Plan your full production budget, find your break-even ticket count, and see revenue scenarios — for community theatres, school plays, and amateur dramatic societies.
This tool is designed for community theatre directors, school drama teachers, society treasurers, and anyone producing an amateur or non-professional stage show. Enter your actual or estimated figures in each section — everything recalculates instantly.
The sum of all your costs — licensing, venue, production, marketing — including your contingency buffer. This is your total financial exposure before any income is received.
Grants, sponsorships, and other non-ticket income reduce the amount your ticket sales need to cover. The more you secure upfront, the lower your break-even ticket target becomes.
The total number of tickets you need to sell across all performances to cover all net costs. If your venue has 150 seats and you're running 4 nights, your maximum possible sales is 600 — this result tells you what fraction of that you must hit.
The break-even ticket count expressed as a percentage of your total available seats (capacity × performances). A figure above 80–85% is a warning sign that your budget may be hard to cover without reducing costs or increasing ticket prices.
Shows your projected surplus or deficit at three fill rates, letting you stress-test the plan. Aim to be profitable at 65–70% fill or better — productions rarely sell out every performance.
Divide your total net costs (after any grants and non-ticket revenue) by the net revenue per ticket (ticket price minus per-ticket fees). For example, if total costs are £6,000 and non-ticket income covers £500, you need £5,500 from tickets. At a net £13.50 per ticket, that's around 408 tickets across the run. This calculator does that maths for you — including royalty structures where the fee itself depends on box office revenue.
For community theatres and non-profits producing musicals, licensing through agencies like Music Theatre International (MTI) or Concord Theatricals typically involves a minimum guarantee of around £1,000–£5,000 plus 6–10% of gross box office receipts above a threshold. For less mainstream non-musical plays from publishers like Dramatic Publishing or Samuel French/Concord, a flat fee of £50–£100 per performance is common for amateur rights. Always request a quote directly from the licensing house — fees vary significantly by title, venue size, and organisation type.
Yes. Royalties are owed any time a copyrighted work is performed before an audience, regardless of whether admission is charged. The playwright's entitlement to compensation is not waived by free admission. Some licensing houses charge a flat per-performance fee regardless of ticket price; others reduce the fee for free-admission shows — always ask when requesting your license. Only works in the public domain (broadly, those first published or performed before 1928 in the US, or where the author died more than 70 years ago in the UK/EU) may be performed without a license.
Industry guidance consistently recommends not assuming sell-out performances. A conservative and realistic planning assumption is 50–65% average fill across the run, especially for a society's first production in a venue or a title less well known locally. Weekend evening performances typically fill better than weekday or matinee shows. This calculator shows you results at 50%, 75%, and 100% simultaneously — aim for your budget to break even comfortably at your expected fill rate, not at sell-out.
Most production budgeting guides recommend adding 10–15% of the subtotal cost as a contingency buffer. This accounts for unexpected set repairs, costume damage, additional rehearsal time requiring venue hire, last-minute prop purchases, and printing overruns. For a first-time production in a new venue, or for a technically complex musical, 15% is more prudent. For a well-planned repeat production with reliable suppliers and cost history, 10% may suffice.
The largest licensing agencies are Music Theatre International (MTI), Concord Theatricals (which includes Samuel French, R&H Theatricals, and Tams-Witmark), Dramatic Publishing, and Pioneer Drama Service. The American Association of Community Theatre (AACT) maintains a searchable directory. For UK societies, Samuel French (now Concord) and Josef Weinberger are also major rights holders.
This calculator provides planning estimates only and is not professional financial or legal advice. Royalty fees, tax obligations, and venue costs vary widely — always confirm figures directly with your licensing house, venue, and any professional advisors before committing to a production budget.