Strategies

Friends with Money

If you've got deep pockets (or have pals who do), the spotlight may be yours-for a price

by Eliza Bent

The Challenge: "Money, it's a crime..." If you're a Pink Floyd fan, you know these lyrics. If you're in the theatre, you probably know them too, regardless of your musical tastes. Raising money is almost always an uphill battle-especially for those of us in the arts. How do you do it, and how do you do it best? While many different kinds of fundraising campaigns are successful, one variation in particular captured our imaginations here at American Theatre. Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago hosts an annual "Casting Auction," in which roles in a special musical-theatre production are auctioned off to the highest bidders. Readers: I know you're gasping, "But what if these people don't have talent or training?!" It's true that many of the performers, from a professional perspective, don't. But the history of the Casting Auction tells another truth: It celebrated its 26th anniversary this year. Clearly Victory Gardens is doing something right. 

The Plan: "The casting auction benefit has two parts: the auction and the performances," Kate Oczkowski, the company's director of events and individual giving, explains. Each year artistic director Dennis Zacek selects a popular musical with a large cast and well-known songs (Pink Floyd not included), and then Victory Gardens hosts a party. Tickets sell for $50 a pop and a silent auction for all the supporting roles in the musical takes place while partygoers mingle and nibble. "The minimum bid is $150, and bids must be raised in increments of at least $25," Oczkowski explains. The leading roles, however, take center stage. After the silent auction, guests move into the mainstage area for a live auction of the starring parts-opening bids start at $500 per role, but anyone can help a candidate win a role by raising his or her bid. "We encourage people to collect pledges from friends, family or co-workers before the auction-similar to the way you would fundraise for a walk-a-thon," Oczkowski offers. Big roles usually sell for anywhere between $2,000 and $10,000. The record-breaker, however, was a whopping $17,700 for the role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. (Incidentally, all bids are tax deductible). Those who win the parts then go into a few months of rehearsal and ultimately perform twice (with a small orchestra, lights, sets and costumes) at Chicago's Athenaeum Theatre to an audience of 400-500 (often filled with friends and family). "No previous acting experience-or talent, really-is necessary: just the desire to be on stage, the dream to have a moment in the spotlight...and a checkbook!" Oczkowski jokes. The checkbook is more than a postscript-the event expands Victory Gardens's coffers by a hefty $60,000-$70,000 annually.

Key Players: The casting auction was conceived by a board member's wife, attorney Joan Grossman, 26 years ago. Zacek directs the special production each year, and the development and artistic staff of the theatre throws itself into the event. Of course, the auction also depends heavily on a planning committee, which is led by three co-chairs who are also members of Victory Gardens's board of directors. And "a legion of Casting Auction veterans" also helps sustain the event.

What Worked: Obviously, an annual budget boost of up to $70,000 is a huge success for any theatre. But there have been some attendant surprises along the way as well. "Through his participation in the 2003 production of Grease, one cast member became further engaged and made a $100,000 donation to our capital campaign," Oczkowski effuses. (The theatre recently completed a $11.8-million renovation on its principal venue, the Biograph Theater). Additionally, there are the fond memories created in the community of participating patrons and performers. One first-time cast member (who performed in this year's The Pajama Game) wrote an e-mail to the theatre describing his list of lifetime dreams: "Given that playing piano on stage with Keith, Mick and Ronnie was a vaguely remote possibility...and the price of rocket fuel to the moon a bit beyond my budget, I settled for more pedestrian endeavors. Still, being in a play was toward the top, but I never thought it possible. Fast-forward to Friday night, where I experienced the surreal thrill being on stage with you, and I felt more alive than in perhaps decades. Last Saturday was one of the highlights of my life."

What Didn't: Let's get down to the nitty-gritty: Doesn't the art suffer? Oczkowski laughs and admits that the performances can have a slightly off-kilter, community theatre vibe. "In Grease, for example, some 65-year-olds were playing teenagers alongside actual teenagers," she says. "And we aren't strangers to gender-bending casting either." (The role of Miss Hannigan in Annie was played by a man in drag.) But Oczkowski adds that many people who take on the auctioned roles have some background in the arts and are quite talented. (One man who proved himself gifted has been called in several times to be an understudy in professional productions at Victory Gardens.) "Casting Auction supporters are fiercely loyal, and many of them participate year after year after year," Oczkowski says. "However, it is challenging for us to engage these participants in other areas of the theatre-as subscribers or annual-fund donors." She also considers it a limitation that only wealthy people, or at least those with well-heeled friends and funders, get the chance to perform.

What's Next: "After 26 years, some participants are starting to ‘phase out' or step away from the event, and attracting new participants (especially those who are able to bid high!) is difficult," Oczkowski allows. "We're always trying to pick the right play-one that is recognizable and beloved. But it takes a lot of personal attention and word-of-mouth promotion of the event." Nevertheless, Victory Gardens's Casting Auction is sure to continue-so long as people dream of performing and have to assets to make it happen. 

Strategies is a column featuring initiatives relating to theatre finance, marketing, fundraising, education, audience development, governance, architecture and artistry. Send your strategies of note to at@tcg.org, with "strategies" in the subject line.