Theatre Content // How to Start a Theatre Company*

If you’ve got a love of the theatre, and enjoy making shows as much as you love watching them, you may have considered starting your own theatre company. Breaking into the acting world is difficult, with dozens, if not hundreds of actors trying for every space at drama school and casting call.

If embarking on an amateur stage career isn’t enough for you, cooperating with friends to start your own theatre company will not only scratch your itch but also give you a degree of control that simply working as an actor might not.

Think Business
When you’re setting up, you need to think like you’re running a business: have you identified a gap in the market for productions that would prove popular but no one is providing? Do have among your numbers the right collection of unique stories and the skills to them that the arts council would reward with funding? In brief, you need a good reason to think that starting this particular theatre company at this time would be successful.

You also need to register it as a business – as a first port of call for assistance with the administrative needs of your company, try contacting the arts council, who can give you basic assistance.

It’s also worth at least researching some of the services you’ll need. You’ll need space to store scenery, costume and props between shows, for example. If you’re looking for cheap storage London has plenty to offer, including byStored: a company that also offers free pick and delivery of your stored items. If you’re based in a smaller town, you may have to look a little further.

Make Connections
You’re going to need to make connections in order to sell your shows and find venues to perform in. Fringe theatre festivals are great places to mingle and make a network of contacts. If taking your first show to Edinburgh is too much of a commitment, look into smaller scale fringes that run regular events. This not only gives you the chance to accumulate publicity for your shows and get them in front of an audience, it puts you in touch with other companies, directors and venue owners and gives you an ‘in’ to discuss future projects.

If you plan properly and are confident in approaching people to discuss your work, you’ll be taking your first steps as a theatre company in no time.