Cutting Costs

Off Broadway shows don’t have a lot of money to work with.  Off-off Broadway shows have even less money to work with.  And when you produce a play, money evaporates at the drop of a hat.  At some point in the production, you’re going to have to make cuts – but there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.

The wrong way is to make a cut that will take away from the overall quality of the show.  For example:  if an actor needs a prop, article of clothing, or a particular set piece because it affects his behavior – that’s something you don’t want to cut.  It affects the overall integrity of the show.

One of the best ways to make a budget cut is to examine your game plan and look for unnecessary overhead.  A prime example was our promotional photography.  My idea for the photoshoot was thus:  put the set on an actual stage, and have someone take pictures of the actors doing the scenes.  So anyone who visits our website can get a glimpse of what the play will be like.  Good idea, but it incurs a lot of costs.  Renting a theater in Manhattan is very expensive.  To block one out for the whole day (even a cheap one) would be at least $500.  Plus my set is stored in Jersey City, so I’d have to rent a UHaul to move it.  With bridge tolls and gas fees a UHaul costs $200.  Then I have to pay the photographer which is another $600.  I also have to provide food for everyone, and with NYC grocery prices that’s 80 bucks.  In addition to the cost, moving a set from NJ to Manhattan is a logistical nightmare and I have to worry about getting stuck in traffic, having enough muscle, etc etc.  On top of all that, the storage facility closes at 7:30PM so the window I have to do this in is very slim.  My plan would cost at least $1,500 and a lot could wrong that day which would make the cost go up even further.

So after thinking about it I came up with a new plan.  I decided that instead of renting a theater in Manhattan, I would shoot the photos in Jersey City.  And I got lucky.  I found a loft that was perfect for what we were doing, and it was on the same block that I was storing my set in.  This makes load-in and load-out SO much easier, and I save $200 since I don’t need a UHaul.  Plus, space in Jersey City is a lot cheaper than Manhattan, so I saved a nice penny on that too.  And if that wasn’t enough, grocery prices are slightly better in NJ so I’m saving even more money!  All I have to do is throw up a black drape as a background, and it looks exactly like a stage.