The Encore Dinner Theatre
Transcription
The Encore Dinner Theatre
The Business Plan for The Encore Dinner Theater & Club An Invitation to Participate In The Creation of an Entertainment Venue Unlike Any Other in Southern California (or Possibly Anywhere) Prepared by Phoenix Entertainment 7931 Professional Circle Huntington Beach, CA 92648 (714) 771-1468 Ext 1 Conwell Worthington (714) 771-1468 Ext 3 Chris Campbell (714) 965-4091 Dave Carleen (714) 374-3181 Ext 212 Quinten Sharp Table of Contents I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………. Page 1 II. Background Information …………………………………………………………………….. Page 1 A. History of The Theatre ………………………………………………….….………. Page 1 B. Existing Marketing Plan ………………………………………………................... Page 1 III. Strategic Focus and Plan A. B. C. D. E. Mission Statement ……………………………………………………………………. Page 2 Goals ……………………………………………………………………………………. Page 2 Financial Mission ……………………………………………………………………... Page 2 Core Competency and Sustainable Competitive Advantage …………………. Page 2 Specific Means to Accomplish Goals …………………………………………….. Page 3 1. Emphasis on Marketing …………………………………………………. Page 3 2. Enhanced Programming ………………………………………………… Page 4 IV. Situation Analysis ……………………………………………………………………………. Page 5 Utilizing Strengths and Taking Advantage of Opportunities; Countering Weaknesses and Minimizing Threats ……………………………... Page 6 V. Industry Analysis: Orange County and Beyond …………………………………………. Page 6 VI. Market Demographics: Dinner Theatre …………………………………………………… Page 7 A. B. C. D. E. Place of Residence …………………………………………………………………… Gender ………………………………………………………………………………….. Age ………………………………………………………………………………………. Income ………………………………………………………………………………….. Ethnicity ………………………………………………………………………………… Orange County Ethnicity ………………………………………………………. Los Angeles County Ethnicity ………………………………………………… Riverside and San Bernardino Counties Ethnicity ………………………… F. Education ………………………………………………………………………………. Education Statistics …………………………………………………………….. Page 7 Page 8 Page 8 Page 9 Page 9 Page 9 Page 10 Page 10 Page 11 Page 11 VII. An Effective and Productive Marketing Plan …………………………………................ Page 12 A. Enhanced Programming ……………………………………………………………. B. Radio Advertising ……………………………………………………………………. C. Remodel The Theatre ………………………………………………………………... D. Increase Ticket Pricing ……………………………………………………............... E. The Internet …………………………………………………………........................... 1. Redesign The Theatre’s Website ………………………………………. 2. List tickets on internet ticket broker sites ……………………………. 3. List the theatre on internet entertainment listing sites …………….. 4. Advertise on Craigslist – It’s Free ……………………………………… 5. Purchase search engine advertising …………………………………... 6. Develop Social Media Marketing ……………………………………….. 7. Use www.goldstar.com to fill seats ……………................................. F. Schedule A Year Advance and Sell “Annual Tickets” …….……………………. G. Make a Promotional Video for Each Production …………………………………. H. Attract Senior Citizen Audience Members ………………………………………… 1. Offer a Senior Citizen Discount on Thursdays ………………………. 2. Offer “Value Added” Sales to Senior Citizen Groups ………………. Page 12 Page 12 Page 13 Page 13 Page 14 Page 14 Page 15 Page 15 Page 15 Page 16 Page 16 Page 16 Page 17 Page 17 Page 17 Page 17 Page 17 I. J. K. L. M. N. O. P. Q. R. S. Bulk Mail Advertising ………………………………………………………………… Page 18 Box Office Personnel Make Marketing Phone Calls …………………………… Page 18 Advertise in Where Magazine ……………………………………………………… Page 18 Offer Realistic Group Rates ………………………………………………………... Page 19 Offer Fund Raising Events for Non-Profit Organizations …………………….. Page 19 Invite Newspaper and Internet Theatre Critics …………………………………. Page 19 Offer High School Drama Clubs Group Discounts …………………………….. Page 20 Corporate Sponsors …………………………………………………………………. Page 20 Youth Theatre Program ………………………………………………………........... Page 20 Rent The Space ………………………………………………………………………. Page 20 Marketing Summations ……………………………………………………………… Page 21 VIII. Plan of Action ………………………………………………………………………………. Page 21 IX. Executive Summary ………………………………………………………………………. Page 21 X. Financial Summary ……………………………..…………………………………………... Page 24 A. B. C. D. E. Group Return On Investment ………..…………………………………………... Cash Flows …………………………………………..……………………………… Overall Theatre Profit and Loss….………………………………………………. Dinner Theatre Series Profit and Loss …………………………………………. Limited Run Engagements Profit and Loss ….………………………………… Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 26 Page 27 XI. Structure of the Business ……………………………………………………………….. Page 29 XII. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………….. Page 29 LEGAL STATEMENT This business plan contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those experienced or implied by such statements. The Limited Liability Company Interests (“LLC Interests”) described herein hereby have not been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), by the securities regulatory authority of any U.S. state, or by any similar authority of any other country or jurisdiction, and neither the SEC nor any of these authorities has passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Proposal. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The LLC Interests will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). The offering and sale of the LP Interests will be exempt from registration pursuant to Regulation D promulgated under the Act. There will be no public market for the LLC Interests. Each investor will be required to represent that it is acquiring the LLC Interests purchased by it for investment and not with a view to resale or distribution. Prospective investors should not construe the contents of this Proposal as investment, tax or legal advice. This Proposal, as well as the nature of an investment in the LP Interests, should be independently reviewed by each prospective purchaser and the purchaser’s investment, tax and legal advisors. Page 1 I. Introduction This is a business plan to open and operate an entertainment venue in the same edifice as the now closed Curtain Call Dinner Theater in Tustin, CA. The new theatre will be a totally different entity but will operate in roughly the same manner as the Curtain Call, employ some of the people who worked there before, but offer substantially more diverse programming than had been produced in the past. II. Background Information A. History of the Theatre The Curtain Call Dinner Theater is a landmark in Orange County. With a billboard on the Santa Ana Freeway for 30 years, (northbound, just south of the 55 freeway) its location and existence is known by the overwhelming majority of adult Orange County residents. It was established by Elizabeth Howard and her brother, John Ferola in 1980, and is most easily recognized by its original name, “Elizabeth Howard’s Curtain Call Dinner Theater”. In 2005, the theatre was purchased from the original owners by the Main Place Christian Fellowship. The church profitably operated the theatre as an outreach/adjunct to its ministry for several years. However, in early 2009, it was purchased from the church by a holding company, formally known as, Lila Dog Productions. That holding company is owned by Melissa Cook, an actress who worked at the theatre for many years and her fiancé, Jeff Chamberlain. Since the beginning, a ticket to the theatre has included a three course dinner after which was performed a live, fully staged musical comedy production. During intermission of the show, dessert was offered for an additional charge. Neither of the recent owners actively managed the business but had delegated the day to day operation to Mr. Michael Lopez. Mr. Lopez had been employed as a choreographer by the original owners and by the church. Ms. Cook and Mr. Chamberlain elevated Mr. Lopez to production director (as well as choreographer), general manager and head of marketing for the theatre when they became the owners. From the time these owners began operating the theatre, audience attendance progressively declined and it has lost money. In mid October, 2010, it was announced that the theatre would close and November 7, 2010 was the last scheduled performance. B. Lila Dog Productions’ Marketing Plan Shows were run for three months. Email advertising to an extensive list of past customers was sent before the opening of each new production and near the end of the run. Emails before the show opened offered $10 off any ticket for the first two weeks of performances. Emails near the end of the run offered 50% off one ticket with the purchase of a second ticket at full price. That promotion was effective only during the last two weeks of the run. In addition, post cards, simply announcing the next show were mailed to individuals and businesses whose address the theatre had on a mailing list. Box office personnel also occasionally called past customers on the telephone announcing the next show planned. New patrons were developed with newspaper ads, running regularly in the Orange County Register and the LA Times and with posters placed on community bulletin boards at some supermarkets as well as at some senior citizen living facilities. While the most recent owners operated the theatre, we know of no other advertising that was routinely done to attract customers. Page 2 III. Strategic Focus and Plan A. Mission Statement To develop, create and promote first-rate, theatrical and artistic content that entertains and enriches the lives of many people from all ages, backgrounds and lifestyles, and satisfy the goals of the investors. B. Goals For the coming five years, PE seeks to achieve the following non-financial goals. 1. To establish and retain the image and integrity as a first class organization which provides a satisfying dinner and entertainment that appeals to a broad market demographic audience. 2. To produce programming for the facility that will be artistically diverse, innovative and ongoing. 3. To contribute to the public welfare by developing and offering fund raising opportunities to non-profit organizations who will sell tickets to our performances and receive a substantial donation from us to their cause, determined as a percentage of the ticket price. C. Financial Mission To obtain ongoing revenue from all areas of production, leasing, presenting and promoting top flight programming in the facility including meeting PE’s short and long-term goals. For the coming five years, PE seeks to achieve the following financial goals: 1. 