A Budget is a Creative Concept

This research focuses on the decision-making process of theatre producers and their sensitivity to various economic and artistic factors. In a comparative case study with eight different Dutch theatre producers of musicals and music theatre, different motivations, goals, and considerations are studied through twelve semi-structured interviews. Three different distinctions are made based on the commercial theatre producers, large-scale subsidised theatre producers and small-scale subsidised theatre producers. Qualitative analysis is performed to discover a pattern within financial, artistic and complementary factors, embedded in theoretical concepts. The company’s artistic vision and financial benefits are deciding factors when it comes to creating a new theatre repertoire. Some theatre producers will create new shows from intrinsic motivation and personal interests, whereas others will be primarily artistically focused within a profitable framework. For subsidised producers, receiving a subsidy is crucial to be able to finance theatre shows. Surprisingly enough, the role of funds is considerable, because producers have to record their artistic vision in an application, which also has to meet certain requirements. For commercial producers, who produce newly developed and licensed shows, the budget, availability of rights and success abroad tend to be persuasive in the decision process. It turns out that there are more factors involved in decision-making than just financial or artistic. In general, a changing landscape also seems to indirectly influence the decision-making process. Social, technological and economic developments affect the decision-making process as external factors. Also, remarkably enough, reputation seems to influence the choice process more than expected, as well as the power of the audience. Marketing and public relations and ticket sales count fairly heavily, as they have an effect on the theatre producer's generated income. Additionally, unexpected intangible factors emerge, such as luck and timing. Because these intangibles are almost unpredictable, it is difficult to respond to them, while they can determine the success of a performance. The findings have been linked to previously discussed theoretical concepts to discuss the data considering academic statements. This study outlines the decision-making process of theatre producers, which has frequently been overlooked in academic research, and formulates a general model for balancing all these factors within the theatre landscape.