One of my key responsibilities as the Producer is to handle the company’s finances. This means taking charge of a few different jobs. Firstly, I must ensure that we have the right amount of funds needed to carry out the project. If not, then it is my obligation to find a way to raise them. Once I have done this, I must distribute the money between the different departments giving them a budget to spend. From then on, I must take care to safeguard that no one over spends and causes issues with the budget.
We began this project with £166 which the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre had given us to help us create the show. This was our commissioned money as shown on the budget doc. I knew from the start that this would probably not be enough money to source all the props, set and costume we may want. Consequently, I began creating ways that we could raise more money.
The first involved me organising a quiz night at ‘The Swan’, a local University pub. We themed the quiz around the topic of ‘love’ keeping with the ethos of our company and show. We managed to raise a total of £200.
I also organised a second fundraising event which took the form of a raffle. Its first prize offered people the chance to win a luxury stay for two at a local B&B. This event also helped us to raise a further £130.
Having raised a lot more funds I was able to re-evaluate our budget and finances. This meant that each department within the company had more opportunity to source and buy the things they needed. To maximise the budget, I asked that each head of department (costume, set, props, marketing) provided me with a list of items they wish to buy before going ahead and buying them. I stated that the list should include the price of the item, place of purchase and any additional costs such as postage. I would then evaluate their lists and confirm whether they could go ahead and make a purchase. When evaluating their lists, I was checking for a number of things; the cost wasn’t to high, whether or not we definitely needed the item, whether I thought it could be sourced cheaper elsewhere and if there were any hidden charges. Once I had given the ‘ok’, they were free to go ahead and make the purchase. I would then immediately reimburse the team member upon presentation of a receipt. In my opinion, this method was a great way of keeping track of our expenditure and ensuring we did not overspend on the budget. If I had just given each head of department their own budget, it may have resulted in the funds depleting much easier.