2. 3. 4. To achieve positive cash flow position beginning Year 1 To achieve over $2.7 million in gross revenues in Fiscal Year 1 To achieve investor internal rate of return above 120% To achieve 5-year Return On Investment above 400% The strategic value that results from good financial planning will make a significant difference in all aspects of the business. We plan to promote and develop a large subscription base of more than 1,000 annual ticket holders whose ticket will be valid for any six performances during a 12 month period. D. Core Competency and Sustainable Competitive Advantage In terms of core competency, PE and CM are proud of their expertise in the areas of creative development, management and production. PE seeks to utilize that expertise based on a management team who has worked and who understands financial conservatism inside the corporate business structure, while maintaining the ability to be entrepreneurial. The team of professionals assembled for this theatre has more than ten decades of combined experience as creators of innovative artistic work as well as expertise in managing an organization. The union of competencies translates into a competitive advantage for PE, because it allows the organization to view creative development and business operations through the unique perspective of years of experience, as well as from the principals academic education, training and “hands-on” experience. Page 3 E. Specific Means to Accomplish Goals 1. Emphasis on Marketing The Curtain Call Dinner Theater had a substantial audience following which averaged 85 tickets sold to each performance in 2010. Figure 1 illustrates those figures. Figure 1 PAID ATTENDANCE at THE CURTAIN CALL DINNER THEATER in 2010 2090 2223 2000 2000 1233 1331 1500 1117 1352 1000 935 10 17 us Se t pt em be r O ct ob er 18 y 16 14 Au g 19 Ju l 19 e 16 Ju n 19 ay 20 Ja nu ar y Fe br ua ry M ar ch 0 M 500 1287 717 Ap ril Tickets Sold 2500 Month and Number of Performances Source: Curtain Call Box Office Records The 85 tickets sold per performance in 2010 was generated with a rather minimal marketing effort. We will dramatically increase advertising and promotion which we anticipate will cause an increase in ticket sales and attain profitability. Figure 2 depicts the marketing effort and expenditures provided by the prior management team. Figure 3 depicts (in comparable, dollar to dollar output) the effort we intend to provide. And, to insure the effectiveness of the proposed marketing plan we will employ the expertise of a top-notch marketing firm to fine tune and implement the effort. Figure 2 PAST MARKETING EFFORT Newspaper Advertising Printed Advertising Emails to Past Customers Page 4 Figure 3 3% 4% 1% 2% 1% NEW MARKETING EFFORT Radio and Television Advertising 2% Senior Citizen Discounts High School Drama Club Discounts 5% Fund Raiser Opportunities 1% 2% 1% 2% Goldstar.com, Backpage.com, Craigslist.com Printed Advertising Promotional Videos Newspaper Advertising Magazine Advertising Email Advertising to Past Customers Search Engine Optimization 76% Interactive Website 2. Enhanced Programming We intend to continue to feature the in-house production of long running musical comedy Broadway style shows, however we will greatly enhance the programming to include straight comedy plays, numerous and various concerts, musical reviews, improvisational comedy late every Friday and Saturday night after the regular show, plus a plethora of variety acts designed to please a wide audience. By adding the limited run engagements plus the late night comedy after the regular shows, we will increase the number of performances annually from 208 (which was the maximum possible with the past arrangements) to 380 during the first year of operation (Not including the Youth Theatre Productions). A list of potential major production programming is seen in Figure 4. Figure 4 Types of Shows Musical Comedy Productions Friday & Saturday Late Night Comedy Series Evening of Stand-Up Comedy Series Straight Comedy Plays Christmas Musical Review Magic Show Series Country & Western Concert Series Classic Rock Concert Series Jazz/Easy Listening Concert Series Mystery Dinner Theatre Series 8 8 8 4 4 8 0 200 92 16 16 50 100 150 200 250 Page 5 IV. Situation Analysis The situation analysis starts with a snapshot of the current environment in which PE finds itself by providing a brief situation analysis that looks at the organization’s internal and external factors that can affect the operation of the theatre. Figure 5 SWOT Analysis for PE Internal Factors Management Strengths Experienced and Entrepreneurial Offerings High quality works that will have wide demographic appeal. Marketing Understands the demographics; knows how to market to a widespread audience. Personnel Projects R&D External Factors Opportunities Understands what audiences like and has a proven track record. Competitive Can compete with any company, based on quality. Economic Legal/Regulatory n/a Principals and consultants are first-rate, educated and trained. Excellent market potential with a multitude of quality projects to offer the consumer. Always able to do the necessary research and keep up to date on the newest forms of promotion and technologies. Consumer/ Social Technological Weaknesses Can utilize advances in technology, and implement into our shows. The live theatre/entertainment experience is still unique and exciting. LLC’s offer investors a straightforward and legal approach to understand and invest in shows and film. Threats Page 6 Utilizing the Strengths and Taking Advantage of the Opportunities; Countering the Weaknesses and Minimizing the Threats The purpose of the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis above is to acknowledge the management’s intense awareness of these factors. PE’s internal factor strengths include a very experienced team of principals, who clearly understand the live theatre, concert and entertainment markets. PE and CM understand the necessity to be entrepreneurial, while at the same time being fiscally responsible to its investors. Other strengths include experience marketing shows including the utilization of radio, newspaper, direct mail, group sales, internet advertising, etc and the ability and willingness to keep abreast of current and emerging forms of reaching the public. The opportunities of creating a unique entertainment venue are limitless. And our management’s willingness to explore and undertake challenges is boundless. We plan to counter the weakness of being one of the many live entertainment venues in the area (some of which also serve dinner) by presenting a wide variety of entertainment genres not available anywhere else. And accompany the diverse entertainment offerings by a very strong marketing effort unseen elsewhere. And, we plan to minimize the threats to our success by keeping abreast of social trends, staying on the cutting edge of popularity; by staying keenly aware of the effectiveness of our advertising; and by remaining alert, prepared and willing to alter our marketing efforts to gain an advantage over our competition. Although the theatre has been a non-union employer in the past, by employing more high profile performers, unions may become a factor and we are prepared to deal with any situation. Page 7 V. Industry Analysis: Orange County and Beyond Los Angeles is known as the entertainment capital of the world. But besides film and television, the region also offers a wide assortment of live entertainment. A few of such attractions are Universal Studios Tours, Six Flags Magic Mountain and outdoor concerts at The Hollywood Bowl as well as numerous legitimate theatres. Orange County, in particular, offers the world famous Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm (the world’s first themed amusement park). Also in Orange County, besides numerous legitimate theatres, there are professional theatres like South Coast Repertory (Tony Award winner for the nation’s best regional theatre) and Laguna Playhouse (the longest continuously active theatre west of the Mississippi). There also are a plethora of venues that offer live entertainment accompanied by dinner: Medieval Times and Pirates Dinner Adventure are in Buena Park; Dinner Detective is in Santa Ana; The Gourmet Detective is in Newport Beach; Merlin’s Magic and Comedy Dinner Theatre is in Orange and, the newly opened Battle of The Dance is in Anaheim, near Disneyland. There is one element which will cause our new theatre to outshine all of the competition. There is only one other venue in the LA basin (The Candlelight Pavilion in Claremont) which serves dinner and offers fully produced Broadway style musical comedies as the staple entertainment. We will offer a broad selection of other genres of live entertainment as well. The widely diverse entertainment opportunities coupled with a sumptuous meal will make our new theatre unlike any other venue in the entire LA Basin. VI. Market Demographics: Dinner Theatre The statistical data in this section was culled from a variety of sources including: The US Census Bureau (2009 estimates and 2010 Report); statistical compilation websites: www.Maps-N-Stats.com, www.talkinbroadway.com, and www.epodunk.com; and The Curtain Call Dinner Theatre box office records and advertising mailing list. A. Place of Residence The majority of those who attended shows at The Curtain Call Dinner Theatre were residents of Orange County (61%). 