tickets for the community, but Lebicz said, "we have to keep it reasonable." She said in the past, there were different levels for ticket prices, but now they charge all patrons just $20.
They also recently moved to the
Arsenal Center in Watertown this past year, now they have 70 to 80 seats available.
General director Carole Charnow of
Opera Boston said the organization also has had a great season: an 85 percent sellout. Opera Boston tickets are on the pricey side, but Charnow said with the economy they've been fine because their subscriber base has been steady. Charnow said what has been a little tougher has been in bringing in donations. They are coming a little later than in the past.
No matter, these companies are still producing theater for Boston audiences and they are just some of the many options. Boston audiences can catch a great performance in many places, not just on Boylston and Tremont Streets.
(Previous photo provided by the Actors' Shakespeare Project)
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