The cost of creating a new play

Putting on theatre is a time intensive, labour intensive act, that often takes many years of dreaming, imagining, fundraising, developing, fundraising, planning, fundraising, hustling, fundraising… there’s nothing quick, easy, simple or straightforward about it. It’s a labour of love. Sometimes it feels like a bad relationship: you put all this effort in – time, energy, dreams for the future of what could be, only to be rejected – or worse, ignored – but still you keep going back for more…

There was a time when I used to put my own money into my shows and took the risk. It was a gamble. Sometimes it paid off (as in, I recouped my investment but little more), but sometimes it didn’t. There was one show in particular that was the turning point for me. After a series of rookie mistakes, dodgy venue management and strong ticket sales coming too late (the first week didn’t sell well and we struggled to come back from it), I decided I would only do a project if I had some funding. I would not put my finances on the line any more, because the gamble and the stress that came with it was too much to bear. This was before I had a mortgage and child! It just wasn’t a sustainable way to do business. 

Thinking about my theatre company as a small business has been a more recent mindset shift for me. In independent theatre, everything is done on the smell of an oily rag and time is volunteered endlessly. Not great business. But as the company has started to sell shows to venues (most recently Sing For Your Supra) I had to start thinking more about the business side. That time I was spending on creating or producing a show wasn’t just to get the thing done, it was required to keep my small business running, to keep the client happy, to produce work of quality. And I needed to keep track of that time and ensure fees were accounting for it properly. 

Maybe one day some of the touring shows will fund the new projects, but in the meantime I still need to find cash to make the shows that no one yet knows they need (but of course, once they see it, they will realise this IS what they needed to see). Like many artists who have been in the game for a number of years, I have had some grant wins. Other artists see this and often ask me for tips on where to find money to put on a show. Here’s the thing: for every success, there have been countless rejections. (FYI there is a great resource via Auspicious Arts that tells you when each grant round comes up in the year – that’s my main go-to). And each time a grant doesn’t come through, sacrifices have to be made: maybe the show is shelved until money comes up, maybe my fee goes and I work in-kind (i.e. for free – terrible business decision but sometimes necessary), maybe my design team have their budgets cut so they have to create a marvellous world with even less… and so on. That’s the reality of an underfunded theatre sector.

With enough time and preparation and an idea that you can wrangle with the funding criteria, you can usually scrape something together eventually, even if it’s way less than originally planned. But it always comes at a cost, whether that’s me staying up until stupid-o’clock working on a publicity strategy because I couldn’t afford a publicist, or the actors having to take an extra shift between rehearsals because their fee wasn’t enough — and so on. We all pull together because we believe in what we’re doing.

The tricky thing is when you get an opportunity come up last minute, the usual avenues are not available. After such overwhelmingly positive feedback from the first public reading of Ripening last year at La Mama Theatre, the opportunity to present it this year as a fully realised production at Gasworks was too good to resist. There had been a lot of rejections and finally, a venue came through. We have been remarkably fortunate to get every funding application applied for (that never happens by the way): The Robert Salzer Foundation grant, The City of Port Phillip quick response grant, Kingston Arts Centre Arts Development grant and the Australian Cultural Fund matched funding!

Even though we received all that funding, we have a little more to go. That’s where I’m asking for your help. I know not everyone will be in a position to donate, but everyone will know someone who is! We still have $4500 to raise to pay our women artists, pay for childcare, access costs and production costs. I have a few priorities that I’m trying to work with: paying artists as much as I can (though it will still not even nearly reach Equity minimums); supporting my costume designer (Aislinn Naughton) to purchase from companies that do not exploit/underpay women (and aiming for second hand/sustainable wherever possible); ensuring our design elements are of a sufficient quality to withstand touring, which is the ultimate goal of this production. Your donation will help me to achieve these things for my remarkable team of world-class collaborators.

Creating theatre experiences that are meaningful and transformative is why I keep coming back. Why I keep checking the social media click rates, why I keep scouring the internet for one more grant I could try to apply for, why I keep writing and developing new work even though putting on an established play would be SO MUCH EASIER. I know that the right piece of theatre that speaks to the moment we are in can change someone’s life for the better. And through making a donation you can be part of that act.

Donations close April 30, 2025.