CAPA Musical Hello Dolly!

We found theater in Texas! It's been a journey. Most places rehearse and/or perform on Sundays, and that's just not something we wanted to do. But we finally found a Christian group that didn't, and also (bonus!) didn't rehearse on Wednesdays to respect youth night. It swallowed up our whole summer, but in a (mostly) fun way. 

I just want to say that theater does not make economic sense. It seems like it should be pretty straightforward. You get a bunch of folks who want to perform. They practice and prepare an awesome show. Then they sell tickets to another bunch of folks who want to be entertained for an evening. And those ticket sales cover the costs of producing the show. 

But I suspect it doesn't work out quite like this because people often have to pay to be in a show. And there are always lots of fundraisers with theater. And I've been asked multiple times if I would donate to the theater while I'm sitting in a seat which I already paid a hefty price for. (Me at a musical in Georgetown: "I already gave you money! Why are you asking me for more money? How much, exactly, does it cost to put on this show if $38 a ticket doesn't cover it?")

I never saw the CAPA budget, but here's a lowball estimate:

Rights to the show: $4000

Private high school theater rental: $9000 (I did hear someone mention this number)

Costume rentals: $1000

Set supplies: $1000

Food (for the volunteer orchestra and crew during show week): $1000

Storage unit: $2000  

Director: $2000

=$20,000

Each kid paid $425 to be in the show, and there were 40 kids. So that's $17000 toward costs right there. And they sold about 200 tickets for each of the performances, so that's 600 tickets at $18 a pop. Another $10,800. And everyone was still wringing their hands and saying they are trying to keep costs low, etc. etc. Well, how much does it really cost to put on a show?? I'm baffled. Why/how is it so expensive? I need to get on the budget committee next year if only to satisfy my curiosity. 

This year, I somehow ended up on the HAIR committee. What demented version of me would sign up for the hair committee? It's a mystery, but I did it. And I think I was somewhat useful. I was also on the Feed the Orchestra committee and the Set committee. I donated at least 20 hours of my time, and there were probably 10-20 other parents who did the same. So the free labor offset a lot of costs that a professional theater would incur. It's crazy! 

I have a dream of putting on a really good, entertaining show where the only cost is the time of those participating. Is that possible? Minimal sets, minimal costumes, talented actors, and a really great script. I think that if you have a great script and really talented actors, you can do without the sets and costumes almost entirely. The great script is a tough one--it's hard to write a great story. I should know because I've tried. But the world seems to be oozing talented actors--way more talented actors than there are roles to be filled. I just don't think amateur theater should be so expensive! It's a primal thing--gathering and telling stories. It should be cheap or at least financially self-sustaining.

Okay, I think I'm done ranting and railing. I'm not really mad about it, just baffled.

The kids had a great time. Nothing bonds a group like theater. Scotty was the only boy under 14, and he became kind of a mascot. The older boys were so nice to him. And he had four or five little jobs he had to do during the play. He was busy! And so adorable! And he knew what he was doing at every moment. The director had everyone make a cheat sheet--so they could remember all their parts. Scotty worked on that thing like it was a dissertation. And he followed it exactly. 

Annie had a blast with her little featured part, Cook #2. And she helped me with the hair and became a whiz at doing her own Edwardian hairdo. She stepped in during rehearsals for people who were missing, so she could have probably done just about any chorus part in the show. I loved watching her up there!

And Aaron and I still have ringing in our ears the sound of the kids singing the alto part of "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" at top volume for hours and hours. They worked SO hard (and incessantly). And they could do it perfectly at home, even when we had on the recording and I was playing the tenor part on the piano and singing the soprano part myself. But thy both reported that they couldn't stay on their part during the performance. We did all we could. 

And finally, some pictures:    

My parents came down for the performance! They were going to come at New Years but ran into some health troubles. So we switched the tickets for this instead. It was so good to have them here. They are wonderful people. We loved talking to them and relaxing with them at the conclusion of our theatrical labors. We didn't go anywhere this summer, so it was really, really nice to have some family come to us.