27% were residents of Los Angeles County, primarily from the Southern most cities. The western portions of San Bernardino County and Riverside County accounted for 4% each. And people from out of the area (tourists) accounted for another 4% of customers. Therefore, the majority of patrons resided within approximately 40 miles of the theatre. We would assume that our geographical patronage would be similar and will tailor our marketing to reach those areas. Figure 6 Past Customer Base Orange County 4% 4% 27% 4% Los Angeles County (primarily Southern Portion) San Bernardino County 61% Riverside County Other (Tourists) Page 8 B. Gender Fifty-two percent of the population is female. The male/female ratio has remained relatively constant for many years. Women are more likely to make the purchasing decision concerning entertainment (65% versus 35%). Figure 7 Gender Breakdown 48% 52% Female Male C. Age The average age of the Broadway/legitimate theater patron is 42 years old. The average age of those attending musical concerts is approximately 30 years old. PE anticipates that the new theatre will have a variety of shows and acts that will appeal to all age groups between 8 and 80. However, the age demographics indicate that offering Broadway style musical comedy productions interspersed with a variety of limited run straight comedy plays, musical concerts and other variety productions will be especially attractive to the largest age demographic group in the surrounding geographical area (which is between the ages of 25 and 65). Figure 8 Age Demographics of Surrounding Communities Percentage of Population 37.78% 40.00% 33.68% 30.00% 18.92% 20.00% 9.62% 10.00% 0.00% Under 25 25-44 45-64 65+ Page 9 D. Income In 2010, the median household income in the United States was $51,120. In Southern California, the median household income was significantly higher, especially in Orange County. As previously mentioned we will target residents of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, as well as people from outside the area. For this analysis however, the concentration of median household income will be on the four counties surrounding the theatre. The average of the combined counties was $59,047. The median household income for Orange County was $72,592; for Los Angeles County, $55,025; for San Bernardino County, $52,760; and for Riverside County, $55,811. PE firmly believes the over 17 million residents of the four counties can financially support the theatre in Tustin. Median Household Income Demographics Figure 9 $80,000 $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $0 $72,592 $55,025 Orange County Los Angeles County $52,760 $55,811 San Riverside Bernardino County County $51,120 National Average E. Ethnicity In the four counties surrounding the theatre the following ethnicities are well represented. Overall, approximately 44% are Caucasian; 37% of the population is Hispanic; 12% is Asian or Pacific Islanders; 6% is African-American and 1% is of mixed races. The audiences in the four counties are very diverse. Therefore, the planned programming for the theatre will be diverse as well, offering mainstream and alternative concerts, shows and productions to all targeted audiences. The fact that the younger audience members continue to be more ethnically mixed may suggest a more diverse audience in the future. Figure 10 Orange County Ethnic Composition 2.0% 1.3% 16.7% Causasian Hispanic or Latino 45.7% Asian African-Americans Mixed Race 34.3% Page 10 Figure 11 Los Angeles County Ethnic Composition 9.3% 1.3% 28.3% 13.3% Caucasian Hispanic or Latino Asian African American Mixed Race Figure 12 Riverside and San Bernardino County's Ethnic Composition 8.1% 1.8% 5.8% 38.0% Caucasian Hispanic or Latino Asian African-American Mixed Race 46.2% Page 11 F. Education The audiences attending the theatre will be a well educated group, especially those residing in Orange County where residents with bachelor’s and advanced degrees far exceed the national average. This places the theatre in, demographically, the ideal position of attracting the most erudite, highly educated, and higher income clientele. Figure 13 Education Statistics Orange County Graduate Degree Los Angeles County 10.4% 20.4% 0% 15% 20% 18.8% High School Graduates 17.5% 10% 26.2% Some College 31.2% 5% 16.1% Bachelor's Degree Some College High School Graduates 8.8% Graduate Degree Bachelor's Degree 25% 30% 0% 35% 5% Riverside County 10.7% 33.7% Some College 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 25% 30% Graduate Degree 8.9% Bachelor's Degree 10.4% 30% 33.3% Some College 24.7% High School Graduates 20% San Bernardino County 5.9% Graduate Degree 15% Percentage of Population Over Age 25 Percentage of Population Over Age 25 Bachelor's Degree 10% 25.0% High School Graduates 35% 0% Percentage of Population Over Age 25 5% National Average 8.9% Graduate Degree 15.5% Bachelor's Degree 27.4% Some College 28.6% High School Graduates 0% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Percentage of Population Over Age 25 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Percentage of Population Over Age 25 30% Page 12 VII. An Effective and Productive Marketing Plan A. Enhanced Programming We intend to produce fully staged musical comedies as in the past, and we anticipate running these shows for approximately three months (like the past). However, we will intersperse and add a variety of new offerings. For instance, we will bring in straight comedy productions (non musicals) which have played successfully at theatres in Los Angeles or elsewhere. We will produce musical revues, involving just a few, very talented dancer/vocalists accompanied by live musicians (Christmastime including carols, etc) and we will offer a week of stand-up comedians and another of just magicians, plus concerts by “name” singers and groups. These “other productions” will be offered for limited runs, i.e. a week, a month, maybe only one weekend or possibly special weeknight dates by famous recording artists. The reasons are twofold: First, these shows are somewhat less expensive to produce than a fully staged musical play. If a comedy play has been produced elsewhere, the actors are already rehearsed, the costuming is already done and the sets are already built (but just need to be moved). Musical revues are far less expensive than a 16-18 member cast to produce but can be appreciated just as much by audiences. And touring musical acts bring all of their own equipment and merely set up and perform. By diversifying, therefore, we reduce overall costs. The second (and probably most compelling reason) for enhancing the programming is to give established audience members the opportunity to return more often than just four times a year. This also will be a significant way to garnish attention (and income) if “the right” limited engagements are booked. B. Radio Advertising The largest expenditure of marketing dollars will be devoted to radio advertising. Both the original owners and the church used the radio to advertise the theatre to great avail. We too will do just that. The original owners ran multiple commercials, throughout the week, on the news channel, KNX. The church did the same thing on KFSH (The Fish), a Christian music station. Both stations proved to be successful media for the theatre. We will consider these stations and research others to make sure the best media purchase for the theatre is achieved. Both of these stations attract large numbers of affluent, erudite listeners. KFSH has 500,000+ listeners per week, KNX has 1.2 million+ listeners per week. 78% of KNX listeners are home owners, 43% are college+ graduates, 59% have household incomes over $75,000 per year, 42% over $100,000. 58% of KFSH listeners are home owners, 75% are college educated and 47% have household incomes in excess of $75,000 per year. But these two stations attract vastly different sociological groups. KFSH listeners are generally very family oriented - 44% of the listeners are parents. KNX listeners are more business oriented with 48% of listeners employed in white collar positions. Between the two, we are aiming to reach a very wide demographic sampling of Southern California. The commercials will be different for the two stations but both will emphasize the fact that a sumptuous three course dinner is served as well as offering a top notched Broadway style theatrical experience or other entertainment fare. KNX commercials will mention potential corporate sponsored events at the theatre and KFSH commercials will mention the family friendly nature of the experience. Page 13 C. Remodel The Theatre A known fact: the theatre needs remodeling. This is what needs to be done: • • • • • The seats are straight back dining chairs, with only slightly padded seats. After sitting through dinner and a show, they become somewhat uncomfortable and definitely cumbersome because they all face 90 degrees to the stage. Audience members must either turn sideways in the chair or turn the chairs in order to watch performances. First of all, we will replace some of the existing tables and chairs and build booths which curve around oval shaped tables, providing comfortable and convenient seating and an excellent view of the stage without moving. We will also replace most of the chairs which will be arranged at existing rectangular and square tables. These new chairs will be comfortable and will swivel and be on wheels, allowing patrons to eat their meal, then easily turn to watch the show. The walls need painting. Currently they are black and need a painting badly. We will greatly enliven the theatre by changing to a bright color. Other areas include the front lobby (box office area), changing the color scheme so it is noticeably different. We will also change the color scheme of the walls of the inner lobby (just outside the theatre). Reupholster the bench seating in that inner lobby to match or complement the new wall color. In the hallway leading from the outer lobby to the inner lobby we will solicit local artists to hang contemporary paintings for sale and provide appropriate lighting to highlight them. In addition, there are small lamp fixtures evenly spaced throughout the theatre which provide some illumination for diners (in addition to the ceiling mounted house lights). The shades of these lamps will be replaced with something more contemporary. The carpeting, although in good condition, does need a good cleaning. All of the improvements to the appearance of the theatre are for the purpose of marketing. All advertising will state that the theatre has been “completely remodeled”, and we intend to make it look that way. And by providing “extra comfortable seating” the impression will be that a great improvement was made. We also intend to dramatically change the exterior of the theatre, changing not only the color of the walls but adding a second illuminated sign to advertise coming attractions. The cost should be relatively low. The largest expenditures will be building the booths, replacing the chairs and installing the new sign. Painting walls, cleaning carpets, replacing small lamp shades and reupholstering three benches is not excessively expensive but the overall effect should be that the theatre has been indeed