Subscriber Importance to a Live Theatre Venue The Importance of Subscribers to a Live Theater Venue

Live theater is far different from movies and other types of venues. Unfortunately, people often do not realize that, and they take live venues for granted. When they do not see the differences or realize how live theater productions work, they do not realize the value of supporting these kinds of venues through subscriptions or sustaining memberships (Vogel, 1998). Becoming a sustaining member of a live theater venue is one of the best ways in which people who love the theater and want to support performing arts can do so, and has been for some time (American, 1966). The same is true of subscriptions, whereby people get newsletters, tickets, and other information - often in advance and at a discount compared to non-subscribers. While it may not seem significant, these types of helping hands can add up to significant money over the life of the specific play or production, and also over the life of the entire venue.

Live theater works in two ways. It can be a traveling kind of theater where the group moves from place to place with a particular production, or it can be a more static group, where the same people put on different productions throughout the season or the year. This is the most common option - especially for subscription-style services, but both options are possible. A live theater venue can also have actors and actresses that come and go, but the sustaining memberships and subscriptions are designed to support the entire theater. It may be a small group or a much larger one, but both need help...

Unlike a movie, where a great deal of money is raised to produce the project and then it is all made back when people go to see it, a live theater group works on a much tighter budget in most cases. If there are not enough tickets sold for the production, it will not be produced (Vogel, 1998). There will not be money for costumes and sets and everything that is needed.
Subscriptions and/or series subscribers provide a more consistent cash flow for a live venue, which allows the people who work with the live theater production to continue working and developing their craft (League, 1997). There is money in the budget to create and update costumes, and there is cash available for things such as set design and other, needed items. While some small live theater venues may still find that money is tight, the majority of them - big or small - have more security when they are clearly supported by the community. Buying a subscription is similar to purchasing "season tickets" for a sporting event or team. When a person buys a subscription or becomes a series subscriber, that person pays a set amount up front. What he or she receives for that investment of money depends on the venue itself. Some live theater venues provide a set price for a season's worth of tickets, and those venues also send out newsletters and offer other perks that come with being a series subscriber. The larger the venue, the more likely a subscriber will receive those things.

Many people who subscribe to a live theater venue do so because they go to the…