by Michael Paul Hirsch, Executive Director
I occasionally like to post answers to questions asked from the community. You can always ask your question using this convenient anonymous form. This question came in the other week:
“I think it would open a lot of eyes and maybe inspire a few more donations to have a blog outlining all the costs associated with putting on a show and what percentage of ticket sales cover those costs. I don’t think many of our patrons know we pay our musicians, creative staff, the cost of show royalties, etc.”
I am frequently asked about SBMT finances given that so many other theatre companies have recently announced the need for emergency funding or have ceased producing. I appreciate the concern and recognize how important it is to be transparent about the business and the economic pressure we are facing. The budget for the SBMT 2025-2026 will be balanced if we achieve 70% of revenue ($407k) through ticket sales and 26% of revenue ($150k) through contributions. The remaining revenue needed would be from rentals, services, and concessions sales.
Why do we need so much revenue?
Expenses have risen almost 75% over the last 10 years. To put on a production such as The Sound of Music, we budgeted almost $100k. It takes a team of over 100 employees, contractors, and volunteers to produce a show with 58% of the production budget going towards paying our people. Royalties were 22% of the production costs and theatre rental 10%. The remaining 10% goes to various expenses such as construction materials, props, wigs, supplies, and truck rental.
Outside of an individual production budget, overhead is 19.4% of the annual budget to pay for our rehearsal studio and scene shop rent, gas, electricity, insurance, and more. 20% of the annual budget is for staffing.
Why not just raise ticket prices rather than ask for more donations?
Currently our adult tickets range from $38-59. If we were to raise our ticket prices to cover all expenses, a general adult ticket would almost double in price. We would like to avoid this and keep live theatre as accessible to the community as possible.
How can you help?
If you have the means, please consider signing up to be a monthly sustaining donor, make a one-time donation, or become a sponsor. Our goal is to raise $150,000 this season to continue producing the high-quality productions you have come to expect from SBMT.
Have a question you would like answered? Just submit your question using this short form and I’ll answer in a future blog post.
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