Raconteur Theatre Company

Being the resident “business guy,” I look at After the Afterglow from a little bit of a different angle than the rest of the board. I don’t know how common it is in the theatre industry for an upstart, new theatre company to make money on its very first show, but Raconteur did it! Even after all expenses for the show were paid, including royalties, set, marketing (lots of marketing), paying for the use of the space, etc., etc., the company made nearly $1000 in net profit. We’re certainly not rolling in the dough, but that kind of money isn’t a pittance, either. Especially considering we were only charging $8 a ticket ($5 if you only saw one show).

Now, I’m not really a financial guy. I have an MBA in entrepreneurship, so I know the basics of an income statement (and the other important financial documents, like the balance statement and cash flow statement), but finance is really not my cup of tea - but I get strapped with it because I have an MBA. And I’m okay with that.

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, though, I want to tell you that the best part of Raconteur Theatre Company’s premier show - for me - was watching the results of all the business planning and preparation we did to prepare for the show. We did things that the big theatre companies in Columbus, Ohio (and elsewhere) do, but that the small, little, community-theatre upstarts (including those companies that members of our board previously worked with) in Columbus never have - and most likely still won’t, even after our proof of success with them.

We sent letters of introduction to all the other theatres in Columbus, Ohio that we had (or could find) contact information for. We submitted our audition notice to all of the papers we thought might carry it. We submitted show times, dates, prices, and show synopses. We wrote press releases about both the show, and “Raconteur - Columbus’s Newest Theatre,” - the company in general. This last bit is one that most theatre companies - especially in Columbus - fail at. Press releases are rarely done, in my opinion - perhaps because people don’t know how to write one, perhaps because people are too lazy to do it (or learn it) - but ours scored us a review in Columbus’s most-read alternative paper, The Other Paper. The reviewer came out to our opening night - Raconteur’s first show ever - and gave us a great review. Press releases also scored us a small blurb the following week in The Other Paper’s Arts section, as well as a mention in The Other Paper’s “Cheap and Free” section - information about what you can do over the weekend for free, or nearly so. We also had two online reviews. The only thing better would have been for the Dispatch to come out and review us, but alas it wasn’t to be. I guess we’ll have to settle for nearly sold out crowds every night and a HUGE profit for a small house and way-too-cheap ticket prices. Bummer. </saracasm> We also sold advertising (email ads [AT] raconteurtheatre [DOT] com) in our program, which is not uncommon, but helps the profit margin go up.

All of this is in addition to the fundraising we did at the inception of the company (and that we continue to do). We have so far raised more than $4000 in support from family, friends, and businesses. I’m not even counting any of that money in the profit of the show… that’s for future shows and planning and scheming and company growth and fabulous future shows!

Anyway, to cut it short - if it’s not already too late for that - what was very satisfying for me to learn was that starting a theatre is just like starting any other business. Our product is entertainment and art. So long as we continue to provide quality art and entertainment, Raconteur Theatre Company will be Columbus’s next, newest indie art success story!

It’s amazing to see something emerge from what was previously nothing. I still remember my amazement during our first rehearsal for Roulette. We were in Jill & Andrew’s living room (generously made available to us for the duration of the rehearsal process) but instead of “just talking” about starting a theatre company, we were audaciously being a theatre company. Actors stood with scripts in hand, our stage manager sat ready to take notes and I was giving direction. We were all diving in with complete faith that our efforts in this improvised rehearsal space would evolve into a finished piece of theatre that would be worthy of an audience, legitimate enough to charge for tickets and meaningful enough to truly speak to people.

It’s true that nothing comes from nothing. In this case, Raconteur Theatre and its debut production came from the sustained outpouring of heart, soul and really hard work. I was exhausted by directing, co-producing, marketing, selling ads, writing to donors, telephoning theatre critics and doing a million other things required to start a theatre company. But it was worth it. I was SO PROUD of After the Afterglow. I felt like we lived up to our vision of producing the best show possible. My feelings were confirmed by the countless positive comments I received from friends, family and strangers who came to see the show.

It has been about a month since we closed our first show, After the Afterglow, and after all the reflection we have done as a company on our processes and what we can improve for next time, it’s finally time for me to reflect on it in a personal way.

It was awesome.

Opening night was the most thrilling theatrical experience I’ve ever had. Yes, it’s always exciting to open a new show and to perform in a play that I feel attached to. But selling out Raconteur’s first performance ever was more than I could have imagined. I think I wore myself out smiling from the accomplishment. That was a day I had envisioned for over ten years, and on May 29th, my stubborn dreams and goals got me there.

It was gratifying to see people walk out of the theatre having not only enjoyed themselves but also having shared in the emotions of those on stage and the collective audience. Even just today two typically non-theatre going people who attended the show commented on how they were drawn in to the emotion and taken on the roller coaster that the characters were on. For me, there is nothing quite as satisfying as knowing that theatre has made an impact on someone.