remodeled. Primarily, we aim to impress prior customers and new customers as well, that by remodeling the theatre, prices can be increased, which is the subject of the next marketing concept. D. Increase Revenues by Changing Ticket Pricing Policies. This is really standard marketing procedure and is done by virtually EVERY professional entertainment venue with over 100 seats, including a direct competitor, The Candlelight Pavilion in Claremont, CA. Offer the best seats in the house for a higher price, the worst seats for a lower price. But we will also increase the price of the midrange seats. Prices were $40 for Thursday night, $45 for Friday night and Sunday matinee and $50 for Saturday night. We will charge $64.50 for the premium seats, $52.50 for the mid range seats and $39.50 for the worst seats in the back of the theatre. Prices will be uniform for all shows to minimize confusion. By doing so, we will be able to advertise to prior customers that we lowered prices for all performances, but in reality, we will be distinctly increasing the overall ticket receipts. Page 14 In comparison, pricing at The Candlelight Pavilion is much higher. The Candlelight is the only other true “dinner theatre” in the LA basin. Many other venues offer dinner plus various types of live entertainment. Only The Candlelight Pavilion and The Curtain Call have offered dinner and a fully staged musical comedy production. The lowest priced ticket at The Candlelight is $48, the highest $68. The Candlelight Pavilion is located in Claremont, CA, just west of the LA County/San Bernardino border. The socio/economic conditions in that area are no better than Orange County and may be worse. This shows that our pricing will be very competitive. The food and table service will be exactly the same for all of our seats, the only difference will be the view of the stage and the seating comfort. The booths, mentioned above, will be placed in the premium seating area. The new, more comfortable, swivel type chairs will be placed at two person tables in the premium seating area as well as at all tables in the medium priced seating area. Existing straight back chairs will be retained, as well as existing square (two person) and rectangular (4 person tables) and placed in the lowest priced seating area. A drawing depicting the seating areas is available but not included in this business plan. If desired, request it and it will be provided. As stated above ticket pricing had been a flat price for all seats, different prices each show. We are assuming that the same percentage of customers that had purchased the highest priced tickets on Saturday nights will, if pricing is changed as described above, ultimately purchase the most expensive tickets to any of the shows; and the same percentage of customers that had purchased tickets on Thursday night will ultimately purchase the least expensive tickets; and, of course, the same percentage of customers that had purchased tickets on Friday night and Sunday matinees will ultimately purchase the mid-range tickets. If only the same number of tickets are sold, by changing pricing as we intend to do, revenues will increase by 17.76%. We make an assumption that we will be able to attract the majority of the past customers that attended during the past year. Many of these customers have attended the theatre for many years. By telling them that the theatre has been remodeled and that there are new owners, despite the increase in pricing, it is a reasonable assumption that (if only out of curiosity) they will return. When they see the transformation and sit in the new seating, they should be impressed. However, to ensure that they do return, we will offer a special discount of $10 off the ticket price to these loyal patrons, just like the prior owners. This will ONLY be done for the first month of the first production. That offer should attract the past customers, and since the $10 off makes the overall pricing just slightly above what it used to be (or even below), they should come. The only detrimental effect to changing the pricing structure will be that it will probably reduce sales for Thursday performances. This is because the people who had attended on Thursdays were intentionally buying the lowest priced tickets. With less expensive seats available for all shows, Thursday attendees might likely choose to go to other performances. The anticipated disadvantage of reduced sales on Thursdays should be compensated by planning to offer senior citizen discounts on Thursdays which is explained much more succinctly in Section VII H Attract Senior Citizen Audience Members, Senior Citizen Discounts. E. The Internet The internet is a primary source of information for residents in Orange County and Southern California in general. It has replaced newspaper classified ads, the white page phone books and yellow page advertising as THE place to go to seek information or to purchase almost anything. It is truly, the information superhighway. Therefore, much of our marketing effort will be geared towards being noticed on this digital thoroughfare. 1. Design a new website for the theatre on which one can purchase tickets to shows. It has never been possible to purchase tickets on the theatre’s website. Instead potential customers were required to call the box office and speak to a human being. This is inconvenient to internet shoppers. It is also paramount to allow this ability in order to satisfy the needs of internet ticket brokers (the next internet marketing subject). The Page 15 internet brokers will be able to link to our site and see the theatre layout (by pricing param eters) and will digitally be able to reserve tickets. Also, with the advent of search engine advertising (#5) and social media marketing (#6) somewhat increased numbers of potential customers will be directed to our site. We do not want to disappoint these potential customers. But instead will have a very viable site at which to make reservations for an evening of entertainment. 2. List tickets on every internet ticket broker site that will list the theatre. There are many, many websites that sell tickets to all kinds of entertainment and events. Sites like: www.dinnershows.us, www.ticketmaster.com, www.714area.com, www.plays411.com and www.smarter.com are a few. Our theatre will be listed on every site that will list the theatre. All Broadway show tickets are sold on broker sites. Yes, we will not be a Broadway show – but Merlin’s Magic Dinner Theatre in Orange is a direct competitor and they are listed on all of those sites. Even some community theatres are listed on ticket broker sites. It doesn’t cost anything to have tickets available on broker sites. Some add to the price of the ticket but most deduct a fee off the top. Obviously, if someone buys a ticket we will pay a fee, but we only pay the fee IF WE SELL A TICKET. The major benefit from listing tickets on broker sites is exposure. It is essentially free advertising. Even if an online shopper doesn’t buy tickets to the show, simply by listing the availability it is telling customers that we exist - and thereby free advertising. The more often people see the name, the more likely they are to eventually purchase tickets. 3. List the theatre on internet entertainment listing sites that do not sell tickets. There are sites like www.local.com, www.citysearch.com, www.insiderpages.com and www.yelp.com that list entertainment events as well as bowling alleys, movie theatres, coffee shops, delicatessens, swimming pools, restaurants, etc, etc, in specific, definable areas around the country. The Curtain Call was listed on some of these sites but only the address and phone number appeared (which was done by the site itself). That is not nearly enough. Our presence will be dramatically enhanced with photos and background information. Many of these sites are linked to ticket broker sites (that’s how they make their money). Plus many ticket broker sites link back to these listing sites to provide additional information about the venue. That’s called reciprocal hyperlinks. Just doing that increases the rankings of both sites on search engines, that’s why it is done! Virtually all of these listing sites allow more information than just the address and phone number for FREE. Most do charge for a “premium” listing which includes the company logo, photos, videos, etc, etc. These sites will be extensively explored and anywhere it is possible, provide more information for free. We will also spend marketing dollars and buy the premium listing on some of those sites, so that the broker sites which sell our tickets link to something very viable. 4. Advertise on www.Craigslist.com – It’s Free. Disneyland does it, the Angels and Dodgers do it, why shouldn’t we? There are three categories which are apropos: Community – events, For Sale – tickets, and Services – event. Craigslist customers are cheap (that’s why they shop on Craigslist). Potential customers must believe they are getting something for nothing. We will offer a discount on all tickets - 10% off. In the subject line we will say “10% OFF ALL TICKETS”. Some people will click on it just to see exactly what tickets are available – some will buy our tickets. The ads will be run continuously on the Orange County, LA County and San Diego sites. If only a few purchase tickets, just like ticket broker sites, the exposure is FREE. Advertising on Craigslist is easy. Many businesses do it with quite elaborate ads. Ours will be attractive and inviting. It will also include a link to the promotional video which is described later. Another similar website is www.backpage.com. It is very much like Craigslist and will also be used to advertise, for free! Page 16 5. Purchase search engine advertising. Search engines charge fees to gain higher rankings for internet searches. We will bid on specific words. We only pay if a person clicks on our site and we set a monthly limit as to how much we will spend. If we are listed higher in search results, it will drive online shoppers to the theatre’s website. Besides the obvious keywords: theatre, dinner, Tustin, etc, we will bid on the title of the show we are currently performing. Many shows are shown at other venues throughout Southern California. If one is showing in LA or at another prestigious theatre in the area at the same time as it is offered at our theatre, a few who are searching for that title might just say, “Wow, and you get dinner too!” and buy tickets. Even without associated searches, purchasing search engine advertising will drive additional potential customers to our website. 