Save the Owl and Cat Theatre

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It’s these sorts of works, and venues such as Owl and Cat that are pivotal to our local arts scene. Providing at a grass roots level, up and coming performers, directors and produces the blank canvas from which to create, the performance is reminiscent"
- Breed: Australian Arts Review



Dear Friends and Family

The Owl and Cat Theatre needs community support to continue.  Doors may close in 10 days.

With your help we can fundraise to stay on track. As you know we’ve put our heart and souls into making our little theatre punch above its weight in terms of being a vocal social mouthpiece on the independent theatre scene. Not just our hearts and souls, we have also put in a vast amount of our own money as well. Simply put, we have run out. We have operated thus far without any Government Grants supporting the Arts or any calls for donation (such as some of our larger fellow Theatres in Melbourne operate upon). The little Theatre you know and love has been completely self-funded financially or by our wonderful team members donating their time.

To be completely transparent, we are behind on rent and venue bills, and need your help to catch up. We have also been issued with a Breach Notice from the Real Estate Agent threatening to change the locks within 14 days (now 10). Eep! The good news is, we have sat down and put together a solid business and artistic plan for 2016 that will avoid this from ever happening again going forward and allow us to be self sustainable.

If we hit $7,000 we can pay overdue rent and avoid closure. $10,000 and we can also afford bills and some renewal notices to continue operating the Bar. $20,000 allows us to also repay some business invoices that we have been forced onto a payment plan for. Anything on top of that allows us to make some improvements to the building internally for audience comfort, and create a solid marketing budget for 2016.

How the funds will be used:

- Catch up on Rent and Bills to avoid closure
- Renew Bar and APRA licensing
- Pay invoices owed to businesses that we are severely behind on
- Help us pay Actors, Playwrights and Directors a realistic income for their hard work
- Some electrical repairs and inputs to improve safety
- Improve marketing and advertising to help us get awareness and bums in seats


Let us take a moment to explain what we have learnt and will be changing going forward into the new year: 

We will no longer be hiring out the space for artists to put on their own shows.
The problem we found was not the quality of the shows themselves, but rather that these artists did not have any solid or proven marketing plans. The reality we were faced with, is that not enough tickets were being sold when relying on the friends and family of the artists involved. We will keep the doors open to artists with general auditions and open applications to keep the theatre being a place that nurtures new talent.

Solution: as of December 2015, all of the shows put on by the Owl and Cat will be self curated and controlled. That means we choose the scripts, we hire the actors and directors, and more importantly, we allocate a spend to market the shows to get bums in seat. 100% of all ticket sales will go straight back into the Owl and Cat. This is the major game-changer that will keep us well above the water line.

With some weeknights yielding only three or four tickets sales, our groovy Bar was operating at a loss. The bar is a major contributor to our operating costs and revenue. And giving students casual paid work. We have struck up an exciting new relationship with the independent local brewery Mountain Goat.

Solution: Mountain Goat are now supporting the Owl and Cat, which means our costs to run the bar have decreased significantly. We are also on the hunt for a similar relationship with a Wine provider (let us know if you know anyone). Finally, we have installed a professional Glass Washer, which legally allows us to now serve finger-foods and cheese platters.

We will also be advertising the space for venue hire and private functions when our shows are not playing. The theatre wasn't generating any income when shows were not playing. That's a lot of wasted opportunity.

Solution: We have already received countless requests to hire our space, and we finally have the capacity to deliver a catered and functional event. We also have a Jazz Night on a Sunday once per month, with amazing live Jazz and Cocktails to boot.

We are also currently looking for Grants and Commercial Sponsorship to keep the business side of the Theatre operational, and are in discussions with investors to start setting up a board of directors and changing the behind the scenes structure to a sustainable model. As you can see, some very exciting stuff. International play recognition with a show from season One being taken to the USA next year too!

Our 2016 launch party was on Thursday 10th of December which demonstrated some incredible new innovations at the Theatre, both operationally and visually. But we still need your support to get back on track. We have writers groups, opportunity for directors and actors and designers and a cool space to add culture to Richmond, a place where people are accepted and challenged. its all here. but we need to keep it!

Without community help, we are at the penultimate risk of falling down at the finish line when we have just set it all up to be amazing and learnt what we needed too.

KEEN TO HELP?

Giving by Donation: Anything you can spare. Even $10 will help us towards our goal.

Buying a Seat and a Golden Ticket - $1000 or more: Getting your name on a seat in our theatre is a lovely way to show your support for the independent arts AND a chance for you to shine brightly as one of our biggest supporters. You’ll also get an unlimited golden ticket to ANY shows put on in 2016.

Business Sponsor: see our three levels of Business Sponsorship: Assistant Producer, Producer and Executive Producer. Get some exposure for your business while helping us out.

We realize people work hard for their money and we certainly won't take it for granted. We have a huge social responsibility in running a theatre. We're building a place of experience, community and acceptance and your donation will play a monumental part in helping upcoming designers, directors & actors work on stage and helping playwrights to have their work produced. More importantly, we will continue to give a voice to the unheard, for questions unasked and to challenge modern thought. If you're able to contribute financially in any way, we’d love to speak to you asap.

Thank for your support, interest and advice so far, and we cannot wait to get back on top and keep on creating a home for artists and a place for thought.

Wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas and a peaceful New Year. One way or another we’ll see you in 2016! We promise!

Love, Gabrielle and the Owl and Cat family