Live Theater's Financial Struggles Live Theater Is

Live Theater's Financial Struggles Live theater is one of the most enduring art forms. In older times, traveling troops performed at different locations, providing one of the more consistent forms of entertainment through much of history. Eventually, cities and larger towns began building buildings that were devoted to players, and theater became a common form of entertainment. However, as movies became popular, the theater began to lose its common appeal. This decline has continued as electronic entertainment has grown more popular.

However, in addition to facing competition from other forms of entertainment, the theater is very vulnerable to changes in the economy. As a result, many live theaters seem to perpetually struggle with their finances. This has even led to speculation that, outside of the Broadway context, live theater is destined to fail. While that hopefully is not true, it is certain that live theaters are struggling. In September 2010, in Bristol, Tennessee, the Theatre Bristol was an example of one such struggling theater.

Many local theaters rely not only on ticket sales, but also financial donations, to make ends meet. However, all organizations that relay upon charitable donations struggle in an economic recession and theaters are not immune from this effect. "You can only go so long without support, and the bills become due,' said Gwendolyn Arnold, president of Theatre Bristol's Board of Directors. 'If something doesn't happen or change by the end of this month, I don't see Theatre Bristol remaining in operation. We're running out of time'" (Brown).

In fact, Emily Anne Thompson, the theater's executive director, believed that in September 2010 the theater was facing immediate closure (Brown). In order to understand why a down economy impacts small local theaters so significantly, one has to understand the operating realities of a small theater. For example, many small theaters put on children's programs during the week, and they depend on field trips from local school districts to fill the seats in those shows.

However, as school districts are hit by financial difficulties, one of the first things to be cut from the budget is field trips. This audience source cannot be easily replaced, given that the shows are during the daytime and are generally targeted towards children. Moreover, field trips provide exposure opportunities for these theaters, which miss out on the exposure if they lose their young audience. Another major factor for financial struggles in theaters is a loss of series subscribers. Series subscribers make up a unique part of the theater environment.

First, because people have already paid to attend a performance before that performance occurs, the theater is guaranteed revenue even if the subscribers do not attend events. However, an additional component is that series subscribers are likely to be people who love theater. They may be more into the theater experience, and, therefore more likely to spend money on extras that can boost revenues for the theater, such as any merchandise or even concessions. Finally, subscribers make for a good first-audience for fund-raising efforts.

Losing those subscribers does not result only in the loss of tickets sales for specific performances, but negatively impacts those other areas, as well. Furthermore, an additional factor facing theaters in this current economic climate is rising costs. Many theaters developed their business plans in a relatively robust.