Theater from the Cheap Seats

Theater students don’t have to pay through the nose, just because the administration won’t lend a hand.

 

BY. JESSICA DIFFER

 

As I was preparing to embark upon my senior project to produce and direct a play I had written, Laurie Powell-Ward of the Hollins Theater informed me that I would have about $60 to complete my project.

 

The theater like many of the arts is subject to a vicious circle in which the arts need money to exist and if they cannot exist in proper form they cannot make the money they need to become stronger. The Hollins Theater has been struggling to fill seats for years with low budget shows that rely heavily on the talents of students.

 

This is where students can contradict the cycle, because it is still possible to create good theater with a minimum of money out of pocket. I managed to produce an entire show for less than a $100 including costumes, set, and publicity. It wasn’t easy but is it is possible.

 

A good first rule is to keep things as simple as possible.

 

*Don’t choose a 17^TH century comedy of manners unless you are willing to costume very abstractly. Choose something more modern, so the actors can wear their own clothing or, if needs be, something from your closet.

 

*Keep the set minimal. Don’t build a façade if you don’t need it. My obstacle as far as scenery was a table. In the end when I couldn’t find one, I made one from two waist high columns and some spare wood in the theater shop. Cost to me? Four cans of white spray paint costing less than four dollars total. 

 

*Handle your own publicity by designing the posters, flyers and programs on your own computer and printing them out at home.

 

*Props are everywhere: your grandmother’s attic, your neighbor’s garage, your roommate’s closet. Look and ask around before you buy anything.

 

*Don’t be afraid to charge your patrons a few dollars. Six dollars is still cheaper than a movie ticket or any other theater ticket in town. 

 

Alpha Psi Omega is currently producing a show entitled “The Lifecycle of the Vagina” to raise funds in the spirit of Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues. This group receives no funding from SGA and only technical support from the theater department. As the President of APO I feel that a lot of the burden rests on me although my fellow members do their best to help out. The cast of the show features several APO members, and more are working tech and crew positions for the performances. In addition to the actual performance there are several fundraisers taking place on the days of the performance, which raises money for YWCA Turning Point which helps victims of domestic abuse, as well as The American Breast Cancer Foundation

 

Normally all of this would cost a lot of money, but APO is using the same principles that I employed on my senior project. The actors in the show are wearing their own clothing for the performances, and all of the props are coming from our own homes and dorm rooms.

 

Donations are a great resource, whether monetary or material. APO members went to retailers such as Jo-Ann Fabrics and Lowes Hardware to get the odds and ends that they couldn’t find. One of the fundraisers is a 50/50 raffle where one prize is a quilt made from donated materials in pink, red and white in honor of the original colors used in The Vagina Monologues.

 

APO is only planning on keeping a small portion of the proceeds to benefit future events like this one, because when the system doesn’t work for you, you have to work around the system. We have learned the hard way that administration is not just going to hand us the money.

 

Current Visiting Theater Artist, Ernie Zulia is trying to produce a big musical for the fall term, but the biggest obstacle facing him is financial backing. While musicals are great for drawing a crowd they are also expensive because of the cost of hiring musicians and a musical director. In addition there are costumes and sets to build and the tab adds up after a while.

 

Despite the enthusiasm of students and faculty about the prospect of a splashy, high quality musical, the administration sees the unimpressive ticket sales from past shows and doesn’t find that the theater is a sound investment, so they put the money elsewhere.