Um, no mention of how much money you charge for people to audition... which, being a theatre person, is very odd to me.

Is this the same group who put on Golden Pond?

Hi "Truth" & "Deborah Lee",

This is Tony Phillips. THANK YOU SO MUCH for making comments on this blog space.

I wanted to blog again and answer your questions.

Although it is a community arts center, I have to pay a rental fee everytime I use the Emma Kelly Theater or any room in the Averitt Center for the Arts for my theater auditions, rehearsals, the entire week of the show, and the show dates.

The center uses the money to offset their expenses of operating the building. Expenses like electricity, heating, air conditioning, water, custodial services, etc.

However, thanks to an anonymous donor who is paying for the rental of the Emma Kelly Theater for the OKLAHOMA! audition days, there is no fee for auditioning. I am so thrilled about that. I think it is horrible to have to charge show hopefuls a fee to audition. I am so thankful to the anonymous donor. They know who they are. Many thanks to you from the bottom of our hearts. Hip Hip Hooray!

Some others local folks have asked about how I come up with the price of my shows. So, just in case you or other blog readers are interested, the $17 reserved ticket sales pay for the rental of the building for the week of the show, the royalty & licensing fees for the people who wrote and represent the shows (Disney's HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL cost over $4,000 just for royalty and licensing fees), and the many other costs of the production of the show.

After the Averitt Center takes their $1 handling fee for selling the tickets they sell, and the taxes are paid on the ticket sales, the show only gets $14.80 per ticket to fund the expenses of the show.

As far as the shows I've done, yes, I produced ON GOLDEN POND. I loved that show. It has also been my pleasure to direct and produce STEEL MAGNOLIAS, GREASE, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, and Disney's HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL -- all for the beautiful Emma Kelly Theater.

I hope this helps. If anyone else has questions about my shows, I hope they will ask here, or via email or phone call.

Thank you for your interest and support of the theater arts in our community,
Tony Phillips

I don't understand why, as the producer, you don't secure a sponser for your shows before you put them on... and perhaps you could do less "popular" shows (ie High School Musical) to cut down on the costs. I know of a million shows that don't charge an arm and a leg for royalties. I don't mean to gripe, but $17 a ticket is expensive for local-yocal theatre. I am all for community theatre, but I think it has to be reasonable. Especially when the talent is so "green". I am also confused about why you direct so many shows... do you have a background in theatre? Maybe it would be better to have a director that has a degree... or a good bit of experience... I am just giving suggestions. I guess when you have a cast of 50, most of whom are young local kids, you are almost guaranteed to sell out every night just from their parents, families, and friends alone.

Dear "Truth",

This is Tony Phillips. THANK YOU for your questions and comments.

The reason that I don't secure a sponsor for my shows before I put them on is because there are many other organizations and venues who already ask sponsors for sponsorship dollars. I don't want to take those dollars away from those organizations and venues that need them to operate. Plus, after doing so many shows, I know that the ticket sales will support my productions without having to get sponsor dollars to cover the expenses. This allows sponsors to support others who need support.

I appreciate your suggestion to do less "popular" shows. However, as a director, if I'm going to give that amount of time and energy on a project, I want to select a show that I know, that I enjoy, and that I would want to spend that amount of time making it come to life on stage. In addition, I still consider myself a new director. As a new director, when I review possible shows, I am not attracted to shows I don't know. I want to do a show I know and feel comfortable with directing. It makes a very stressful project a lot more bearable. For me, that is. I also pick shows that I think other people know and would like to come and see in a live theater format.

I also appreciate your concern over the price of a $17 reserved ticket. I've tried, but, I simply have not been able to find a way to pull off a show and pay all of the bills of a show with anything less. Remember, I only get $14.80 of that ticket price when the handling fee and taxes have been paid.

I also see your point about "local-yocal" theater. However, everybody needs to start somewhere. Many great television and big screen actors and actresses got their first starts spreading their wings and participating as a "local-yocal" first in a community theater production much like the ones I do. One of my main objectives is to give as many people that have dreamed of appearing or had a desire to appear the opportunity and venue to do so. I have personally been proud of every single member of my casts for mustering up the courage and determination to appear on stage. Many do so to overcome fear and anxieties of speaking or singing in public. These individual accomplishments are very encouraging to me and others. They have personally inspired me to provide more opportunities for others who might want to participate to overcome a fear or anxiety.

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-my reply is continued below-

I am also confused about why I direct so many shows, too. All I can say is -- it’s contagious. I have so much fun doing them and I’m told that I do a good job with it by cast members and folks who have attended. It gives me an opportunity to meet new people, participate in something that is very tangibly rewarding, and is a great sense of inspiration to me to work with a cast to bring a show to life on stage.

“Truth, I am glad you asked about my degree. I do have degree in communications. However it is not in theater. I am like many other theater lovers around the nation who don't have a degree in theater, but, that have been active in theater both on and off the stage their entire life like me and now serve as the show director for the sole purpose of providing rewarding experiences for themselves and others. I remember my first show, from third grade, when I played a dual role and Uncle Henry and the Oz in the Wizard of Oz. It was then that I got hooked on theater and have been hooked ever since.

I see you have suggested that I have a director that has a degree. I would love to work with someone who had a theater degree. I wish you would refer the next ones you meet to me so that I could in fact do that. I would welcome the opportunity. The ones that I have met are more interested in performing instead of directing.

I also see that you have referenced the size of my casts. You are exactly right. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that a large cast, most of whom are young local kids; you are almost guaranteed to sell out every night from the parent, families, and friends alone. Working with a large group of people is my favorite thing to do. A large cast provides so much energy, camaraderie, and excitement. These are all things that I need in my life. Things I enjoy and other people enjoy being a part of. Besides, believe me, and other people who do theater here, it takes every dollar of every ticket of every show to pay the bills for the show, especially when you pay rental fees for the theater you are using. Which I am glad to do because as a customer, the Averitt Center staff has done a super job with their support and work on my shows. And the theater is so beautiful and worth every penny.

I am glad you asked these questions and made comments. I hope these explanations from my point of view have helped. I can only speak from my experiences. As a theater person, your experiences have probably been different than mine. I assure you, I’m doing the best I can.

Again, I thank you for your interest and support of the theater arts,
Tony Phillips

I always try to see every show that is put on by Tony Phillips and Georgia Southern. It is not that expensive if you look at it this way. The show is 182 days from now. If you put 10 cents in a jar everyday by the time March 7, 2008 rolls around you will have enough money for a ticket. Put 20 cents in the jar and you will have enough to take a guest. It is what is important to you. I would rather hang my lanudry outside and see a play than use the dryer which cost that much and more to run everyday. I am sure you could cut something out of your budget and come up with the money if it were important enough to you.