The small theater has become the second largest performance venue in Beijing, but it is still difficult to make profits

The business crisis that Penghao Theater has fallen into is a reflection of the survival of many small private theaters. The difficulty in making profits has become a difficult dilemma for many small theaters. However, between adhering to artistic tonality and catering to business logic, small private theaters are struggling to find cake cuts in the market of cultural consumption.

Original title: Small theaters have become Beijing's second-largest category of active performance venues, but it is still difficult to make profits

. In 2016, Beijing Small theaters performed a total of 6888 performances, making it the second-largest category of active performance venues. However, less than 40% of small theaters have stably achieved profits

. Small theaters: It is still difficult to make profits

at the entrance of Beijing's first privately owned small theater, Penghao Theater

, the 8th Beijing Nanluogu Lane Drama Festival kicked off. Like the previous seven editions, Penghao Theater is still the core venue of the drama festival.

"The Penghao Theater has reached its most critical moment." At the opening ceremony, Wang Xiang, director of the Penghao Theater, made a slightly tragic speech and was regarded as sounding the clarion call of Penghao's "space defense war".

This small theater hidden in the East Mianhua Hutong of Nanluogu Lane in Dongcheng Area, Beijing is the first privately owned theater in Beijing. In 2008, dentist Wang Xiang rented the courtyard house and converted it into a theater. Over the past nine years, more than 200 plays have been staged, with an average of about 300 performances per year. Since its establishment, Penghao Theater has lost more than 10 million yuan, with an average annual loss of 1.2 million yuan and a daily loss of more than 3000 yuan.

In fact, the business crisis that Penghao Theater has fallen into is a reflection of the survival of many small private theaters. The difficulty in making profits has become a difficult dilemma for many small theaters. However, between adhering to artistic tonality and catering to business logic, small private theaters are struggling to find cake cuts in the market of niche cultural consumption.

The game between business and art

On July 20, when the reporter came to the Penghao Theater, he saw that the entrance of the theater was located on the side of the cafe. A troupe was rehearsing in the theater that day.

There are 86 seats, each ticket price does not exceed 100 yuan, each play is staged for 7 to 10 times, and the theater and the troupe are divided 50 - 50-this is the main source of box office revenue for Penghao Theater. However, the theater costs more than 10,000 yuan a day to operate. Although cultural salon activities are also being held, they are all free and the cafe's income is negligible.

"The more you go, the more you lose money." In Wang Xiang's view, only if the number of viewers reaches more than 300 can there be room for profit for more than 30 performances.

The maintenance of Penghao Theater has always been almost subsidized by the income of Wang Xiang Dental Clinic. In the past nine years, more than 10 million yuan has been invested. Despite this, Wang Xiang still insisted on his judgment of drama: refusing to cater to the market and to increase ticket prices.

For most small theaters, venue costs are always the largest expense.

No. 31, Block B, 22nd Art Academy Street, North District, Apple Community, No. 32 Baiziwan Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing-This was the location of the Trojan Horse Theater before 2014, and the phenomenal drama "Donkey Deshui" was also born here. Tang Xiaohui, the operator of the Trojan Theater, also insists on the "artistic style" of the content and is unwilling to "produce dramas like assembly line operations."

There are nearly 300 performances a year. The performance volume of Trojan Theater once accounted for one-tenth of the drama performances of Beijing's small theater. However, the rent in the Apple Community where the theater is located is high, with the annual rent of more than 1 million yuan and the monthly rent of more than 100,000 yuan. Because of the difficulty of survival, Trojan Theater finally bid farewell to Beijing in early 2014 and moved to Hangzhou.

"Rent is a long-term concern of private theater operators in Beijing, which is very troublesome." Fan Xing, chairman of Fanxing Drama Village, said in an interview with the media.

Inseparable from business model implantation

data show that at present, the number of small theaters in Beijing has reached nearly 100, and less than 30 are more active. At present, the number of small theaters that can achieve stable profits is less than 40%.

Fanxing Theater Village, located northwest of Xuanwumen Crossing in Beijing, is one of the few small theaters that can achieve profit.

