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PICT organizers learn business of show business
Thursday, October 01, 1998 By Caroline Abels, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
They knew exactly what they wanted to do: Establish a local theater company that would stage classical plays using local actors.
They knew exactly how they would do it: with ambition and energy.
But in early 1997, Andrew S. Paul and Stephanie Riso didn't know (yet) all the nitty-gritty about starting a theater: that it's best to apply for non-profit status early, that 10 percent of your company's budget should be spent on advertising, that it really helps to have "monied" people on your board of directors - in short, everything you don't learn at acting school.
"We had a good idea about the arts side of it, but the business side of it was a lot different," said Paul, 29, who studied acting in England and works as an accountant at a Downtown law firm.
He and Riso, 27, eventually founded Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, which ended its first season Sunday with better-than-projected attendance figures. But in the interim, they learned that starting a theater company from scratch demands more than a vision - it also takes 60 to 80 hours of work a week, in addition to your day job.
"We're up 'til 2 in the morning typing grants," said Riso, a trained singer who works as an assistant to the head of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
Riso and Paul began forming their company in the summer of 1996, motivated by the closing of the Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival and eager to produce "The Constant Couple," a Restoration comedy. But no one was giving them money because the company had not been approved as a non-profit yet by the IRS. Riso and Paul, unaware of the length of time it takes to get non-profit status approved, had let four months go by before they applied.
Aware of their need for guidance, they turned to ProArts, an organization that advises small and mid-sized arts groups in financial matters.
"We gave them a lot of pointers and a lot of training," said Marilyn Coleman, executive director of ProArts. "The challenges they face are faced by scores of small arts groups in the city."
PICT's non-profit status approval came through in July, but then came the challenge of filling the company's bank account. Paul and Riso, who had already contributed a lot of their own money to the project, were happy to win some grants, including a corporate gift for $2,500 from PNC Bank. They also held a silent auction that raised $5,400.
And they saved money by selling tickets through the new ProArts ticket service and having Paul's apartment double as the company's office.
Still, PICT lost between $2,000 and $3,000 on each of its three productions, ending its first season with a $9,000 deficit, which is being covered by a line of credit.
"In all honesty, I don't see how I could have produced high-quality shows any other way," Paul said.
Adding to costs was PICT's employment of some Equity actors - a practice unusual for a start-up company. PICT paid its Equity actors a minimum of between $175 and $250 a week for six weeks of rehearsals and performances, while its non-Equity actors earned between $200 and $500 for the entire six weeks.
Because PICT stages classical plays, which often call for large casts, it is not able to exclusively use Equity actors, given its $55,000 budget. PICT's total acting budget last season was $14,490 for 40 Equity and non-Equity actors.
Another challenge for Paul and Riso was forming a board of directors, which at first was stocked with friends but included few people with wealth. Paul and Riso soon learned the advantages of having "monied people" on the board, and they sought such people out.
The board also was unclear at first about its role.
"You can't have a successful board unless you're clear on what you need from them and they're clear on what they give to you," Paul said.
Eventually, more responsibility for fund-raising and board recruitment was given to members.
Looking back, Paul said he and Riso did not spend enough on advertising. Though they postered the city, took out small ads in the newspapers and made use of the ProArts database for direct mail, they failed to come up with a clever marketing strategy, something they plan to do this year.
"We threw ourselves into it instead of sitting down, putting on our seat belt and then taking off," Riso said. "We had no idea how to get there, we just knew people would come."
Despite the whirlwind start, people did come. PICT drew 2,236 people to its three productions last year - more than the 1,800 projected. And 152 people bought subscriptions.
"They have built a wonderful audience for themselves and done productions that are really high-caliber," Coleman said. "And they are able to pay their actors, which is wonderful."
Paul and Riso, who dated once but are now just "business partners," sound like corporate strategists when they talk about their upcoming season. They speak about building their "niche market" and the importance of not growing too big, too soon.
"It's a valuable experience for us as performers to see the business side of our profession," Paul said. "I will always have respect for producers from now on."
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