For a professional theatre company funding is essential to run the company successfully. From sourcing props, costume and set, to hiring rehearsal spaces and performance venues, a company cannot function without money. For an initial lump sum we can look to Arts Council England and other similar organisations for funding and support. Arts Council “invest in art and culture for a lasting return”, in the aim to achieve their “mission of great art and culture for everyone” (Arts Council England, 2018). They can provide companies with a start-up fund allowing them to begin to develop and function as arts professionals. However, arts council are not “able to award funding to everybody that applies” (Arts Council England, 2018), and those that are awarded funding may not receive enough money to fully sustain their company. Therefore, companies must turn to fundraising in order to obtain sufficient funds to run a successful theatre practice.
With this knowledge we, as Sherbet Lemon Theatre, were able to understand the importance of fundraising, initiating our decision to have a fundraising manager. In my role I worked alongside our Producer (Hayley McConnell) and our Lead Marketer (Emily Liddle) in order to arrange fundraising events that optimised our ability to both raise funds and promote our brand. Once we had established how much money we needed to raise, by pricing up items we were required to purchase, I was able to begin working on creating events that would provide us with the funds we needed to create The Truth About Bedtime… Through this we were able to function as a professional theatre company, using the budget provided by the Lincoln School of Fine and Performing Arts as our arts council funding, then further engaging in successful fundraising events in order gain the funds needed to sustain our company.
E.R.
Arts Council England (2018) Funding. England: Arts Council England. Available from https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding [accessed 29 March 2018].
Arts Council England (2018) 10 things you need to know about DYCP. England: Arts Council England. Available from https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/arts-council-development-funds/10-things-you-need-know-about-dycp [accessed 29 March 2018].