I am the founding artistic director for the Bloomington Repertory
Theatre (
The Rep | Live Theatre at its best | Bloomington, IN). I can offer a few pointers, but I will warn you -- I am by no means an industry professional, just someone with some stat-up experience.
First, please sit down and think out a business plan. Look at other
theatre companies in town. Try to fill a niche not served already. After you have assembled a pretty good business plan and you really think it is feasible for another company in town, then you need to follow these steps:
1. Incorporate as a non-profit corporation with your state. Usually done with the Secretary of State. Fee in Indiana is $20, but might might vary by state.
2. Appoint a very talented board of directors. These individuals, especially in a start-up, can be a huge asset. They can help kick up some much needed funding.
3. Apply for 501(c)3 status ASAP. You need this too get grants and tax deductible donations. The fee is currently $850 to file and takes at least 8 weeks to get a yay or nay.
4. Select a small season (1-2 shows) your first season. Don't get in over your head, but at the same time pick SAFE shows. The last thing a new company needs to experiment with a new
play as it's first show.
5. Work with the media. You will be shocked at the number of "media sponsors" you can get, especially in smaller towns. We got a $20,000 media sponsorship from the local newspaper and it cost me a few emails. I want to stress, to try get as much free advertising as you can. Ad's are expensive to buy, and you need a lot of ads to cut through the clutter of other shows in town.
6. If you want to go professional like we did, then you might want to define "professional". Are you wanting to go Equity and use
IATSE hands? If so, you better have some pretty good backers or have ticket prices that will
cover that cost. WE consider ourselves professional by paying our actors $100 on contract, paying stage-hands on contract (non-union) and using the Equity Guest Artistic contract for the occasional Equity actor.
Too answer your question of how much it takes to start a company. It depends. I founded BRT with about $200. I did this by taking that $200 and investing it in a deposit for a local
venue, got bands to come perform for free, put our some fliers, made about $3,000 off the show that cost about $1,500 to put on and then built from there. Your local conditions will vary.