Production Financials

The Production Manager is the individual financially responsible for a production. Though a variety of crew members may be involved with financial aspects of a production, all crew members, including the Director, Stage Manager, and all Designers, must answer to the Production Manager in regard to financial matters.

Budget

The budget the Production Manager is given includes the cost of:                  

  • Sets
  • Costumes (including dry cleaning) and make-up
  • Special lighting and sound
  • Props
  • Rentals of any of the above (including orchestral scores)
  • Miscellaneous or Administrative costs directly associated with the production

The following are not expensed to the production:

  • Rental of rehearsal space
  • Technical Clean dinner
  • Script duplication
  • Royalties
  • Opening Night reception
  • Publicity
  • Posters and programs
  • Concession and bar supplies

You may find, however, that you have to pay for some of these latter expenses.  See the Tracking Expenses subsection for information in this regard.

Purchases

Only production members approved by the Production Manager may purchase items for reimbursement.  Any item that is being purchased for a show that is more than $100 must be pre-approved with the Production Manager.

If a department is close to its budget it cannot purchase any more items without first discussing it with, and obtaining approval from, the Production Manager.

Whenever possible, members of the production should use purchase orders for their purchases.

Walterdale has established accounts at local businesses as per the list in the Production Manager Binder.  A purchase order is needed to charge to the theatre account.

Reimbursement

The Treasurer or Administrator can issue payment only for expenses that have been approved by the Production Manager and that have a supporting receipt.  A receipt should be the original with the GST indicated and not a debit receipt.  Under no circumstances should a Production Manager issue cash or a cheque to any member of the production team without a supporting receipt in hand.

All receipts for reimbursement for a show must be handed into the Production Manager by the Strike of the show.  If a receipt is not submitted by this time, it is considered a donation to Walterdale.  All exceptions to this must be pre-approved by the Production Manager.

Advances 

Accountable advances may be obtained from the Treasurer or Administrator, if and when necessary.  The Production Manager should be provided an initial advance of $500.  Should additional advances be necessary, the Production Manager must be prepared to show all receipts and preliminary totals to the Treasurer or Administrator prior to obtaining any further advances.  Please allow 1 week after requesting additional advances for additional cheques to be signed. 

Tracking Expenses

Itemized expense forms for cash and charged purchases are included in the Production Manager Binder and divided into categories.  All purchases should be included on these forms and broken down into cost, GST, and total expense.  Receipts are required for all purchases.

Cash Purchases – anything paid for in cash out of your advance(s)

Charged Purchase – anything paid directly by the theatre

Receipts should describe what was purchased and be labelled by department (e.g. sets, costumes).  For receipts considered outside of production expenses (e.g. script duplication, tech rehearsal dinner, rental of rehearsal space), itemize these under a separate cash page called ‘Other.’

It is the responsibility of the Production Manager to maintain accurate records and submit the report to the Treasurer or Administrator within 15 days after the end of the run.

It is not necessary for the Production Manager to give the Treasurer or Administrator regular reports on the financial status of the show, but for clarification or assistance, please feel free to contact the Treasurer or Administrator.

The Production Manager Binder contains worksheets which may be helpful for the Production Manager to document and reconcile a production’s expenses.  Furthermore, an Excel spreadsheet exists which some Production Managers have found helpful in doing their accounting and reconciling.  If you would like a copy, please feel free to contact the Administrator.

Rehearsal Space Rentals

When booking and paying for spaces that are on a by-donation basis (e.g. St. Luke’s Church, Alex Taylor School), Walterdale shall donate an amount of $25.00 per use up to a maximum of $500.00 per production.  The baseline of $25.00 was chosen because this was regarded as a fair market value for the space based on research and past experience.