Theatre Management 5

The fifth chapter of the Theatre Management book is called Not-For-Profit Professional Theatre. Many of today's nonprofit theatres stew from the commercial companies of the 1800s, but they have also created their own brand of American theatre. The board of trustees to these theatres are not interested in commercial gain, but rather in artistic and/or organizational purposes.
Some of the earliest indications of nonprofit theatre include classes taught in the early 1900s on college campuses in what is known as the Little Theatre Movement. Also, the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt provided funding for the arts through Works Progess Administration (WPA) to help millions of Americans regain jobs after the Great Depression. In the 1970s, the nonprofit theatre quickly became the largest branch of the American theatre industry.
The chapter also discusses how to organize a not-for-profit theatre as well as the leadership required for these theatres to run successfully. Various diagrams and examples of things such as mission statements, Actor's Equity contracts and how to hire a Board of Trustees are seen throughout the chapter, as well. There are descriptions of the various positions required for these theatres (artistic directors, for example); along with what is needed for certain sizes of companies (large, meduim and small).