6. Develop Social Media Marketing. Word-of-mouth has been and still is a solid form of marketing. In today’s world of technology, we must direct our attention to the new methods of word-of-mouth. This includes Blogging, Twitter and Facebook. These social media sites allow potential customers and current subscribers to keep current with theatre performances and other updates. Using this form of communication, plus YouTube, we can build a strong following to increase traffic to the website and increase awareness which will result in ticket sales. Social media is a powerful method to gain higher rankings with search engines because the content is always fresh. We will create these three media to interact and write a blog post and twitter one week before a show, during the scheduled performances and after. In addition, we will urge others to do the same in order to keep the content fresh. 7. Use www.goldstar.com to fill seats. Goldstar is a website which offers steeply discounted tickets to virtually every kind of event. There are two ways it will be used, but we will never use these two methods simultaneously. The first method is by offering “show only” tickets. The Curtain Call had offered show only tickets (which obviously do not include dinner) for $35 to any show. We will offer show only mid-priced seats for $35 and premium priced seats for $45. We will not offer show only tickets in the lower priced section. We will control how many tickets Goldstar can sell. If a specific performance is not selling enough regular price seats, then we can offer them more tickets to sell. Goldstar will discount the price of that ticket by 50%. Goldstar also adds a processing fee, which is their profit. These patrons arrive to the theatre after dinner has been served and are seated among the rest of the audience. If the name of the theatre includes the word “dinner”, extreme care must be exercised to make the advertising copy very clear that these tickets do not include a meal. It must be stated, in at least two places in the advertising that the ticket DOES NOT include dinner. Selling show only tickets for any price is beneficial. If these attendees don’t purchase dessert or a beverage (which are optional extras, even for regular ticket holders) they might ask for a glass of water. Then the only expense incurred is filling and washing the glass. In essence, the entire ticket price is additional revenue. It also adds to the appearance of a larger audience, which looks better to everybody who attends. And $32.25 or $26.25 per person is a lot better than nothing! The second way Goldstar will be used is to offer dinner and use it for marketing purposes to sell “future” tickets. The discount for an establishment providing a meal is 40% off (not 50%). Even at 40% off, there is some profit, but that is not the object. The logic is to get people in the door and thoroughly satisfy them, in the hope (and expectation) that the experience will generate future sales. Ads will not run continuously but will be sporadic, probably only three or four weeks during the thirteen week run of a show. The people who do get the incredible bargain will (hopefully) tell others about the great dinner and show they saw. They might also come back to a future production and pay full price when they don’t find the discount on Goldstar. As with show only tickets, we will offer Goldstar discounts on regular tickets for mid-priced and premium seats only. Page 17 F. Schedule A Full Year in Advance and Sell “Annual Tickets” Only the most recent owners have announced shows in a random fashion, sometimes only weeks before the show opened. The two previous owners announced shows well in advance. We will always state what shows will be performed twelve months in advance. We will also offer “annual” tickets. Since we will operate twelve months a year, with shows continuously in performance but with varying duration of each attraction, we will offer purchasing tickets to six performances for the price of five. We would anticipate that we would offer at least ten different shows during any twelve month period. Annual ticket holders could choose to attend any six performances during a twelve month period and pay the price of only five. That’s any six performances, even multiple times to the same show. The annual pass would be date stamped and be valid for twelve months after it was purchased. Season tickets (or annual tickets) are a staple of theatres. The actual cost is minimized because it provides working capital in advance. Annual ticket holders also promote future sales by simply mentioning their devotion to the venue to others. G. A Promotional Video for Each Production On YouTube a promotional video can be seen for The Sound of Music. It was made in 2007 or 2008 (?) when the church owned the theatre. Go to www.youtube.com and type in “Curtain Call Dinner Theater” then hit search and look for The Sound of Music. We will make a similar 30 second video for each and every production we produce. Our videos will not be uploaded to YouTube where they remain the property of YouTube, but instead will be stored on the theatre’s website, accessible only upon our demand. The videos will be linked from ticket broker and entertainment listing websites, as well as from our own website, to demonstrate exactly what caliber of work we offer and also to display the current show. H. Attract Senior Citizen Audience Members Senior citizens are regular theatre goers. They are a prime group to whom to advertise. In fact, many of the Curtain Call’s regular customers are senior citizens. We will offer discounts and mount promotional campaigns to increase their patronage. 1. Senior Citizen Discount on Thursdays. Many businesses offer senior citizen discounts: theatres, restaurants, amusement parks, etc. We will offer a 10% discount on any ticket for Thursday evening performances to anyone 60 or over. As mentioned previously, by changing pricing policies, we anticipate potentially decreased sales on Thursdays. Offering senior citizen discounts should counteract that decline. Of course, the 10% discount cannot be combined with any other promotional offer, but we will include mention of it in all advertising. Advertising in newspapers, although not efficient to reach the general public, might be ideal for advertising to senior citizens and we will do that to see if it generates anything. We will check the effectiveness of the newspaper ads by emphasizing the discount in the ads and requiring a “code” be stated in order to get the discount (a different one for each newspaper). It will be easy to count the sales generated by different papers. (If advertising in newspapers does not generate sales, then we will discontinue it altogether.) 2. Offer a “Value Added” Sales Pitch to Senior Citizen Groups. A lot of senior citizens either can’t or don’t drive but would love the opportunity to experience a completely arranged evening out. First, we will determine the maximum cost of hiring a bus or large van. The bus will pick up people near their home and transport them to the theatre. On the way to the theatre, we will serve wine and cheese as a welcoming appetizer. Then the bus will transport the people home after the show. We will add that cost to the price of an all inclusive ticket and advertise that service to senior citizens. This will be offered to groups of 10 or more people and would only occur on Thursdays. An all inclusive ticket will include: Page 18 • • Dessert and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages (which are not included in a standard ticket). A seat in the premium seating area plus all applicable sales taxes and gratuity We estimate the overall cost to a customer at $80-$85. This service will not be offered every Thursday but probably once per month. Various promotional channels will be used, such as: contacting senior citizen groups and homes; erecting posters and providing flyers at any appropriate facility or gathering places. I. Bulk Mail Advertising The original mailing list the theatre used for advertising remains on the theatre’s computers. With that list, plus a list of over 100,000 business addresses in Southern California owned by us (the people preparing this proposal) and other lists we are capable of acquiring, we will select the most appropriate addresses and mail 5000 5-1/2” x 8-1/2” full color (two sided) post cards for each production. To be fully effective with this form of advertising it is necessary to be repetitive. Therefore the people and businesses to which we mail advertising will be carefully scrutinized and will be judiciously and periodically repeated. It should be noted that successful advertising campaigns work best when there is repetition, therefore we recognize that it might take 6-12 months before bulk mail campaigns reach their maximum effectiveness. However, bulk mail advertising can be cost effective. To do this we will obtain a bulk mail permit (which the theatre did not possess) and the mailers will only be sent starting two weeks prior to the beginning of each production through the seventh week of performances. Since per item bulk postage rates distinctly depend on the quantities mailed to the first three digits of the zip code, we will select and time mailings accordingly. J. Box Office Personnel Will Make Marketing Phone Calls In the past, box office personnel merely waited for the phone to ring – we need to be proactive by having them routinely make calls as well. They will call businesses and suggest special promotional opportunities. Business could give tickets to their clients/customers as “thank you” for their continued patronage. Another suggestion could be to reward employees who perform extraordinary efforts. The business would get the standard group rate making it attractive for them to hand out tickets two at a time to any show. Our personnel will call businesses out of the yellow pages or from the database mentioned previously which includes phone number and contact names in primarily Orange County, but also Riverside, San Bernardino and LA counties. Box office personnel called prior customers in the past only to “inform” them of the next scheduled show. Our approach will be a very soft sell. Getting the customer involved in the conversation would be more effective. For example, asking how they enjoyed the last show and if they had any suggestions on how to improve the theatre. The caller should keep notes, that information is valuable! Only after gaining trust by listening to their complaints and compliments, the caller will say we are currently performing the current show, would you like to purchase tickets? K. Advertise in Where Magazine Where is a nationally published magazine that is distributed, free of charge, at upscale hotels. It is available at the concierge’s desk and is also placed in the rooms. Issues are “site specific”. Orange County has its own publication. 