A Theatre Producing

Toolkit for Actually

Making the Show

Guides, worksheets, templates, and stories to take your project from page to stage.

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Self-producing
your own show?

Whether you’re an independent theatre maker, an early career producer, or a multi-hyphenate who suddenly realized “oh shit, I guess I’m in charge,” getting a show from idea to opening night takes more than enthusiasm. You need a plan.

MAKE THE DAMN SHOW is a comprehensive theatre producing toolkit and workspace that makes the real mechanics of producing clear, practical, and actually doable, even when time, money, and support are limited.

All the guides, tools, templates, and hacks you need, built directly inside Google Drive so you can learn, copy, and customize as you go.

Step-by-step interactive
guides covering:

  • Budgeting without losing your mind

  • Fundraising that doesn’t make you feel gross

  • Marketing that actually moves tickets

  • Agreements, IP, and who owns what

  • Stage management & Design basics

  • Tech week survival skills

  • Casting & Rehearsals

  • Venue hunting + producer logistics

  • Touring & Licensing your show

  • And more…

  • Guides & Worksheets

    • WTF Am I Making Starter Guide

    • Core Producing Code

    • Building Your Creative Team

    • Putting Together a Budget

    • Naming, Blurbing, & Branding

    • Licensing an Existing Show

    • Finding Your Venue

    • Pitching Your Show

    • Designer Breakdown

    • Agreements & Ownership

    • Fundraising

    • Grants

    • Payments & Being the Bank

    • Insurance

    • Equity Cheatsheet

    • Stage Management Basics

    • Casting

    • Rehearsals

    • Production Meetings

    • Your Box Office

    • Marketing

    • Tech Week

    • Merch & Swag

    • Photos, Videos, & Cast Albums

    • Producing the Run

    • Strike & Wrap Up

    • Quick & Dirty Taxes

    • Post-show Breakdown

    • Touring Checklist

    • Licensing Your Show

Plug-and-play templates
built in Google Drive:

  • Budget Template

  • Ticket Projection Calculator

  • Hiring & Staffing Tracker

  • Pitch Deck Template

  • Production Paperwork Packet

  • Scene Breakdown Template

  • Tech Rider Template

  • Press Release Template

  • And more…

  • Tools & Templates

    • Budget Template

    • Ticket Projection Calculator

    • Hiring Tracker

    • Pitch Deck Template

    • Scene Breakdown Template

    • Tech Rider Template

    • Press Release Template

    • Contact Sheet

    • Rehearsal Report Template

    • Performance Report Template

Stories & advice from pros who
do this for a living:

  • Brian Holden, Co-owner & Executive Producer, Team StarKid

  • Kirsten Vangsness, Theatre of NOTE & Creator, BITS Reading Festival

  • David Cumming, Co-creator, Operation Mincemeat

  • Rachel Harris, Programmer & Producer, Assembly (Edinburgh Fringe)

  • Stefanie Black, Artistic Director, IAMA Theater Company

  • Joey Richter, Actor/Writer/Producer, Tin Can Bros

  • And more…

  • Contributors

    • Brian Holden, Co-owner & Executive Producer, Team StarKid

    • Stefanie Black, Artistic Director, IAMA Theater Company

    • David Cumming, Co-creator, Operation Mincemeat

    • Joey Richter, Actor/Writer/Producer, Tin Can Bros

    • Rachel Harris, Programmer & Producer, Assembly (Edinburgh Fringe)

    • Kirsten Vangsness, Theatre of NOTE & Creator, BITS Reading Festival

    • Tom DeTrinis, Producer & Co-founder, 30 Minute Musicals

    • Bryce Charles, Actor, Cinderella’s Castle and Book of Mormon

    • Chris Grace, Creator, Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson

    • Tammy Babich, Producer & Stage Manager

    • Shaina Rosenthal, Director, Kill Shelter (Ovation Award Winner)

    • Laura Hill, Theatre Administrator and Producer

    • Colin Lawrence, Scenic Designer

    • Ricky Winowiecki, Owner, Ann Arbor T-shirt Company 

    • Clark Baxtresser, Composer & Lyricist, Spies Are Forever and VHS Christmas Carol

    • Angela Kiessel, Bway & Off-Bway Stage Manager

    • Yonit Olshon, Costume Designer, The Walt Disney Company

No gatekeepers.

No guesswork.

Go make your damn show!


GRAB THE TOOLKIT - $99

Who made this?

I’m Brian Rosenthal, a writer/producer
with over 15 years of experience
professionally producing theatre.

Through my work with Tin Can Bros and StarKid, I’ve helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for original theatre & comedy, toured internationally on three continents, worked Off-Broadway and on the West End, sold out a run at the Edinburgh Fringe, written and produced cult musicals with millions of views, and made so many mistakes that I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about them.