And this is what I need to remember when I’m drowning and drudging through administrative work for Ghosts. Already I have moments when I need to remind myself of how it felt to see people come to a theatre company that I was integral in building and to see the reviews of our first production reward our hard work. It’s worth it to see people enjoy theatre. Here’s to our future as a theatre!

Excited for what’s next,
Jill

Here we are at Raconteur, no longer basking in the afterglow of After the Afterglow, looking forward to our production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. And now that we’re looking forward, we’ve decided that it’s time to look back on our last production. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be putting up various reflections on people’s experiences with After the Afterglow, starting here with mine:

I was stunned by the entire experience. Starting a theatre company was both more exciting and difficult, and yet at the same time easier and more natural feeling, than I ever expected it to be. There was a lot of work that went into our front end, much of it stuff I never would have considered being a part of starting a company, but man did it pay off. We played to close to sold out crowds every night, and the responses we got from the audiences was better than I dared to hope.

The list of people to thank is longer than I could ever compile, since it includes not only Bread and Circus theatre and Madlab for giving us items to help put the show together, or Tricia’s church for giving us chairs to sit people in, or the different members of the board - all of whom did way more than anyone could ask them to do for the show, or the actors who performed brilliantly and never once complained about strange rehearsal schedules and locations. But it also includes every person who came to see the show, and every person who told their friend to come check us out.

It’s hard to remember the excitement that came with opening night now that we find ourselves starting fresh with Ghosts. But I know that come October I’ll look back at where we’re at now and say “Oh yeah, this is why we do it.”

Check out this from The Other Paper and our other review at  Ohio News Network. And come out for the show- this is the FINAL WEEKEND!

~Jill

“Two short plays about love on its last legs”
BY RICHARD ADES
The Other Paper, June 5, 2008

If it weren’t for the buzz of conversation filtering in from the next room, you might think you were back at 2Co’s Cabaret.

The Raconteur Theatre Company is making its debut with a double bill that includes Douglas Hill’s Roulette, the kind of relationship play that often kept viewers entertained at the now-defunct cabaret. Adding to the illusion is the presence of J.T. Walker, a ponytailed actor who was sometimes seen at the Short North venue.

Walker plays Matt, a Tucson resident who has been no more successful at marriage than he has been at finding a career.  When wife Janine (Jill Ceneskie) pushes his buttons once too often, he decides to hit the road for Las Vegas.

Only one problem: Matt doesn’t have enough money to get there. After some arguing, Janine decides to take him, if only to get him out her life once and for all.  

So the two drive off, which is when things start to get weird. Matt begins finding wads of dollar bills in his formerly empty wallet, while their junky car seems to sip gas at a rate that would make a Prius jealous. These and other unexplained occurrences make Janine suspect the universe is trying to tell them something,  but Matt, for reasons he keeps to himself, is in no mood to listen.

Working under Tricia T. Jones’s skilled direction, Walker isn’t bad as a man who has trouble expressing himself, though his craft was sometimes too obvious on opening night. Ceneskie is more natural as Janine, a woman whose attitude toward her difficult husband can change from anger to protectiveness to affection within a span of seconds.
Marital tug of war: Jill Ceneskie and J.T. Walker in the Raconteur Theatre Company’s production of Roulette.  Photo by Sam Blythe
The same can’t be said for the other play on the After the Afterglow double bill, Justin Toomey’s Aster, Holger Gunn. An original work by a Raconteur board member, the one-act begins promisingly enough but eventually falls apart.  

Like Roulette, Aster looks at romance past its prime. It’s a credit to Toomey’s dialogue- writing skill that the play initially captures viewers’ interest despite relying on that most self-conscious of gimmicks author who has a conversation with his own characters.

Andrew Cronacher is good as the writer who tries to come to terms with a failed romance by creating a stand-in for his former lover. Molly St. Cyr is nearly as good as the vaguely mocking stand-in, except that her soft voice is sometimes hard to hear above the scraps of conversation drifting over from the other side of the host coffeehouse.

Though a mixture of psychology and philosophy makes the pair’s early conversation interesting, Toomey then commits the error I of introducing a third character (Sam Blythe) who seems totally superfluous. The play goes downhill from there.

The work’s saving grace is that it doesn’t take long to see it-if you decide to see it at all. One nice thing about Raconteur’s freshman effort is that it doesn’t force viewers to attend both halves of the double bill. Pay $5 (rather than $8) and you can leave early after seeing Roulette - or arrive late and see only the briefly interesting Aster.

Either way, you get the chance to sample Columbus’s newest theater company for a minimal outlay of time and money. If you’re like me, the experience will leave you eager to spend more time with the group in the coming months.
The Raconteur Theatre Company will present the After the Afterglow double bill through June 14 at Kafe Kerouac, 2250 N. High St.  Roulette will be presented at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; Aster, Holger Gunn, at 9:15 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes (both plays, plus intermission). Tickets are $5 for one play, $8 for both.  614-804-1695 or http://raconteurthetre.com