Kansan Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 The first year we did a show we figured the show budget to be the same price as a trip for our corps to make to Nashville or Atlanta or up north. We figured if we spent the same amount of money it would take for an out-of-town trip, but stayed home and used it for publicity and recuritment, that was a good move to help our corps. We have been able to at least break-even each year, so we are really saving the corps travel money by having that home show replace a bus bill each summer at no cost...except for lots and lots of time Makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Half the reason for having a show would be an attempt to revive the Drum Corps Activity in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.1/4 would be to give the Corps in the Center part of the Country another venue to perform at. The last 1/4 of the reason would be to help our Drum Corps out publicity wise and possibly monitarily. I don't want to do this unless we get at least one Major Corporate Sponsor and a half dozen small business sponsors. Just trying to run a Drum Corps is stressful enough without having the threat of financial disaster looming to destroy the whole thing. My advice would be to hook up the Drum Corps show as part of a broader community event or weekend affair ... many people refer to the success and longevity of the Barnum but, fail to realize it is one component (albeit major) of a month-long celebration for the Greater Bridgeport CT area. When we (Sky) used to travel to Canada, it seemed as though every show was tied to some type of National Fair, Carnival or civic/social event ... it you combine the DC show as part of a multi-faceted celebration, you're chance of success (and crowd) may be greater than just a dDC show that stands alone ... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Beat Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 You are on the right track with a DCA show, if enough corps can come. I know one DCI show that cost over $20K to put on last year, and this year is a DCA show for a small fraction of that. I know of an Ohio DCI show that will probably cost $34,000 to put on this year, and has NEVER made a profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucej Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 FPAA hosted a show here in North Texas (almost a whole nother state at times...) since 2005 and did not come close to breaking even until 2008. We just about made it then except for the rainfall that kept a lot of the fans away that night. Kind of a disappointment but we all had a great time and that's really the best payback for the effort. If memory serves, you folks came down for that show. I have a list of all the stuff we had to take care of to put it on and I'd be glad to send you a copy if you like. It's not conclusive but just about. Amber, by the way, is a tremendous font of knowledge on all things DCA and has helped us out down here greatly. Best of luck! Bruce Jamilkowski Executive Director, Frontier Performing Arts Association Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow_7 Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 I've never hosted a show. But from what I've seen in this relatively non-drumcorps region. The corps don't get paid, so anything you can do as a show sponsor to save them money (housing in a gym / rehearsal facilities) is motivation for them to take on the expense(travel+) of performing at your show. Don't even expect to break even that first year(or couple of years). And expect to pad your show lineup with LOCAL bands. Think of it as more of a community event than a drumcorps show. As far as advertising, it's all you, I don't know of any help in that regard, except maybe an entry on DCA scores page, IF it's a DCA sanctioned show (minimum two DCA corps + DCA judges). And most people wont be checking there since they wont be expecting a new show in their region. As far as security, about all I've seen is specific to the venue, and that's about it. Which might be just one maintenance guy to lock the doors on your way out. While Kansas is central to a lot of us, it is still OUT OF STATE for most of us. I think I scoped out Kansas a while back, and it's roughly the same distance to go to Nashville from here. Plusses and minuses, since it's basically 12+ hours of travel, housing is sometimes optional since most of our pre and post show will be spent travelling. It's still apprecieated though, drivers / boosters need to sleep, and it has better air condition than most of our vehicles, most of the time, and some of us like to shower. On the plus side most of us southerners like heading north, it's cooler, it's closer, and the price of gas gets cheaper in this region heading that way. As opposed to heading east which has a 1,000 mile minimum attatched to it. With two exceptions, 700 miles and 950 miles, might as well be 1,000. And that's each way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron H Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 (edited) Good responses. I also agree with ajlisko: Tie the event into a community celebration if at all possible. It might not work, because you'll have to coordinate with the schedules of available corps, but it allows you to tap into the fund-raising effort of a larger community. Also, think "outside the company front." Don't think of it as exclusively a drum corps show as Shadow 7 said. You can market the endeavor as a "Night of Music." This works well to introduce audiences to the concept of competitive drum corps. Enlist local groups - marching bands, brass or percussion ensembles, jazz bands, etc. - to fill out the show. More local participation = more audience members. Using an approach like this you can give the audience its money's worth even with 3 or 4 corps. As the event becomes more popular you can gradually shift it toward only drum corps. But then again you might find it so successful that you'll always keep it as a mixed show. Have you also thought about forming a non-profit sponsoring organization for the show? This would allow tax-exempt donations to help fund the show. If you lose money, at least you'll have a framework to make up the deficit. Edited July 17, 2009 by Ron H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron H Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Is it a Host decision or Regional Circuit decision not to pay corps?DCA corps staying at schools: That would take some doing up here. We do have two districts that are somewhat OK with outside groups using their facilities. They used the term rent and I'm pretty sure they won't let Senior Corps use their stuff for free. It would be a case of which is cheaper, the Motel or School. I personally would rather double up in a motel than camp out in a school. The Hosting organization can pay whatever they'd like to the corps, or nothing at all (though I doubt you'd get many corps to come!). Not paying a corps might violate Circuit minimums for compensation however. Perhaps schools are wary of liabilities if outside organizations use their facilities. Most corps have adequate liability insurance to satisfy school districts. Keep in mind that there's no reason why a corps has to stay in the immediate vicinity. If you can get a school within 30 miles or so of the event that will likely be just fine, although it complicates things if you have some corps members who must fly in because of their schedules. Urban school districts can be a little uptight but a lot of rural districts would have no problem with hosting a traveling music group. Housing costs are usually passed to the corps. MBI, for example, pays it's own way for hotels or is charged by the show sponsor for gym space. (Someone from MBI can correct me if that's no longer the case.) You can offer cheap gym space or let the corps make it's own housing arrangements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-horns Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Have you also thought about forming a non-profit sponsoring organization for the show? This would allow tax-exempt donations to help fund the show. If you lose money, at least you'll have a framework to make up the deficit. There's another reason to form a separate business entity to operate the show. If it should fall flat on it's face, you will not be risking the corps' financial well-being. Any profits from the show can be donated to local charities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVQuesty Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Not paying a corps might violate Circuit minimums for compensation however. Que? No such animal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron H Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) Que?No such animal. Not any more I guess then. DCM had minimum performance fees for member corps. For MBI it was around $2,000. Edited July 18, 2009 by Ron H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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