Los Angeles may be the center for big-budget productions funded by studios with very deep pockets. However, it’s also the site for low-budget indie productions made on a shoestring but packing a wealth of heat. Look no further than Paul Haggis’ film Crash which, albeit made with a paltry $6.5 million, took home the 2005 Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Film Editing (similarly, the independently funded No Country for Old Men clocked in at $25 million and took home four Oscars and two Golden Globes).
Classical music has a similar duality behind the budgets and accolades. True, companies like the Metropolitan Opera can budget an estimated $16 million for a new, high-tech production of the Ring Cycle. However, other outfits, such as the Gotham Chamber Opera—which brought Haydn’s Il mondo della luna to New York’s Hayden Planetarium—make similar magic with far fewer resources. [“See “Holy Haydn, Batman” in the September 2009 CS issue.”]
In this economic climate, the latter is also becoming an increasingly more viable option. Lyric soprano Anne Ricci formed Opera on Tap with a modest startup and a large following. Likewise, musician-driven companies such as Pocket Opera of New York and the One World Symphony get amazing mileage out of church spaces and other intimate venues. And while unforeseen costs will always come up when you least expect them and the idea of self-producing may seem daunting, your own production doesn’t have to break the bank.
First Things First
Get a roof over your head. Unless, like Stanislavsky, you have a theater built into your home, chances are the rental space will be the costliest part for a concert, production, or festival. If you have flexibility in your schedule, you could go the route of Avant Media’s Randy Gibson and look for a nontraditional venue that will cut you a deal. For the first Avant Music Festival, Gibson booked Wild Project in New York’s East Village. Primarily catering to theater companies that required five- or six-week rentals, Wild Project had a two-week dark period that was perfect for a new music festival.
“For classical music, being in a space for two weeks is one of the best luxuries you could possibly imagine,” Gibson explains. “Most concerts, you’re in there [at] four in the afternoon or something like that and playing that night.”
The opportunity for the Avant Music Festival was somewhat happenstance—Wild Project’s booking agent mentioned the vacancy after Gibson had a prior positive experience working with the space. Yet Gibson recognized it as “too good of an opportunity” to pass up and, thus, the festival was born. Pitch your concert to a venue as a way of taking up some otherwise dark space. Like a last-minute rush ticket, you’re bringing them more income that otherwise would have been lost—and most venues will take this into consideration when setting rental fees.
Find a Pack (Even If It’s on the Fringe)
For those looking for a little less luck and a little more structure, participating in a bigger festival such as the Fringe offers an opportunity to secure a venue with the backing of a larger producing organization. This was the road composer Melissa Dunphy took when she first mounted her work The Gonzales Cantata in Philadelphia. “It makes it easier if you’re a first-time producer,” says Dunphy. However, a Fringe slot does not necessarily guarantee sold-out performances: “There are over a hundred shows in the Fringe, so you’re pretty much on your own after the program slot you buy.”
With her venue, Dunphy had the added challenge of getting the building up to code before anything else. For those looking to do Philadelphia-specific performances, Dunphy outlines her experience with getting a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy in further detail at blog.melissadunphy.com. The major cost of this process is the hiring of an architect; Dunphy was originally quoted $1,200 for the use of one associated with the Fringe. In lieu, the composer hired one for $800, going through architecture departments at the local universities. It pays to ask around.
Pull Out All the Stops—Or Pull Out Your Visa
Once you have a venue in place, your funding for a production will dictate just how much you can put toward just about everything else. The tradition of fundraising is tried yet true—Gibson raised a fair amount for the Avant Music Festival with a benefit performance in which friends donated their time and a raffle was held. Think of it as the revitalized idea of a rent party (watch Next Stop, Greenwich Village, available on Netflix, to see a successful rent party in action).