26,000 magazines are distributed monthly to 92 hotels in Orange County. Over 145,000 people read Where monthly in Orange County. It lists restaurants and a myriad of things to do throughout the county. The added benefit is that the magazine arranges complimentary tickets and free dinners for hotel reservation clerks and concierge desk personnel. Page 19 By advertising in Where we will take advantage of the year round tourist traffic in Orange County. It is likely that hotel employees will refer guests to our theatre long after they actually attend themselves. And, hotel guests are likely to take the advice of someone to whom they asked, “What is there to do?” L. Realistic Group Rates The Curtain Call did offer group rates, but with the purchase of 20 or more tickets, the price per ticket was substantially higher than if one were to purchase tickets individually. It was awkward and cumbersome for box office personnel to explain (and many customers to logically comprehend) the reason why a group priced ticket was more expensive. They would need to explain that it included dessert, unlimited non-alcoholic beverages, any applicable sales tax and gratuity. We would change that policy by offering a flat 5% discount for purchases of 10 or more tickets and a 10% discount for purchases of 20 or more tickets. With group purchases, seats will not necessarily have to be adjacent to one another (but could be, if the customer so desires). They must, however, all be in the same pricing group. These group priced tickets would not include dessert, beverages or gratuity but would simply be a basic ticket, purchased in bulk at a lower price. To be succinct, the practice of offering all inclusive group rate tickets is probably less expensive to the consumer than what we are intending to do. Our system is much easier to sell and much simpler to implement – it also makes more money. M. Fund Raising Events for Non-Profit Organizations Most non-profit organizations raise funds with various events. The Lions Club does chili cook-offs. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts sell cookies, nuts and magazine subscriptions. Other non-profit organizations have bake sales, car washes, etc, etc. We will offer to any non-profit, a way to raise funds for their organization. Working closely with non-profits and educating them on the benefits of selling theatre tickets can make this successful. Organizations will sell tickets to the theatre to family, members or neighbors, etc. The tickets will be sold at full face value. We will receive the full face value from the organization. We will then rebate (contribute back to the organization) 5% of the sales of 10+ tickets or 10% of the sales of 20 or more tickets. The contributions to non-profit organizations (the rebates) will also be listed as “charitable contributions” on tax returns for the theatre. Realize, that this is the same discount offered to group sales. The financial advantage is that these discounts will be deducted from our taxes. Organizations could also add to the ticket price. Instead of a face valued $64.50 ticket, the organization could charge $100, $150 or even $200 for that ticket. We would have special tickets printed that (by law) must state the base ticket price plus the contribution amount. That addition price would go directly to the organization. And in large enough groups we would schedule special performances just for the organization during the intermissions of which they could make announcements, award prizes or merely speak to the assembled group. N. Invite Newspaper and Internet Theatre Critics Free advertising is achieved by inviting critics to review shows. With dinner included, it is easy to attract many reviewers. Anywhere a review appears is beneficial, especially if the critic likes the show. However, it is even beneficial if a critic does not like a specific production because it is free exposure. Page 20 O. High School Drama Clubs Get Discounts When They Attend High Schools are “hot beds” of activity in the Dramatic Arts. We will promote a learning experience for students. We will offer dinner and a live professional theatre production. We will offer the same group discounts we offer to any “bulk” purchaser of tickets. The difference with educational groups is that the teacher will get a free ticket (a free dinner is an attractive incentive to a person earning a teacher’s salary). P. Corporate Sponsors We will search, solicit and find corporate sponsors. The theatre has a billboard on the Santa Ana Freeway. We anticipate the possibility that a corporate entity will purchase the right to have their name included on that sign. We anticipate the distinct possibility that the sign might read, “Brought to You By…”. For the past year or so, only one ad appeared in the Curtain Call programs. The Double Tree Club Hotel, (in Irvine, CA), had a one half page ad. This is unacceptably minimal and we will distinctly improve the number of advertisements in our programs. In the past, Bell Tone (hearing aides) and Acura (automobiles) ran commercials on a large projection screen before performances as well as purchased ads in the program. We will find and secure similar corporate sponsors. Q. Youth Theatre Program A positive strategy to introduce young people to the theatre is through various youth programs. Due to the reduced funding at the schools, many theatres allow their stage to be used for school plays and performances. This creates awareness for the theatre and builds confidence that it is there for the community. We will help fill that need with a youth theatre program. Our program will be self-funded. It is our intention to hire a teacher/director who has experience working with young people. He/she will conduct classes in improvisational acting, pantomime, speech development, etc. The classes will also be cast in a play written specifically for children to perform. Those plays will be performed 4-5 times per year on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Performances will be advertised for other children to attend. Parents whose progeny desire to perform are like most parents: they all wish their children the best opportunities. We will charge a fee to participate in our Youth Theatre Program. These fees are much like music or dance lessons. Combined with ticket revenues, the gees generated by the performances will fund the teacher, the costumes, scenery, utility costs, etc for the children’s productions, which means the program should cost nothing at all to provide. Although seemingly sociologically contributive, the basic purpose in offering children’s programming is marketing. Children certainly do receive a benefit for being involved in theatre programs and the future theatre community does acquire lifelong allies. But, our main objective is to sell tickets. Parents of those children who attend the workshops are far more likely to attend our main productions. These parents will mention their child’s theatre activity to other people who could be intrigued by the possibility of attending our shows. This word-of-mouth advertising is free. Grandma and Aunt Matilda who attend the child’s performance will be exposed to our theatre, plus the posters and marketing literature in the lobby listing future productions. They too, plus their neighbors and friends are much more likely to attend our shows. R. Rent The Space Business and civic organizations, political groups, fraternal clubs and dance recitals, music recitals, and group concerts, etc. prefer to gather at facilities with a stage and seating. We will promote the facility to be available to such gatherings and collect rent for the use. Page 21 The previous theatre owners did not use the facility to their advantage. The theatre was unused three nights and six days a week. They only conceived of serving meals and producing plays four times a week. We will strive to utilize the space by contacting potential groups or companies that could use the facility. With a full kitchen and staff available, we have the ability to serve refreshments and complete meals to any organization that could utilize the service. When rented, the cost of labor, kitchen and waiter staff, technical staff, utilities, etc. will be paid by the renting party, therefore there is no corresponding cost in the budget, but there is the intention of finding interested parties and making a profit by renting the theatre. S. Marketing Summations Our marketing efforts will not be limited to the intentions described above. We will continually evaluate the marketing campaign elements that are implemented to know what is working and not. This fine-tuning will keep the marketing efforts focused on the goals and objects set forth in the plan. What is certain is that we will eliminate what doesn’t work and try other methods with the goal of drawing ever-increasing audiences. The overall operating expenses for this theatre might change in the future with the advent of larger audiences and additional revenues, however, the percentage of the overall budget devoted to advertising and marketing will not increase above what we are stating in this business plan. VIII. Plan of Action The theatre is obviously closed but much of the equipment is still there which we would receive in lieu of tenant improvements usually associated with signing a lease for a building. Some of the lighting instruments plus many of the stage drapes, backdrops, costumes and props have been removed. We have accommodated replacing of the lighting instruments within the Initial Operating Budget. The drapes, backdrops, props and costumes will be replaced as they are needed for each production. Essentially, everything