Director’s Diary – Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Willoughby Musical Society

Willoughby Theatre Company’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was not the first and certainly won’t be the last production of this show that will be seen on Australian stages.
However, whether you are at Whitehorse in Melbourne or Wangaratta in NSW, the same questions still arise. Can we do this show with a financial reward?
In our case, no. But we still went ahead anyway.
Now in our 51st year of providing musical theatre for Sydney’s north shore audiences and beyond, Willoughby Theatre Company
( WTC ) has grown to accept that it is considered to be one of the premier groups in Sydney.
With many ‘firsts’ under its belt – Titanic, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Zorba and Rags – audiences have come to expect WTC to come up trumps every time. Believe you me, it gets harder each time!
Taking on Disney’s Beauty & The Beast was no mean feat, with it’s technical demands, costume demands, magical demands, set demands, a new venue for us, lighting, sound, orchestra… STOP! This is too hard, forget it.
But then the cool hand of reason took over and we went ahead because of other elements that will be evident later in this article.

Budget
WTC has been - for the 40 years that I have been involved – budget driven. Be it profit or loss. Before the first nail is hammered or the first note is sung, we examine the financial probability and argue the parameters that will guide us along the way.
Each Director (with help from the Treasurer and Technical Co-ordinator) is asked when submitting suggested shows to come up with a preliminary budget based on:

Audience appeal (can we sell it and how much are the tickets?)
Production Costs (how big is the set and how many costume changes are there?)
Venue Hire (a real bummer)
Orchestra size (how much do you pay them? – if you pay them)
Lighting (is one candle enough or do we need two for this one?)
Sound (who needs to hear the singers anyway?)
Transport (what do you mean, the ute is off the road?)
Printing (yes we all copy scripts to scribble on – admit it!)
Ticketing (Beryl’s retired so we’ll have to use a computer this time)
Suppers (The Mayors coming so we’ll need those chicken sandwiches)
Rehearsals (is the school hall is available again?)
Can it be cast? (do we have a Beast in our closet?)
Administration (we still have to pay for the insurance etc.)

Even with a little humour in thrown in, budgeting is still a most essential part of pre-production and needs as much attention as the casting.

Back to Beauty and the Beast
Our budgeting predictions indicated that we could expect a loss but other factors cut in namely a brand new audience, a new venue and production values, a sure fire hit with the audiences, professional ticketing by the venue operators, technical back up at the venue, additional seating, a raked theatre (for the first time) an open and professional foyer, and PLENTY OF PARKING!!
That did it – we were hooked. So Beauty and the Beast went ahead at the Glen Street Theatre in Belrose, Sydney.
Yes we had the best show ever, we reached a new and vital audience (they were under 70), we expanded our reputation, gained 3000 new names and addresses and … made a loss. But the budget said we would.
To see the faces of the hundreds of children who flocked to see the show was inspirational, to see their mouths drop open when they saw Belle in the foyer after the show signing programs – was all the reward we needed.

The Future
We all get excited about the ‘next show’ but I would urge you all to spend as much time on your projected budget outcomes as you do on the production values.
Basically we all need to survive financially and we owe it to the future directors, actors and administrators that our company and yours is set up to survive and provide your audience with a standard that not only enhances your reputation but that of us all.
We all live or die by the standard of what the public call ‘amateur theatre’ and our future audience- pull depends on all of us providing the best theatre experience possible with a budget that allows the production team enough ‘grunt’ to realise their dream for the show.

Choice
When planing your next season, ensure that your next 1,2 or 3 shows are going to provide an income stream that will allow that ‘off the edge’ production you’ve always wanted to do.

Final Advice
Some professional companies envy what we have – loyal audiences, money in the bank, great talent (at no cost) affordable ticket prices and a future in the communities in which we live. We have to protect that at all COSTS. (pun intended)

TOM SWENEY
Willoughby Theatre Company
Sydney.