Monday, January 9, 2012

Budget Cuts

Two things in life are certain – death and taxes.  And if you’re a producer, there’s one more.  At some point during the production, you will be sitting at a table with two sheets of paper in front of you:   1) a list of everything you’d like to happen, and 2) a list of what you actually have the money for.

I hate budget cuts.  If I had my way, I’d take a full page ad in the NY Times, give all my actors a $5,000 stipend, and extend the show’s run for a couple more weeks.  But I just don’t have the budget for it.  And if I don’t make hard decisions about what stays and what doesn’t, then the show doesn’t go up – period.  And that’s not good for anybody.

The trick is, don’t cut something that will compromise the artistic integrity.  If you’ve found the perfect actor and he needs a little more money to pay his rent – try and make it happen.  But hosting an after party that will cost you several thousands of dollars?  Scale it back a little.

Moral of the story – if you come to our opening night party, we’ll be serving Prosecco instead of Dom Perignon!  (I kid I kid – only the best!)

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