A straightforward guide to the contemporary theater business on and off Broadway
Stage Money is a groundbreaking guide to understanding
professional theater finances today through the
use of the tools and metaphors of the business world at
large. This approach results in a comprehensive picture
of the economic realities of theater production that is
radically different from the assessments typically espoused
elsewhere. Tim Donahue and Jim Patterson combine their
experiences in the financial and creative aspects of theater
production to present in straightforward prose their keen
insights into the micro- and macro-economic aspects of
the commercial stage. Tangible data, charts, and graphs
are counterbalanced with illuminating "intermissions"
between chapters and interspersed sidebars throughout
to provide specific examples of key concepts, collectively
presenting an expansive overview of the contemporary
theater business. Stage Money is an unparalleled tool for theater professionals and enthusiasts interested in garnering
a better understanding of the business's inner workings
at present and its challenges for the future.
Among the topics addressed in Stage Money are the risks and returns on Broadway in the early twenty-first
century, the financial organization of theater performances
today, and comparisons between the business models of
commercial theater and not-for-profit theater. In concise
language and clear examples, the authors explain where
the money comes from and where it goes.
Tim Donahue holds an M.B.A. from the
University of South Carolina, where he recently
retired from the Department of Theatre and
Dance as the director of marketing and development
after nearly ten years.
Jim Patterson is the author of Stage Directing and the coauthor of Theatre in the Secondary
School Classroom and the seventh and eighth editions of The Enjoyment of Theatre. Patterson
retired as a Distinguished Professor of Theatre from the University of South Carolina. A member
of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, he has earned numerous awards for his
work as a director and educator.
"The authors of Stage Money illuminate current business
models with breathtaking
thoroughness and ground
their observations in anecdotal evidence as well as facts
and figures of budgeting, tax
codes, union contracts, ticket pricing, and marketing and
publicity concerns. In setting
these calculations in the recognizable context of creative and
cultural aspects of American
theater, rich snapshots emerge
of early-twenty-first-century
Broadway and the regional
stage."—James Fisher, head, Department of Theatre,
University of North Carolina at
Greensboro
"Stage Money offers a concise yet deftly drawn introduction to producing professional theatre in America. The authors skillfully portray the critical relationship between the commercial and not-for-profit sectors and offer accessible explanations of the often-convoluted financial and artistic machinations that result in a theatrical production. They wisely situate the world of producing in the larger landscape of doing business in America, and the result is an eminently readable and intelligently written addition to the literature."—Steven Adler, author of On Broadway: Art and Commerce on the Great White Way |