The Basement Theatre in Tbilisi, Georgia

Georgia is not situated in east-central Europe: it lies on the opposite side of the Black Sea, in the Caucasus region. However, the case of an alternative theather exemplifies the struggle for survival and renewal amidst the most difficult conditions of the communist legacy.

Background

 

The Basement Theatre is situated in Georgia, Tbilisi on Rustaveli Avenue, the main street of the city. It is located in the basement of a big building.

 

The population in Tbilisi - 1 500 000. The whole population of Georgia is 5 000 000 people. Georgians were christened in the 4^th century. The main religion in Georgia is orthodox. Tbilisi was founded in 5^th century and has been a capital for 15 centuries now. Invaders from different countries destroyed the city several times and it was rebuilt again and again. The city is a mixture of oriental spirit with architecture of the 1920-ies and '30-ies, however „spoilt" by the communist type architecture and monumental art. In the 19^th century Georgia lost independence and gained it back at the beginning of the 20^th century. In 1923 Georgia was occupied by the communists and was forced to enter the newly formed Soviet Union. In 1991 Georgia again became an independent country.

One of the richest states during communist times, Georgia is facing now extreme financial and social problems - civil wars, changes of government, decrease of poulation and brain-drain, constant electricity problems, very low purchasing possibilities, high level of unemployment, decrease of educational development and standards and highest corruption rate characterised the country in the 90-ies. Apart from this and together with it the communist heritage is alive in all spheres and reflected on the present life and slows down transition period very much. Georgia is a multiethnic country, which is particularly felt in Tbilisi. Other poulations after Georgians are Armenians, Russians, Azerbaijanis, Osetians, Jews, Abkhazians, Greeks and Kurds.

It is on this background that the culture of Georgia is actively developing.

Theatres in Georgia

There are 41 theatres in Georgia (until recently there were 47) of which 15 are situated in Tbilisi. Georgia was always famous in Europe by its culture and world known artists as: Robert Sturuastage - director, Sergei Parajanov - film director, Otar Ioseliani - film director, Mikhail Tumanishvili - stage director, Gia Kancheli - composer, Gogi Aleksi-Meskhishvili - stage designer, Paata Bourchuladze, Zurab Sotkilava, Badri Maisuradze - opera singers, Liana Isakadze - musician, Dato Evgenidze - performer and composer and many others. Internationally recognised theather was always a big pride of Georgians.

 

At present-most of the leaders of Georgians culture work abroad and their contribution towards Georgian modern „national" culture is decreasing.

Government finances all theathers in Georgia-except for the Basement. There are two types of governmental financing:

• state budget
• municipal budget

The system of financing remains as it was during the last 70 years of communist regime. The organizational and management system inside theaters remains the same as well.

So, created out of nothing and all of a sudden, in the most difficult times for the century but in a very rich artistic environment, the Basement Theatre plays a very big role in modern cultural life of Georgia being one of the most popular cultural places at present.

History of Basement Theatre

The Basement Theatre was established by stage directors, designers and artists in 1997. It was a logical end of the movement of artists, which opposed a governmental repertory theatre policy. The theatre was created as an opposition of state subsidized theatres by its structure, artistic goals and financial background.

Officially the Basement Theatre was registered on 3 August 1999.

The theatre was offered a ruined basement in the center of the city, where on the Rustaveli Avenue the State Opera and the famous State Rustaveli Theatre are located. The basement was destroyed and the artists themselves cleaned it and built it by themselves entirely. The starting capital to establish the theatre was their own earnings only. In 1997 there was only one businessman who helped the theatre by providing them with heating system. The rest was done by them. In 1997 the theatre was officially opened by the performance Death of Dance wehere leading actors from Rustaveli Theatres performed. By then only the stage and the audience hall were done.

• Total space of the theatre: 400 m²
• Stage and audience hall together: 220 m²
• Number of seats: 100

 

The mission and the objectives of the Basement Theater

 

The mission of the Basement Theatre is to enable new generation of performing artists to realize their professional possibilities in the frames of a free arts organization.

Therefore the creative policy of the theatre is oriented towards:    

• Intensive production life and increase of the cultural/performing arts intensity of Tbilisi
• Support of theatre professionals, specially young in realizing their professional ideas
• International contacts and projects
• Formation of the new audience
• Linking theatre with the daily life of citizens
  

By fulfilling the aims the theatre plays an active role in Tbilisi not only as a performing arts organization but also as a social place.

