There are close to 1900 Community Theatres in America Today Who Want to Be Relevant to New Audiences (Millennials and Generation Z). Donor Activity is Higher and Attendance is Slowly Growing From Lower Numbers in Previous Years. All Together American Community Theatres Are Generating About $2.2 Billion in Revenue.
A new offering from CommunityTheatres.org is its theatre program honoring the late Lillie Langtry, English Actress who has history of living in an estate in California.
In 1881, Langtry was in need of money. Her close friend Oscar Wilde suggested she try the stage, and Langtry embarked upon a theatre career. She first tried out for an amateur production in the Twickenham Town Hall on 19 November 1881. It was a comedy two-hander called A Fair Encounter, with Henrietta Labouchère taking the other role and coaching Langtry in her acting. Labouchère had been a professional actress before she met and married Liberal MP Henry Labouchère.
American impresario Henry Abbey arranged a tour in the United States for Langtry. She arrived by ship in October 1882 to be met by the press and Oscar Wilde, who was in New York on a lecture tour. Her first appearance was eagerly anticipated, but the theatre burnt down the night before the opening; the show moved to another venue and opened the following week. Eventually, her production company started a coast-to-coast tour of the U.S., ending in May 1883 with a “fat profit.” Before leaving New York, she had an acrimonious break with Henrietta Labouchère over Langtry’s relationship with Frederick Gebhard, a wealthy young American.
Our Mission: Creating new revenue streams for both community theatres and live venues showcasing live theatrical events, a series of revenue-based programs (new plays and events , new concession programs, marketing and public relations). All with the ultimate goal of introducing Community Theatre as an Ideal Entertainment Source For Millennials and Generation Z Populations Nationwide.
Community Theatre Fundraising: We help showcase best practices that other successful community theatres use in the community and corporate fundraising efforts. Our research shows that a diversified fundraising plan gives that community theatre a much broader outreach and better results.
Revenue Streams: We will show our clients the best revenue sources possible (on top of ticket sales) for their seasons. The primary source of income relates to plays and events, concession stands and merchandising programs (Specific to plays as well as the theatres and live action venues themselves).
Other Theatre Usage: Community Theatres also lease out their locations for non-play uses such as for company meetings and presentations, church gatherings, start-up events and more.
Community Theatres may produce musicals, dramas, one person shows, improvisational shows, even vaudeville or circus-style shows. If it’s a local theater, it may be a community theater, and it may put on just about any type of show. Shakespeare’s dramas are a favorite, as his plays are both timeless and royalty-free, but they are by no means the majority of community theater productions. They’re just quite common.
Some Community Theatres go further out of their way to support the community than others. Some have pay-what-you-can options for the community’s poor to allow all people to enjoy the arts, and some shows are written, directed, crewed and acted by members of a local community. Others may use their funds to purchase the rights to more well-known plays, use professional actors, and charge flat fees for entry.