else is ready and available. We seek the necessary capital to remodel the theatre, to initiate a long term marketing plan, to repair or replace malfunctioning equipment and to fund the complete operation of the theatre for a period of five months with no anticipated revenues. During the first two months, the renovation of the theatre will be accomplished and our first play will be rehearsed. During the last three months, we will open for business and perform our first production. That show will undoubtedly generate income, however, we will accumulate those funds as a contingency to fund the continued operation. This theatre has lost money for a while. Restoring sizeable audiences will not occur immediately but will be a gradual process. We anticipate that during the first year of operation we will become profitable. We will retain a contingency fund of $150,000 to cover unforeseen expenses which may arise. The entire capitalization we require to accomplish this is $517,000. The proceeding sections of this business plan detail the projected Return on Investment, the Cash Flow to Investors, the Cash Flow to the theatre management, The Overall Profit and Loss of the Theatre plus projected costs, receipts and profits of Musical Comedy Productions (Dinner Theatre). Profit and loss projections of limited run engagements include Comedy Club nights, Musical Concerts, and Mystery Dinner Theatre productions. We have not listed all of the limited run engagements, however the costs, receipts and profits for those will be similar to the engagements that we have provided. We also have not projected any rental receipts we might generate nor any potential profits from the Youth Theatre Program. This is intentional so that the overall results we are presenting are distinctly conservative. IX. Executive Summary The new entity which will operate the facility is Phoenix Entertainment, LLC (hereafter referred to as PE). The managing member of that entity will be a group consisting of David Carleen, Quinten Sharp and Conwell Worthington in conjunction with Mr. Worthington’s companies: Page 22 Management, LLC (hereafter referred to as CM) and J & B Theatrical Productions, LLC. This group is uniquely qualified and positioned to manage and produce high quality live entertainment for this facility. The intention is to provide long-running musical comedy productions as a core of the entertainment provided (just like the Curtain Call) but also offer limited run engagements consisting of straight comedy plays, vocal and musical concerts, improvisational and stand-up comedy shows, and specialty acts at the completely remodeled theatre. The management team assembled to operate this theatre has over 100 years of combined experience in producing, directing, writing, creating and managing theatrical productions and special events throughout the world. Mr. Carleen (General Manager) has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Technical Theatre and has a wide range of experience in the professional live entertainment industry both onstage and offstage. He has been employed as a road manager for a rock band, a stage magician, a theatre critic, and for the past 20 years as a theatrical set and lighting designer, technical director and production manager. For 26 years, Mr. Carleen also owned and operated an industrial supply business and thereby has extensive business administration and personnel management experience. Mr. Carleen was the resident lighting designer at the Curtain Call before its demise and became intimately familiar with the former operation of the theatre. He will actively manage the day to day operation of the new theatre. Mr. Sharp (Managing Partner) has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Management and has 25 years experience in the real estate industry. He currently owns and manages a real estate office in Huntington Beach that has five active agents plus himself. In addition, he manages numerous properties in the Orange County area. He also sells and distributes a patented flooring product across the USA and is part owner of that business. Mr. Sharp will oversee the operation of the theatre and will be responsible for auditing and analyzing the financial operation of the business. Mr. Worthington (Executive Producer) and his business partner, Michael Coleman, through their production company, Cornerstone Entertainment International, Inc. (CEI) have vast and diversified experience producing, creating and directing shows for Broadway, national tours, plus regional and international productions over a span of many decades. Their corporate and independent expertise includes Disney’s international productions of Dirty Dancing, Dusty, Beauty and The Beast and The NHL Mighty Ducks, the touring and Broadway revival productions of The King and I starring the late Yul Brenner, and the $60 million dollar Caesars Magical Empire at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Some of the concerts the company has presented include The Red Skelton Concert, The Andy Williams Christmas Show, The Doug Henning Magic Show in concert, Victor Borge, Tony Bennett and Tom Jones, as well as charitable events with Beverly Sills, Angela Lansbury, Itzack Perlman, Red Skelton, Dick Van Dyke, Danny Kaye and Ethel Merman. Mr. Worthington and Mr. Coleman also originated, directed, wrote and produced the phenomenally successful The Glory of Christmas and The Glory of Easter at the Chrystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. Recent projects include the European touring production of Dirty Dancing and the new hit comedy, Vatican II: What The Hell Happened? Chris Campbell (Director of Finance) attended Pepperdine University from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Redlands graduating cum laude. His 14-year career encompasses financial analysis, financial modeling, B&P control, system analysis, project management, and management experience with several companies including Cornerstone Entertainment International, Clear Channel Communications and Intel Corporation. Mr. Campbell prepared the financial projections for this business plan. PE in association with CM and CEI will manage the business operation of the theatre, hire the talent for both the in-house productions and the various other offerings presented as well as extensively promote the venue to the surrounding population as a diverse and affordable entertainment destination. Page 23 X. Financial Summary Phoenix Entertainment LLC and Cornerstone Management LLC anticipate net profits from operations will provide investors a 402% Return On Investment for the period through Year 5. Net profits beyond Year 5 will be split 50/50 providing investors an equity advantage aligned to the longterm lease of the theatre. The added equity position endows investors with a greater long-term revenue advantage projected to return up to $6.7 million based on an extended 10 year lease. The following graph is the projected profit/loss for this theatre for the first five years of operation. Figure 14 Financial Highlights (Values in 000's) $4,000 $3,000 $2,000 REVENUES EXPENSES $1,000 $- PROFIT Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 A. Group Return on Investment This chart projects what return investors should expect on their investment based on the estimates enumerated in the proceeding pages. GROUP RETURN ON INVESTMENT Values in (000) Initial Investment Investment Banking Fee Upfront Payment Discount Rate Values in (000) Incremental Margin Upfront Payment Royalty Payment Cash Flow $517 $0 517 10% Year 0 ($517) ($517) Investor Return Discount Cash Flow Cumalative Discount Cash Flow Group Net Presnt Value of Return Net Present Value of Investment Group Return on Investment Year 1 $919 Year 2 $1,138 Year 3 $1,335 Year 4 $1,541 Year 5 $1,757 $0 $919 $0 $1,138 $0 $1,335 $0 $1,541 $0 $1,757 0.900 $827 ($517) 0.790 $899 0.668 $892 0.535 $824 0.406 $713 $310 $1,209 $2,101 $2,925 $3,638 $662 $719 $446 $412 $357 Total $6,690 ($517) $0 $6,172 $4,155 $4,155 $517 803% Investor Discount Cash Flow Investor Net Present Value Investment 2,596 $517 Investor Return on Investment 502% $2,596 Page 24 B. Cash Flows This page details how net profits are distributed. Note that only five types of shows are listed. Profits from the forty-four other evenings of limited run engagements not included will be realized by the investors and management. The fact that they are not listed here exemplifies that this chart is intentionally conservative in scope. OVERALL THEATRE LLC GROUP CASH FLOWS ($ in 000s except assumptions) YEAR 0 PRODUCTION CAPITAL RAISED 1 TOTAL PRODUCTION PROFIT TOTAL INCOME CASH FLOWS TOTAL 61.9 26.3 8.4 822.4 89.5 33.6 11.2 1,003.9 93.3 34.8 12.7 1,194.0 97.3 36.2 14.3 1,393.1 101.5 37.6 15.9 1,601.7 443.5 168.5 62.5 6,015.0 0.0 919.1 1,138.1 1,334.8 1,540.8 1,756.7 $6,689.5 $10.3 $10.3 $10.3 $10.3 $10.3 41 $929.4 - RETURN - EQUITY INVESTORS RETURN - DINNER LLC 80.0% 20.0% 0.0% REMAINING CASH - $1,148.5 0 0 0 744 186 0 929 $1,345.1 $1,551.2 $1,767.0 7,258 - - - - - 919 230 0 1,148 673 673 0 1,345 776 776 0 1,551 884 884 0 1,767 3,994 2,747 0 6,741 3 4 5 INVESTOR CASH FLOWS ($ in 000s except assumptions) Year 0 PRE-CAPITAL RETURN - EQUITY INVESTORS RETURN - EQUITY INVESTORS REMAINING CASH RETURN - INVESTORS TOTAL CASH FLOWS IN 1 $ - $ - 2 $ - $ 744 744 $517 PRODUCTION CAPITAL RAISED TOTAL CASH FLOWS $ $ - $ 919 919 $0 (517) $ 744 $ - $ 673 673 $0 $ 919 $ - $ 776 776 $0 $ 673 26-Apr-11 TOTAL $ - $ 884 884 $0 $ 776 $ - $ 3,994 3,994 $0 $ 884 517 $ 3,477 2,502 150% MANAGEMENT CASH FLOWS ($ in 000s except assumptions) Year 0 NET CASH FLOW PARTICIPATION: MANAGEMENT LLC REMAINING CASH RETURN - CORNERSTONE MGMT LLC TOTAL CASH FLOWS IN $ TOTAL CASH FLOWS OUT TOTAL CASH FLOWS Net Present Value 26-Apr-11 5 0.0 $517.2 TOTAL CASH FLOWS OUT Internal Rate of Return 4 $517.2 2% INTEREST INCOME 10% $ 3 $517.2 COMEDY CLUB SERIES PROFIT AND LOSS MUSIC CONCERT SERIES PROFIT AND LOSS MYSTERY THEATRE SERIES PROFIT AND LOSS DINNER THEATRE SERIES PROFIT AND LOSS Net Present Value 2 10% $ 1,942 1 - $ $ 2 $ 186 186 - $ - $ 3 $ 230 230 - $ 186 $ 4 $ 673 673 - $ 230 $ 26-Apr-11 TOTAL 5 $ 776 776 $ 884 884 $ 2,747 2,747 - $ - $ - $ - 673 $ 776 $ 884 $ 2,747 Page 25 C. Overall Theatre Profit and Loss The Overall Theatre Profit and Loss only includes the five types of shows we have listed in the Cash Flows above. Note also that we do intend