Out of the Wings

Out of the Wings Dragons’ Den Training Session: King’s College London, 3 March 2011: 16.00-17.30

Out of the Wings “Dragons’ Den” Competition Training Session

Thursday 3 March 16.00 – 17.30 , King’s College London, Strand Campus (room TBC)

Thank you for expressing an interest in competing for up to £10,000 to produce a play from our database of translated plays from Spain and Spanish America .

We are offering a training session before the Dragons’ Den event itself. This session is designed to help you with your business planning and presentation skills.  Please let us know as soon as possible if you are able to attend.

We ask you to come to the training session with some planning of your production already underway.

Firstly, please arrive with a clear idea of which play text you have chosen for production from our database of plays available on www.outofthewings.org.

Other considerations we would also like to prepare in advance of the training session would include:

  • 1) The costs involved in hiring a venue.  We would advise that you make preliminary enquiries to ascertain what these costs might be: availability, day rates, technical facilities lighting and sound, seating capacity etc.
  • 2) Copyright and performance rights clearance.  Is a full translation available and can you secure permission to use it? Gain an estimate of the costs involved for performance rights.
  • 3) Actors.  How many, of what gender? What will they be paid?  Are equity rates specified by the venue?
  • 4)  Travel expenses involved.
  • 6)  Budget for costumes?
  • 7)  Cost of rehearsal space?
  • 8)  Advertising: posters, flyers, listings in London publications?  Do you have an in-house designer, or will this be a further cost?  Will you use other free methods of publicising the production, eg. Facebook, Myspace etc?
  • 9)  Are they any other petty costs?  Postage for a mail out etc?
  • 10)  Identify your team. In addition to the actors, who will fulfil the duties of the following production team roles (these jobs may be done by the same person, but how will the responsibilities entailed be covered by the members of your team?) – Artistic director / Producer / Marketing Manager / Production Manager / Set designer / Lighting and Sound designers and technicians / Stage Manager
  • 11)  A contingency sum.  When the budget has been fully costed, add 7 – 8% of the total costs.  What would that make your total figure? Make a calculation of the entire production in order to ascertain if the production will break even.  Divide the total costs by the figure of the price of a ticket multiplied by the maximum number of seats and the number of nights of performance.

While we do not expect you to have worked out each and every one of these factors in detail, your application will be enhanced by some thought given to these details. If you can identify some of these points ahead of the training day, you will get more from the session as you will be able to apply your real numbers in making a draft budget and plan.


We look forward to seeing you on the 3rd.

With best wishes,

The Out of the Wings Team

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