A Theatre Producing
Toolkit for Actually
Making the Show
Guides, worksheets, templates, and stories to take your project from page to stage.
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!
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
Photos: 54 Below (NYC), Dynasty Typewriter (LA), Cat’s Crawl (LA), Edinburgh Fringe