Should theatre companies be charities #awqt

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Question from Rose (via Twitter):

What advice would you give to someone wishing to establish an education/community theatre company RE charity stat/fund etc? thnx, Rose

Answer: Hi Rose and thanks for your question. It's a very large question, but I will keep my answer brief. As you know, it is very difficult, especially in the current economic climate, to effectively sustain a theatre company financially. Funding pots are diminishing and many people are going after the same funds. I suggest that if you go down the charity/funding route that you must have a dedicated funding/promotion manager (they won't have time for anything else). You will also need to demonstrate a good track record of work and positive feedback. It can be an all-consuming affair and much like the audition process for actors - you need to be able to take rejection well and be persistent. I do not like the funding application process as I feel it wastes valuable time and resources. I prefer to rely on donations and fee based activity and actually spending time doing the work itself.

As regards being a charity, you need to decide why you are doing the work. Is it really charitable or do you just want the status? A charity is more work to set up - don't do it if you don't need it.

Based on the above I would suggest that, just starting out, time is better spent on producing a creative product that people are happy to pay for and actually spend time doing the work rather than rely on fundraising before you can do the work. Once you have toured/performed and can demonsrate a track record, use this to approach funders. You then have 'showcases' they can attend plus you get to do what you want to do (which is perform), when you want to, how you want to and to who you want to.

I hope the above is useful. Please let me know if you want me to clarify anything.

Thanks for your question.