BST Renovation News
The Stage
One of the options brought for us to consider is a removeable stage. As the room we have can only accommodate so many seats, this is an option we can use to make the facility more functional for multi purpose needs. We wouldn’t be moving the whole stage in an out of course, just the front part of it. This would give us the stage space to produce live theater shows with an audience of approximately 300 seats but when we have concerts, movies and entertainment that can use a smaller stage, we can up our seat count to around 350-360.
From a business standpoint, the more seats the more money you can make on a show. When a theater shows a movie, they pay a set royalty fee to show a particular film. Royalty costs differ depending on the popularity of the movie. The theater then decides if they can sell enough seats to cover the cost of the royalty fee and facility costs.
For live theater plays, royalties are determined by the number of seats available for a particular show, how many performances are being offered and the ticket price being charged. The licensing company then comes up with an amount the producing company needs to pay for each show they do. Again, the more seats we can sell equals higher profit for us on our shows.
Lastly is the cost to bring outside produced entertainment into the theater. These are live theater shows, entertainers or concerts that are produced elsewhere and then taken on a specific tour route through the country. An agent will contact venues such as the Beale Street Theater that are on their tour route to book performance days that fit their tour schedule. The theater and agent will then negotiate terms of a contract that includes ticket prices or facility rental fees, etc. Again, the more seats available the potential for more profit for both the production and the theater.
The drawbacks to the removeable stage is the work needed to take it and the chairs in and out of the facility. And where do we store the chairs and stage pieces when they aren’t being used? We are already limited on space in the building. We will look at all of our options as we make this decision.
