Theater in the Black

As anyone in community theater knows, theaters struggle to make ends meet. The scary thing is that it effects Broadway shows, Touring Companies, Off-Broadway, and of course many of the local theater groups as well. What is it about theater that makes it more a labor of love than a living? I guess there's something to be said for the cliche "Starving Artist"

This article shows an actual expense sheet for a show - details about $1,000 profit a week. There's a lot easier ways of making that kind of money. Good thing we love the theater.

"Bug," the blood-drenched thriller by Tracy Letts, had all the hallmarks of a
runaway success: fawning reviews, a young, hip cast and a movie deal. Despite
running for 11 months at the Barrow Street Theater, though, the $200,000
production barely broke even, only collecting its first dollars in the black -
and there weren't many of them - in its closing weeks in January 2005.

See the rest of the Article and the example weekly financial balance sheet at the NY Times.

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