to rent the facility to anyone who could utilize it. The revenues from the possible rentals plus the forty-four nights of other limited run engagements not included and any revenues realized by the Youth Theatre Program cause this chart to be very conservative. OVERALL THEATRE PROFIT AND LOSS ($ in 000s except assumptions) REVENUES BOX OFFICE SALES RENT UTILITIES LABOR PROFIT EQUIPMENT RENTAL TABLE SALES BAR Year 1 $ 0% Less: CREDIT CARD EXPENSE 1.75% Less: BUSINESS TAXES 1.50% NET GROSS $ ANCILLARY REVENUES TOTAL REVENUES 2,216.0 380.8 205.9 Year 2 $ 2,431.8 411.5 234.6 Year 3 $ 2,653.4 431.4 247.6 Year 4 $ 2,886.2 451.4 260.7 26-Apr-11 Total Year 5 $ 3,130.6 471.4 273.7 $ (38.5) (31.6) 2,732.7 $ (42.3) (34.7) 3,001.0 $ (46.1) (37.9) 3,248.4 $ (50.2) (41.3) 3,506.8 $ (54.4) (44.8) 3,776.4 $ 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.0 13,318.0 2,146.4 1,222.5 (231.5) (190.2) 16,265.3 $ 2,778.7 $ 3,047.0 $ 3,294.4 $ 3,552.8 $ 3,822.4 $ 16,495.3 $ 737.4 45.4 247.8 1.9 195.6 324.8 64.9 42.8 153.7 45.3 $ 759.2 46.8 255.2 2.0 195.6 334.3 66.9 44.1 158.3 46.6 $ 781.6 48.2 262.8 2.0 195.6 344.1 68.9 45.4 163.0 48.0 $ 804.6 49.6 270.7 2.1 195.6 354.2 71.0 46.7 167.9 49.5 $ 828.4 51.1 278.8 2.2 195.6 364.6 73.1 48.1 173.0 51.0 $ 3,911.2 241.1 1,315.2 10.2 978.0 1,721.9 344.8 227.1 815.9 240.3 LESS: EXPENSES SALARIES SALES TAX RAW FOOD COSTS FEES RENT ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY UTILITIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE INSURANCE MUSIC SCORE ADVANCE PRODUCTION COSTS DISTRIBUTION FEE Other TOTAL EXPENSES TOTAL NET PROFIT 1,859.6 $ 919.1 1,908.9 $ 1,138.1 1,959.6 $ 1,334.8 2,011.9 $ 1,540.8 2,065.8 $ 1,756.7 9,805.8 $ 6,689.5 Page 26 D. Dinner Theatre Series Profit and Loss The Dinner Theatre Series will comprise (by far) the largest group of entertainment genres presented. Therefore, for accounting purposes, we have included the annual cost of rent for the facility in this series. DINNER THEATRE SERIES PROFIT AND LOSS ($ in 000s except assumptions) ASSUMPTIONS 1 2 3 4 NUMER OF SEATS OCCUPANCY RATE (AVG. ATTENDANCE) SHOW S PER W EEK SEATS SOLD AVERAGE TICKET PRICE INFLATION NUMBER OF SHOW S 236 60% 5 36,816 55.65 $ 3% 200 236 64% 5 39,270 57.32 $ 3% 200 236 68% 5 41,725 59.04 $ 3% 200 236 72% 5 44,179 60.81 $ 3% 200 236 76% 5 46,634 62.63 3% 200 2,048.8 257.7 184.1 2,251.0 274.9 196.4 2,463.4 292.1 208.6 2,686.5 309.3 220.9 $ 2,920.9 326.4 233.2 $ 3,431.6 $ 14,702.0 763.0 34.1 194.7 2.2 195.6 313.7 73.1 32.3 170.3 51.0 3,599.2 160.7 918.3 10.2 978.0 1,479.9 344.8 152.2 803.3 240.3 $ 26-Apr-11 5 TOTAL Avg: 66% REVENUES BOX OFFICE SALES (GROSS GROSS) TABLE SALES BAR Less: CREDIT CARD EXPENS Less: BUSINESS TAXES ANCILLARY REVENUES TOTAL REVENUES $ 1.75% 1.50% $ (35.9) (30.7) 46.0 $ 2,470.0 $ (39.4) (33.8) 46.0 $ 2,695.0 $ (43.1) (37.0) 46.0 $ 2,930.0 (47.0) (40.3) 46.0 $ 3,175.4 $ 12,370.6 1,460.4 1,043.1 (51.1) (216.5) (43.8) (185.6) 46.0 230.0 LESS: EXPENSES SALARIES SALES TAX RAW FOOD COST S FEES RENT ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY UTILITIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE INSURANCE MUSIC SCORE ADVANCE PRODUCTION COSTS DISTRIBUTION FEE Other 677.9 30.3 173.0 1.9 195.6 278.7 64.9 28.7 151.3 45.3 698.3 31.2 178.2 2.0 195.6 287.1 66.9 29.5 155.8 46.6 719.2 32.1 183.5 2.0 195.6 295.7 68.9 30.4 160.5 48.0 740.8 33.1 189.0 2.1 195.6 304.6 71.0 31.3 165.3 49.5 TOTAL EXPENSES $ 1,647.6 $ 1,691.2 $ 1,736.1 $ 1,782.3 $ 1,829.9 $ 8,687.0 NET PROFIT $ 822.4 $ 1,003.9 $ 1,194.0 $ 1,393.1 $ 1,601.7 $ 4,413.3 Page 27 E. Limited Run Engagements Profit and Loss Here we have estimated the income potential of four types of Limited Run Engagements: the Comedy Club Series, the Music Concert Series combined with the Magic Show Series and the Mystery Theatre Series. The Comedy Club Series will include the late night shows on most (but not all) Fridays and Saturdays and eight evening shows during the entire week between Christmas and New Years. We anticipate smaller audience sizes for the late night shows, for that reason (and for accounting purposes) we have reduced the total number of seats but left the percentage of tickets sold the same. Since the Mystery Theatre Series will run on nights in tandem with the musical comedies, we have also reduced the number of seats for tho COMEDY CLUB SERIES PROFIT AND LOSS ($ in 000s except assumptions) ASSUMPTIONS 1 NUMER OF SEATS OCCUPANCY RATE (AVG. ATTENDANCE) SHOW DATES SEATS SOLD AVERAGE TICKET PRICE INFLATION $ 2 150 75% 100 11,250 10.00 $ 3% 3 150 79% 100 11,813 10.30 $ 3% 4 150 80% 100 12,049 10.61 $ 3% 26-Apr-11 TOTAL 5 150 82% 100 12,290 10.93 $ 3% 150 84% 100 12,536 11.26 3% Avg: 79% REVENUES BOX OFFICE SALES (GROSS GROSS) TABLE SALES BAR Less: CREDIT CARD EXPEN TOTAL REVENUES $ 1.75% 112.5 95.6 16.9 $ (1.7) $ 223.3 121.7 106.3 29.5 $ (1.8) $ 255.7 127.8 108.4 30.1 $ (1.9) $ 264.5 134.3 110.6 30.7 $ (2.0) $ 273.6 141.1 112.8 31.3 $ (2.1) $ 283.1 637.4 533.8 138.6 (9.6) $ 1,300.2 LESS: EXPENSES SALARIES SALES TAX RAW FOOD COSTS TRAVEL/MOVING PER DIEMS RENT ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY INSURANCE PRODUCTION COSTS 40.1 12.8 59.1 35.4 12.0 2.0 41.3 13.2 60.8 36.4 12.3 2.1 42.6 13.6 62.7 37.5 12.7 2.1 43.8 14.0 64.5 38.6 13.1 2.2 45.2 14.5 66.5 39.8 13.5 2.3 213.0 68.2 313.6 187.7 63.6 10.7 TOTAL EXPENSES $ 161.4 $ 166.2 $ 171.2 $ 176.3 $ 181.6 $ 856.7 NET PROFIT $ 61.9 $ 89.5 $ 93.3 $ 97.3 $ 101.5 $ 443.5 Page 28 MUSIC CONCERT SERIES PROFIT AND LOSS ($ in 000s except assumptions) ASSUMPTIONS 1 NUMER OF SEATS OCCUPANCY RATE (AVG. ATTENDANCE) SHOW DATES SEAT S SOLD AVERAGE TICKET PRICE INFLATION 2 236 75% 16 2, 832 10.00 $ 3% $ 236 79% 16 2,974 10.30 $ 3% 26-Apr-11 3 4 5 TOTAL 236 80% 16 3,033 10.61 $ 3% 236 82% 16 3,094 10.93 $ 3% 236 84% 16 3,156 11.26 3% Avg: 79% REVENUES BOX OFFICE SALES (GROSS GROSS) BAR Less: CREDIT CARD EXPENS Less: BUSINESS TAXES $ 28.3 4.2 1.75% 1.50% TOTAL REVENUES $ 30.6 7.4 (0.5) (0.4) $ 55.7 $ 32.2 7.6 (0.5) (0.5) $ 63.8 $ 33.8 7.7 (0.6) (0.5) $ 66.0 $ 35.5 7.9 (0.6) (0.5) $ 68.3 $ 160.4 34.9 (2.8) (2.4) $ 324.5 (0.6) (0.5) $ 70.7 LESS: EXPENSES SALARIES SALES TAX RAW FOOD COSTS TRAVEL/MOVING PER DIEMS RENT ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY INSURANCE PRODUCTION COSTS FIXED RUNNING COSTS 7.0 2.1 14.9 3.2 1.9 0.3 29.4 7.2 2.1 15.3 3.3 2.0 0.3 30.3 7.4 2.2 15.8 3.4 2.0 0.3 31.2 7.6 2.2 16.2 3.5 2.1 0.4 32.1 7.8 2.3 16.7 3.7 2.2 0.4 33.1 37.0 10.9 78.9 17.2 10.2 1.7 156.0 TOTAL EXPENSES $ 2 9. 4 $ 30.3 $ 31.2 $ 32.1 $ 33.1 $ 156.0 NET PROFIT $ 26.3 $ 33.6 $ 34.8 $ 36.2 $ 37.6 $ 168.5 MYSTERY THEATRE SERIES PROFIT AND LOSS ($ in 000s except assumptions) ASSUMPTIONS 1 NUMER OF SEATS OCCUPANCY RATE (AVG. ATTENDANCE) SHOW DATES SEATS SOLD AVERAGE TICKET PRICE $ INFLATION 2 80 75% 8 480 55.00 $ 3% 3 80 79% 8 504 56.65 $ 3% 80 80% 8 514 58.35 $ 3% 26-Apr-11 4 5 TOTAL 80 82% 8 524 60.10 $ 3% 80 84% 8 535 61.90 3% Avg: 79% REVENUES BOX OFFICE SALES (GROSS GROSS) TABLE SALES BAR Less: CREDIT CARD EXPENS Less: BUSINESS TAXES TOTAL REVENUES $ 1.75% 1.50% 26.4 3.4 0.7 $ (0.5) (0.4) $ 29.6 28.6 3.5 1.3 $ (0.5) (0.4) $ 32.4 30.0 3.6 1.3 $ (0.5) (0.4) $ 33.9 31.5 3.7 1.3 $ (0.6) (0.5) $ 35.5 33.1 3.7 1.3 $ (0.6) (0.5) $ 37.1 149.6 17.9 5.9 (2.6) (2.2) $ 168.5 LESS: EXPENSES SALARIES SALES TAX RAW FOOD COSTS TRAVEL/MOVING PER DIEMS RENT ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY INSURANCE PRODUCTION COSTS FIXED RUNNING COSTS 12.4 0.3 0.9 7.4 0.2 0.0 21.2 12.4 0.3 0.9 7.4 0.2 0.0 21.2 12.4 0.3 0.9 7.4 0.2 0.0 21.2 12.4 0.3 0.9 7.4 0.2 0.0 21.2 12.4 0.3 0.9 7.4 0.2 0.0 21.2 62.0 1.3 4.4 37.0 1.2 0.2 84.8 TOTAL EXPENSES $ 21.2 $ 21.2 $ 21.2 $ 21.2 $ 21.2 $ 106.1 NET PROFITS $ 8.4 $ 11.2 $ 12.7 $ 14.3 $ 15.9 $ 62.5 Page 29 XI. Structure of the Business An LLC will be formed for the purpose of operating the Theatre. The managing member of the LLC will be an entity owned by David Carleen, Quinten Sharp and Conwell Worthington through his companies Cornerstone Entertainment International, Inc and Cornerstone Management, LLC (the “Managing Member”). The Managing Member will be entitled to receive 20% of the net income and the investors in the LLC (The General Member) will share in 80% of the operating net income of the LLC in proportion to their invested capital in the LLC during the first two years of operation or until the investors receive their investment returned plus a 70% profit. During subsequent years the split will be 50/50. Investors will receive quarterly statements relating financial status and it is planned that operating net income will be distributed annually. Any profit realized upon a sale of the Theatre will be allocated 20% to the Managing Member and 80% to the members in proportion to their invested capital in the LLC. Interests in the LLC will not be transferable unless consented to by the Managing Member (whose consent will not be unreasonably withheld). The Managing Member will have complete day-to-day operating responsibility of the LLC. Mr. Carleen will be the general manager of the Theatre and will receive a salary from the LLC for acting in such capacity. Mr. Sharp will provide strategic advice with respect to the Theatre, but will not actively participate in the day to day operation. Mr. Worthington (and his associated companies) will be the executive producer of the theatre, will receive a management consultation fee and in that capacity will track and distribute the funds generated by the operation. XII. Conclusion The purpose of this business plan is to revive the glory of The Curtain Call Dinner Theater and establish a new entity at the same location, which will provide a wider variety of live entertainment and food. The plan seeks investors to raise the capital necessary to remodel and operate the theatre. In this plan we have enumerated the stellar qualifications of the management staff assembled to lead this venture. We have detailed the goals and aspirations of the organization. We have analyzed the situation and researched the demographic characteristics of the target audience. Furthermore, we have created a massive marketing campaign to place the theatre prominently in front of the targeted audience. And we have conservatively projected the profits that could be realized by establishing this business. The decision is left to the individuals who have read this business plan to determine if it would be a prudent investment to participate in this venture.