The program’s goal is to be inclusive of the whole campus, according to Joshua Reaves, interim director of University Theatre, extending to being involved onstage, backstage or as part of the audience.
According to statistics from 2017-18, the University Theatre saw 3,153 students participate in some form, whether that be direct involvement in the program, workshops and classes, or seeing one of its shows. That accounted for nearly 10 percent of NC State’s enrolled student population.
Emilie Wood, university program specialist for University Theatre, discussed overall costs associated with the program.
“In total, our operating budget is around $250,000,” Wood said. “Then we have another $100,000 or so that is allocated to internal payroll that our department covers, so that’s our temporary employees like ushers and those who work backstage services and things like that.”
The program is funded primarily through student fees, which go directly toward the production of a dozen or so shows per year, Reaves said.
“We produce a couple of different series,” Reaves said. “First, our mainstage series has four productions. They run typically two weeks. Our musical runs one week here in Stewart [Theatre]. Open door series has two pinnacle shows and two larger produced shows, one per semester. And then there is a handful of smaller events: workshops, readings, things like that with open door series. And then finally in the summer, during the month of June, we produce typically two to three full-stage shows.”
Reaves also discussed the individual costs that go into producing a show.
“First off, there are the rights we pay the publishers,” Reaves said. “For the musicals, it’s typically far more expensive. They can land anywhere from between $3,800-$6,000 just for the rights of the music and the script to produce it. They base that cost off of the number of performances you are going to perform, your ticket prices, and the number of seats per performance. Non-musicals can run anywhere from $500-$1,000 for a one week run.”
While production rights can be a big portion of a shows budget, each show’s budget is divided mainly between scenery and costumes, according to Reaves.
“Our non-musicals can run anywhere from $4,000-$5,000 for costumes and scenery,” Reaves said. “The musical itself can run anywhere from about $6,000-$8,000 for costumes and scenery. For lighting and sound we have things in-house so we are typically not buying or renting anything for that. It’s really just the cost of material to build costumes and build sets.”
In order to keep costs down, the University Theatre reuses a lot of materials, Reaves said.
“More than 50 percent of everything we do and make is reused,” Reaves said. “We’re making maybe 25-30 percent for each individual show.”
More information about University Theatre and upcoming shows can be found online.
