Theater Production Budget Calculator

Budget allocation across all production departments.

Cast size

Rehearsal weeks

Number of performances

Actor weekly pay ($)

Director fee ($)

Set design/build budget ($)

Costume budget ($)

Lighting & sound ($)

Venue rental per day ($)

Contingency

Tab to move between fields

Total production budget

$175,472.00

≈ 12 used cars

Total cast cost$67,200.00

Design & production costs$17,000.00

Total venue cost$51,600.00

Cost per performance$10,967.00

Talent % of budget46.12%

Production % of budget10.37%

Contingency reserve$15,952.00

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Cast size, Rehearsal weeks, and Number of performances.
Set Actor weekly pay ($), Director fee ($), and Set design/build budget ($).
Adjust Costume budget ($), Lighting & sound ($) as needed.
Review the Total production budget ($) result.
Use Total cast cost ($) and Design & production costs ($) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Actor weekly pay ($)

Cast size: Number of actors/performers in the production.
Rehearsal weeks: Weeks of rehearsal before opening night.
Number of performances: Total performances in the run.
Actor weekly pay ($): Weekly compensation per actor (AEA SPT or LORT scale reference).
Director fee ($): Total director fee for the production.
Set design/build budget ($): Scenic design, materials, and construction.
Costume budget ($): Costume design, fabrication, and rental.
Lighting & sound ($): Lighting and sound design, equipment rental.
Venue rental per day ($): Daily venue rental cost covering rehearsal and performance days.
Contingency: Budget contingency for overruns (industry standard 10-15%).

Total production budget: Complete production budget including contingency.
Total cast cost: Combined actor compensation for rehearsals and performances.
Design & production costs: Set, costumes, lighting, and sound combined.
Total venue cost: Venue rental for rehearsals, performances, load-in, and strike.
Cost per performance: Total budget divided by number of performances.
Talent % of budget: Cast, director, and creative team as share of total budget.
Production % of budget: Design and production elements as share of total budget.
Contingency reserve: Budget set aside for unexpected costs.

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Cast size = 12, Rehearsal weeks = 4, Number of performances = 16, Actor weekly pay ($) = 800 = 10 input(s) provided
Calculate Total production budget
Total production budget = subtotal + contingency
175472 = $175,472
Calculate Total cast cost
Total cast cost = castSize * actorWeeklyPay * totalActorWeeks
67200 = $67,200
Calculate Design & production costs
Design & production costs = setDesignBudget + costumeBudget + lightingSoundBudget
17000 = $17,000