Theatre Insights #1 – Who is Responsible for Bringing a Show to the Stage?

Welcome to the first instalment of the Theatre Insights project. From 2015 until 2019, I was employed in the performing arts industry. During this time, I worked for multiple venues, and through that, honoured to engage with numerous producers from major musical producers, to State/Local Government, to local organisations. Feeling there was a lack of content created around general theatre knowledge favouring content for the more academically minded, this monthly article series will look at the performing arts industry and provide insight into career opportunities for those aspiring to enter the industry and have interviews with various stakeholders.

This may sound like a very dry start to the series, but I would like to answer the question of “Who is Responsible for Bringing a Show to the Stage?“. The answer is an interesting rabbit hole where one size doesn’t fit all, and has to do with the organisations involved, money and desired relationship outcomes between companies or third parties. 

Please note that I have been out of the industry for more than a year now. Since then, I have not directly worked with any of the companies mentioned below in a non-journalistic capacity. These are my general interpretations and summations and may not match every case.


#1 – Who are the key stakeholders?

There are a few different interpretations of this question, so I would like to answer the simplest of them first. When it comes to the show you see on-stage, multiple stakeholders would have some role in making the matinee or evening performance you attend a (hopefully) breath-taking experience.

These include, but by no means limited to:

The Producer – This is the company that, more often than not, manages what exactly happens on the stage. It comprises of very specialised talent including creatives, company managers, marketing/publicity teams, those who deal with rights-holders and licensing, financial gurus, production creatives and more. They may outsource some of the processes to dedicated companies, but from the audition process to the final curtain call, expect the producer to be involved in everything around a show to varying degrees.

The Venue – At the next level, we have the venue. The value venues provide producers varies depending on multiple factors. Usually offering at least a patron service and ticketing team, it is this organisation that producers would rent the theatre from. Some might have specialised technical teams or services for filmography, sound, lighting etc., and some may have a dedicated marketing and publicity teams on hand to provide local expertise. Once you get to the mid to large-sized cultural centres, you are more likely to find a curatorial/programming team dedicated to commissioning works, curating festivals and even serving as producers themselves.

External Organisations and Sponsors – Finally, we have the broadest of categories. While some shows can go ahead with just a producer who has a venue lined up, many will have a network of partners and relationships which make the season possible. These can range from links with Government agencies such as Arts Queensland / Creative Victoria, partnerships with nearby schools and universities, or philanthropic donations from organisations or individuals who have the passion for bringing an arts opportunity to the broader community.

Individuals and organisations from all three of the above contribute their parts towards bringing a show to the audience. Ensuring a show’s success is not only about having the best talent on-stage, but also putting together a jigsaw puzzle of stakeholders together to ensure that a season or performance goes off without fault or flaw.

Using myself as an example… in one organisation, I was responsible for delivering innovative digital marketing campaigns, and ensuring that the right audience filled the seats each performance. In the other, I served more on delivering engagement opportunities, ensuring that the right VIPs, media, influencers and other stakeholders were exposed to what was happening at the centre, and generate a buzz across the town. I may not have been up on stage (thankfully), but I was just one part of a complicated puzzle to make each show I worked on magical.

Part #2 – Presentation Credits

The above was a simple explanation and highlights that many stakeholders work behind the scenes. In turn, it also outlines that there are opportunities for those interested in bringing a fantastic musical, ballet, concert, or any other form of live performance to audiences.

But ultimately, there is another way that you can look at the question. You can have the right team assembled, but ultimately it can come down to community interest and financial viability around whether a show can go forward or not. The best way of telling who a greater responsibility for the show falls on comes down to the presentation credit.

Sometimes this can be the producer themselves (especially for major works), sometimes this can be just the venue who are presenting a show either once-off or as part of a festival, and sometimes it can be an outside organisation or events management company who have rented the venue. It is these people who were directly responsible for bringing a specific show to the stage. If you really want to know about who is managing the show, then it is usually listed on either the event’s website, on promotional material or within the program.

The level of responsibility for a show is listed under the “Presented By” credit, usually ordered by involvement. Those listed with the “in association with” credit usually have some involvement in the series, but do not necessarily have a level of responsibility in the show’s success.

For example, using a few recent performances:

A Christmas Carol
Presented by shake & stir theatre co and QPAC
In this instance, the performance would be presented by both shake & stir theatre co and QPAC.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Bell Shakespeare presents
In this instance, Bell Shakespeare would be the ones presenting the show themselves, and more likely to be renting the venue (in this case, Arts Centre Melbourne).

HAIR
Presented by HOTA, Home of the Arts and David M. Hawkins in association with Sydney Opera House, Perth Theatre Trust, and GPAC.
This is an example of where the credits can get long, but highlights that while HOTA: Home of the Arts would have been responsible for the Gold Coast season and David M. Hawkins (Producer of the production), other venues involved in making the tour happen received an “In Association” credit.

At the very least, it is safe to say that the world of bringing a theatrical production to the stage requires many people with various skill sets coming together to make creative magic happen. While it can be a game of reputation, knowing one’s audience, risk and innovation – at the end of the day, it almost always ends up kept away from the eyes of patrons, who can comfortably take their seat knowing that nothing (should) go wrong.


Thank you very much for reading the first instalment in Theatre Insights. This is my first time writing educational content for the general audience. Expect the series to improve as further chapters are released.

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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