What it Takes to Organise and Manage a Theatre Production Festival

When subscription sites such as Netflix and Hulu started gaining popularity, there is a group of people that imagined it would be the death of theatre. Granted, there has been a lot of changes in the theatre industry. Still, interestingly, the theatre community and those who are interested in local productions have been growing. One of the things that people in the theatre always look forward to is the festivals and events that are held for both the people in the industry and members of the public to enjoy. If you are wondering what it takes to organise a theatre festival, you should know that even though it requires a lot of dedication and passion, all the energy that is put into it is worth it.

The Planning

The first step of organising and managing is always planning. It is here that the skeleton of how the festival will look like is sketched. Think of the people involved in the entire chain of production and find ways to get them involved. During the planning, some of the things that are discussed include the venue where the festival will be held. Some of the tips that help in establishing the right site are whether it is accessible to most people, how convenient it will be to host the number of people you plan to have, among other details. Other than the venue, the planning session will cover the theme of the event. Every festival must have at least a theme that they are pushing. After establishing the theme, the planning session goes ahead to set the date and identify who will be invited to the festival.

The Invites

There are different kinds of festivals. Some are open to everyone, and members of the public can walk in as long as they are passionate about theatre. Then there are those that are closed invite, open only to people who are directly involved with production such as talent (actors and actresses) and a production team. If the festival is open to the public, tickets can be sold through different channels. Make sure you have all the relevant details, including how the people who are attending can get public transport and other amenities at the venue. There is always a lot of publicity in marketing these kinds of events to get as many people as possible.

The Funding

It takes resources to have a successful festival. That means that it should be adequately funded. There are some festivals that are funded by the government, especially through the ministry of culture. There are others that are championed by humanitarian bodies that support arts and culture. There are also theatre festivals that are advocated by people who are in the theatre industry. If you are planning a festival, you need to establish who will fund it, and where you will get additional resources. Selling tickets to the attendees, and telling the people who want to participate in the events to pay a registration fee goes a long way in getting additional funding for the festival.