A riskier option is to maximize your line of credit, a tactic Dunphy used and managed to pull off. “Because it was my money on my credit card,” she says, “it gave me the motivation.” This gamble comes with a large amount of legwork in order to strike pay dirt and it may leave you in debt, but if you’re anxious to produce and have excellent credit—and no other debts—the exposure may be worth the trade-off. It was for Dunphy, who placed $3,517.94 on her Chase card and took in $10,039 for The Gonzales Cantata. Ticket sales dominated this revenue at $8,029, but Dunphy also sold advertising space in the program, merchandise at the performance, and even took in $615 in donations.
The happy medium that both Gibson and Dunphy have used is Kickstarter.com, a website that runs on the all-or-nothing method for funding creative projects. (See the Tech-Savvy Singer’s “Is Kickstarter Right for You?” in the CS March 2011 issue.) While working with the website still requires a great deal of legwork to get your mission fully funded (“I did a ton of pitching to make it happen; it was not easy,” cautions Gibson), you don’t have to pay any fees to the website, and it gives your donors an easy and trustworthy way to pledge—much like producing within the Fringe. Moreover, as Gibson notes, “You have a built-in fan base for the piece when it comes out.” In all cases, the bottom line for your bottom line is that the squeaky wheel gets the grease—and the more serious you are with your funding, the more successful the final product will be.
Shop Around
Whether it’s lighting fixtures, music stands, costumes, or one-of-a-kind props, do your research before you commit to the first quote you receive. For Gonzales Cantata items like sashes, justice scales, bunting, ties, and dresses, Dunphy spent hours poring over websites like Google Shopping, eBay, and Etsy for the best deals.
If you’re producing a concert series with multiple performers, see what your team can contribute. Chances are, most musicians own at least one stand, and someone in your circle probably has whatever electronic device is on your wish list. Look for stores and companies going out of business or looking to unload old stock—generally someone in New York’s Garment District is trying to clear out all of their last-season fabric.
Also, never underestimate the power of DIY and repurposing items to fit your needs. Dunphy spent $80.67 on sashes for the Gonzales Cantata cast, a very modest price for the number that she made, but she admits that she spent a weekend afternoon sewing and ironing the fabric, tailoring them to her artistic vision. It’s time consuming, but often spending time means saving money.
Become Your Own David Ogilvy
While you want to give everyone a good bang for their buck, you need to get them into the theater first. If you can work your connections for pro bono PR, that’s a great step, but chances are you will be on your own for marketing, advertising, and publicity.
Depending on the venue, you may already get some visibility—Gibson notes that playing at New York’s The Kitchen, a renowned space for experimental classical music, came at a price (to the tune of $3,000), but that “performing at those sorts of venues brings more notice.” That show was close to sold out, making up for the rental fee, and upholds the cliché of needing to spend money to make money.
On the flip side, Gibson notes that with Wild Project, “the toughest thing about the festival is that nobody knows the venue.” Many journalists turn to a familiar core of websites for calendar info, so you need to draw their attention specifically to your event. Also be sure that you’re putting your efforts into the appropriate news outlets. Dunphy’s husband left comments about his wife’s production in every news outlet story on Alberto Gonzales, which led to pickup on the Huffington Post and the Rachel Maddow Show, but Dunphy notes that it did not lead to sold-out houses. “We realized that, because we got press on a national level, a lot of feedback we were getting was from other parts of the country,” she says. (For more publicity-on-a-budget tips, check out the May 2010 edition of “The $50 Week.”)
Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best
“As with any project that you budget for, there are always unexpected expenses,” Gibson says. “The goal is not to be surprised that they exist. Be aware that you are going to spend more money on something.” What that something is will be different for nearly every production (“You have no idea what it is until you get there,” Gibson notes)—but be aware that in spite of all best efforts, it will come up, so factor it into your budget.
For Gibson, there was an extra $300 that went into programs for the Avant Music Festival when he erred on the side of caution and ordered fewer programs than he thought he would need. By the third concert, however, he discovered there were only 20 programs left and had to place an emergency rush order. (On the flip side, Dunphy over-ordered on her programs, swallowed her pride, and ate the cost.) A good rule of thumb is to take your bare-bones budget and add on another 10 to 15 percent for expenses. If you need to spend it all, you’re prepared—and if not, you’ll have a surplus.