The activities of the Theatre in these three years have been concentrated on the following:

• Productions
• Nation-wide activities-touring in different towns of Georgia with an aim to revive the theatre life there and develop audience
• Training programs-lectures, seminars, body and movement training program
• Exhibitions and presentations-exhibitions of the theatre designers, presentation and readings of new play of young authors
• Social activities-program for the poor and abandoned children by providing them free tickets to every new performance in it
• International activities-participation in the festivals, tours, seminars, training programs, meetings, join projects

Uniqueness of the Theatre

• The only independent and financially viable theatre in Georgia at present
• The only theatre that opened doors for every professional stage director and gave possibility to number of new talents
• Affective and flexible financing and organizational structure
• The only theatre that shows 8-12 premiers per year our of which 6-8 are own productions
• The only theatre that performs every day except Mondays
• The only theatres that develops social support program for poor and abandoned children
• The theatre with the most active position in civil society development.

Organizational structure

The organizational structure of the theatre is based on its needs and working conditions. There was no experience of organization and management of independent theatres in Georgia before the Basement Theatre. That's why the founders of the theatre created a system that first of all counted on the problems of existing repertory theatre management system and secondly-was derived from economic and social environment of the new theatre.

 

The main management principle of the theatre is to keep administrative and technical structure so that it is a stable basis for the cultural activities of the theatre and supports and growth.

The top decision making body in the theatre is the board of founders. The board meets once in two months and determines the main directions in theatre development.

The executive manager prepares documents for such meeting, where financial, artistic and organizational matters are reported. The executive director also reports about the possibilities of new projects or about needed changes in structure, artistic repertoire, and financial system. The executive manager has full administrative, financial and artistic responsibilities in running the theater and for its projects and development.

 

The executive manager is helped by the following positions.:

• Financial Manager
• Technical Manager
• Production Manager

Full time personnel in the theatre are 12 persons. They cover the following duties:

• Costumer
• Props Manager
• Lighting Technician
• Sound Technician
• Stage Technician

Also:

• Cashier
• Tickets controller
• Cleaning ladies

The artistic staff of the theatre is based on the production activities and other projects of the theatre:

• Stage Director
• Actors
• Musical directors
• Stage designer
• Choreographers
• Musicians

 

All of them are on the system of temporary contracts. No artistic staff is permanent. The average age of the management and the artistic staff is 30.

 

At present the theatre is working with 60 artists on contracts. The agreements are based on their duties and responsibilities in certain projects are concluded for 1 theatre season (beginning of the year in September - end of the year in June). The contracts for international events are done separately. The agreements are concluded according to the recommendations of the Union of Professional Workers of Theatre, which was formed in 2000.

Production process and production management

The stage directors as a rule initiate the productions and the executive manager decides about the time. The theatre usually has one premier per month. The stage directors choose the production team-set designer, choreographer, musical director, artists, production manager and start working. They report on the tentative premiere date to the executive manager.

 

The production manager takes care of all technical staff for the production, while the stage director works with the artistic team.

 

At present there is no place in the theatre for stage rehearsals. The stage directors are given 7-10 days before the premiere date to complete the performance on the stage. Once announced the date of premiere cannot be changed.

 

The premiers are announced in press and TV. Only 20 tickets are given free on premiers. These are guests of the theatre and press only. All the rest are sold. The good old communist tradition of presenting free tickets to relatives and friends, especially on premiers on premiers, is forgotten at the Basement.

 

There are lots of artistic team willing to get on stage in the Basement, as the theatre is popular and ensures "noisy" premiers. Of course, very often the opinions of theatre critics and the audiences differ from each other quite a lot, but performances are kept line until they have audiences but not more than 2 years. During these two years, each performance is shown once or twice in a fortnight.

Financing structure and budget overview

In 1997 when the theatre was established there was no practice of any other financing system in Georgia, except of state budget, fixed salaries and life-time jobs. There was no alternative to the well-practiced "communist" system, neither trained independent organizations managers, therefore, the founders of theatre had to create something new, which was relevant and reasonable for the new establishment.

The existing financial environment at the beginning of theatre life was following:

• The government was not supportive for new initiatives by financing- the government budget was strictly divided among the existing governmental structures, no budget for new initiatives or free projects was left
• The private sector was not willing to invest money in culture
• Only one foundation worked in the financing of contemporary culture

In addition to this:

• The cultural market was highly competitive
• The audience was changing-by age, taste, needs and educational background

 

So, in this situation, the founders determined all financial stability towards self-financing mechanism of theatre-box-office income. The founders, however, realized, that the box office income is based on thequality of performances and programming in general, that is so on:

 

• Quality of performances

• Intensity of new shows

• Showing performances every day (weekly programming)

There was also one more important thing that the founders had to count on:

 

So called "commercial performances" oriented on the taste of mass. The existences of such performances were more than inevitable in this situation - they were needed.

The diversity in the programming, popularity of new initiatives in general, atmosphere of freedom in theatre and a few really commercially oriented plays were the first things to ensure the audience.