When I was starting out, I couldn’t find the resources I needed to understand how producing actually worked, especially in those moments when you just don’t know what to do next. So I built what I wish I’d had: a clear roadmap, practical tools, and a producing philosophy for navigating the chaos. Tested on real projects with real collaborators, and built to help ambitious theatre makers get to opening night without burning out. That became Make The Damn Show.

I’m not here to tell you there’s one right way to produce. Just a bunch of real ones that actually work.

Reviews

“This is an essential purchase for playwrights fed up with institutional gatekeepers and the motivation to make their own playing spaces. But, for many of us writer-types, it’s hard to know where to start. That’s where “Make the Damn Show” comes in. It has all the info you’d need to get started and stay on track in making your on-page dream an on-stage reality.”

— Hannah L. (Playwright)

“I’m not a producer, just a big theatre fan, and I genuinely found the breakdown of the whole process really interesting. The BTS stories were super amusing and it was cool to read about all the creative problem-solving that goes into making a show. I only bought it out of curiosity, but now I’m kind of thinking… maybe I could make something.”

— Perry O. (Theatre Fan)

“I’ve been writing down musical ideas for years, but didn’t know where to start with bringing them to life. This toolkit makes everything feel doable, even if parts of it are definitely a few steps ahead of where I am right now. It really does feel like having a producer friend sitting next to you going, ‘Okay, here’s what you actually need to think about.’ It has definitely taken some of the mystery and stress out of the process.”

— Sam M. (First Time Producer)

FAQs

    • Independent theatre makers & multi-hyphenates

    • Early-career producers making or licensing their own work

    • Fringe and festival artists working with tight timelines and limited resources

    • Theatre companies and festivals looking to support self-producing artists

    • Theatre Fans curious about what it actually takes to make a show happen

    • Accidental Producers who looked around and realized, “Oh shit, I guess I’m in charge”

  • It is:

    • A practical, experience-based producing toolkit

    • Built around real world independent theatre scenarios (four-walling, co-productions, fringe festivals, etc.)

    • Focused on decision making, planning, and execution

    • Designed for artists & producers without big budgets, insider access, or institutional backing

    It’s not:

    • A magic formula for success

    • A replacement for artistic taste or collaboration

    • A one size fits all checklist

    • A guarantee that a show will be easy or profitable

    The goal isn’t to tell you what show to make.
    The goal is to help you actually make the one you’re already trying to make.

  • I send you a personalized Google Drive folder stuffed with everything you need to make your own show: guides, templates, checklists, pro hacks, the works. Some tools might feel too basic for you. Others might feel way too advanced. That’s on purpose. You’re not here to do it all, you’re here to get your damn show up.

    You work through it at your own pace, using the tools to plan, fund, produce, and pull off your project. Because it’s hosted on Google Drive, you always have the latest version. I can drop in updated tools, extra resources, and improvements based on your feedback. No re-downloading, no lost files.

    On the other side? A real-ass show with your name on it.

  • Not exactly! This is about producing a show, not writing one. That said, a lot of the tools inside will help you work with scripts, collaborators, and ideas once they exist IRL. And if folks dig this particular toolkit, maybe one day we’ll cook up a “Make the Damn Script” companion guide.

  • Nah. There’s no secret formula, no “10x your audience in 2 weeks” BS, and definitely no passive income schemes. Just real tools, actual templates, and hard-earned knowledge from thousands of hours making shows happen. And these resources cost way less than a tech week Chipotle order!

  • Even better. This guide is built for weird. It’s modular on purpose: take what you need, leave what you don’t, and make it your own. Whether you're staging a one-person clown play in a storage unit or mounting an immersive musical in a bar, this toolkit is built to flex. No show is cookie-cutter, and neither is this toolkit.

  • I tested a bunch of fancy formats and shiny platforms, but in the end, nothing beat good ol’ Google Drive for actually getting-things-done. If you’re really producing a show, you don’t need a lecture, you need a system. Google Workspace is where I build and run all my own projects, so that’s where this kit lives too. And the platform is free to use!

  • Not yet! But if this one does alright, the plan is to roll out more for short films, digital series, and maybe even hyper-specific guides for things like Kickstarting projects.

  • If you’ve read the breakdowns, filled out the worksheets, maybe even screamed into a pillow (very cathartic, btw), but you’re still staring at your show like “uhhh… now what?” — I got you.

    Hit the “Work With Me” button in the nav at the top of this page to schedule some time to chat (or just scroll down the page a liiitttle bit more).

Need help
producing?

Bring me your half-baked show plan, messy budget, or “how do I start” questions, and we’ll dig in. I’ll give you practical fixes and a game plan you can run with.

✓ A personalized deep-dive on your show
✓ Feedback on your materials, ideas, or production plans
✓ Clear next steps 

Book A Session

Photos: 54 Below (NYC), Dynasty Typewriter (LA), Cat’s Crawl (LA), Edinburgh Fringe