Fanxing Theater Village, which was put into trial operation at the end of 2009 and officially opened in 2010, has a total of three small theaters. Its original intention is to create a cultural consumption gathering area with multiple theaters and performances of different flavors like a multi-theater theater.

In the view of theater operator Fan Xing, the theater's profit is inseparable from its unique business model.

Unlike many small theaters that mainly rent out venues, 70% of Fanxing's annual performances are homemade dramas. "The cost of homemade dramas is controllable, and the profit per performance can reach tens of thousands of yuan or even more, which is far more than the income from renting venues." At the same time, Fanxing also controls costs and increases profit margins through a large number of continuous performances.

Take the self-made drama "The Loving Love" currently being staged at Fanxing Theater Village 1 as an example. From February 8 to August 13 this year, this urban romantic comedy will continue to perform here, with ticket prices ranging from 50 yuan to 220 yuan. This is known as "the most box office appeal small theater drama in 2014". As of the beginning of 2016, the national box office has exceeded 10 million.

In Fanxing Drama Village, about 50 performances are usually arranged for a play in one round."The early publicity and production costs are the same. The longer the performance time, the greater the room for profit generation." Fan Xing said.

Fan Xing found that after adhering to planned long-term performances and gradually gaining a certain popularity in the Beijing drama market, many well-known brands in society will actively seek cooperation, including leasing venues, repertoire cooperation, project implantation, etc. It is reported that 70% of Fanxing's homemade dramas have brand implants, and business cooperation has now become one of Fanxing's core businesses.

According to the "2016 China Performance Market Annual Report" released by China Performance Industry Association, in 2016, the number and income of self-operated performances in professional theaters increased compared with 2015, and the number and income of performances in rented venues decreased compared with 2015. This also shows that theater management is gradually getting rid of the low-level management model of rental venues and then shifting to the development of a professional theater model.

Difficult to find a way out in balance

This year marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of China drama and the 35th year that small theater drama has passed. In the current performance market, small theaters represent not only the concept of space, but also a pioneering attitude.

Talking about the perception of small theater dramas, senior theater enthusiast Tian Tian told reporters that the audience of small theater dramas is mostly "literary and artistic youth." In addition to factors such as reputation, actors, directors, etc., the relatively affordable price is an important reason for small theater to attract young audiences. The reason is,"usually the price of small theater dramas in Beijing does not exceed 300 yuan." Just in June, tickets for the classic drama "Teahouse" at the Beijing People's Art Theater were sold at 280 yuan to 740 yuan, and it is still hard to get a ticket.

Data shows that in 2016, Beijing Small Theater performed a total of 6888 performances, accounting for 28.2% of the total performances, becoming the second largest category of active performance venues; however, there were 6292 performances in large and medium-sized venues, accounting for only 25.7%, but achieved box office revenue of 759 million yuan, accounting for 44.3% of the total box office in 2016.

"In foreign countries, 50% to 80% of operating funds come from government support and social support." Wang Xiang hopes that in the future, there will be national-level financial legislation to support small theaters.

In addition to external support, the "self-hematopoietic function" of the small theater is also indispensable. Some industry insiders said that the utilization rate of small theater venues should be vigorously improved. In addition to evening performances, afternoon performances should be normalized. In fact, in developed countries, it is also common for multiple art groups to share a theater, which can reduce costs by increasing utilization, or be the path that private theaters should develop.

In the view of Liu Deliang, founder of Xinyuan Wenzhi, whether running a small theater or a performance company, strong marketing power is extremely important. Especially for small theaters, it is not only necessary to promote the content of the performance, but also to accurately target the target audience. For example,"Happy Mahua" has formed a complete marketing and publicity system. In 2016 alone,"Happy Mahua" was used in advertising. The investment in terms of promotion reached 11.47 million yuan.

"Most small theaters publish performance information through Weixin Official Accounts and Weibo, but they lack marketing content that can catch the eye." Tianyuan said that the charm of small theaters is inherently "small and close". Therefore, publicity and marketing need to maintain a "close relationship" with the audience.

Last year, at the press conference of the Wuzhen Theater Festival, Lin Zhaohua, the pioneer of small theaters in China, said that the hope of drama lies in small groups and small theaters, which makes some small theater operators feel slightly gratified.

Editor: Mary