 

Budgeting

 

The following financing rule was established:

 

The box-office income is divided into two equal parts (50-50), from which one half belongs to the theatre and other goes to the artistic group.

 

The part of the theatre is placed on the bank account of the theatre and is spent on:

• Technical needs
• Permanent staff salaries
• Rental of the theater hall
• Other needs that are for running of the theater as a whole establishment

The artists' part is the honoraria for artists and creative staff for the performance and is divided evenly among the whole artistic team: stage director, stage designer, musical director, and choreographer. No one gets more or less. Everybody gets the same amount-a leading role or just an episode, stage director or musical director.

No honoraria for production staff (stage director, sets designer, costumes designer, musical director and choreographer) or rehearsal salaries are paid on the theater before the production is realized.

So the international financing structure and audience development are the two basic elements that determined the life-possibility of theatre during the worst times, during the period when no one wanted to support it. However, in order to be supported, one should be really contributing to society and to its field of activities.

 

In 1998 and 1999 press and TV writings the theatre was nominated as Nr 1 popular and most beloved cultural place by Tbilisi citizens. The Basement Theatre succeeded to return youth to theatre as well as the theatre-goers of middle generation.

 

So, the Basement Theatre is an organization functioning since 1999 on mixed funding between income and alternative sources. In 2000 the Open Society Georgia Foundation gave the theatre the most crucial support for technical improvement. The internal and external sources of income for the theatre are the following:

• Internal: Regular box-office income
• External: Irregular project subsidies based on creative projects, role of theatre in modern culture, quality of its production and given on competitive basis by the foundations and business companies

Table 1: Structure of revenues (%)

Types of income	1997 March - June	1998 October - 1999 June	1999 October - 2000 October
Box-office	74	84	37
Municipality	0	0	11
Ministry of Culture	0	0	0
Foundations	15	15	50
Business companies	9	1	2
Total	100	100	100

As it is obvious the self-earned income is quite stable-this part is completely ensured by the existing management and financing system.This is a sign of an efficient management style and a marketing strategy. However, this budget will not able to develop other projects in theater. It will be enough only to keep the theater working-showing new performances including one or two own shows per year and paying salaries, rental or any other necessities. The international projects of the theater were possible only through the support of the foundations and companies.

 

Table 2: Activities

Types of activities	1997 March - June	1998 October - 1999 June	1999 October - 2000 June
Number of premiers	7	8	12
Own productions	5	1	1
International projects	2	0	5
Other projects initiated by Basement	0	2	8

If we compare these two tables, it is so obvious that external support makes theater activities far more diverse than without it and gives possibility for development.

 

Pricing policy

Certainly the theater income is based on the pricing policy as well as those reasons mentioned above. At present the Basement has the highest ticket prices in Georgia and it is strictly 2.50 dollars (about 3 euros) for every performance.

The main motivation in pricing was to find a balance between the costs to run the theater and external factors:

• Difficult social and economic environment of the population in Tbilisi

• Economic potentials of the avarage citizen

 

Certainly the ticket prices do not cover the production costs but they do have economic meaning for theater. However, the price of ticket covers around 35% of the real cost of a visitor.

Obviously there is a part of the population, which is unable to pay full price: they get tickets for a reduced price of  0.25 USD or get free admission to performances. The students of theater and cinema college can get the tickets for 0.25 USD. Poor and abandoned children get free admission for each premiere.

 

Major expenditures

The major expenditures of the theater are labor costs (including social security). The other costs vary from year to year and depend on necessities. But this table shows what the Basement Theater is able to pay based on box-office income.

Table 3: Structure of expenditures (%)

Type of expenditures	1997	1998-1999	1999-2000
Fixed salaries for permanent staff	10	5	5
Salaries for artistic staff	40	50	50
Social insurance	3	12	12
Rental of the building	0	6	2
Maintenance of the building	3	1	1
Communication (tel., internet etc.)	3	1	3
Copyrights	1	1,8	2
Repayment of the building	19	4,2	14
Maintenance of sets, costumes, props	2	3	3
Printed material	2,5	2	2
Production costs	10	4	3
Technical needs	6,5	10	5
Total	100	100	100

The common practice of the theatre is "borrowing money" for producing the performance. The theatre borrows money from private person or persons and returns after the production is realized and goes to stage from this production box-office share. This practice could be strange from the first view, but being aware of the fact, that new productions are necessary to keep the audience and the days of premiere are financially very good, the theatre is able to make this step. Usually the money is returned in 10 days after a production's premiere.

 

Future of the theatre

 

In 1999 the municipality suggested the Basement Theatre to join the municipal structure. The theatre refused the suggestion as it was against the principles of theatre initial idea. However, the municipality entered in their budget line a new figure called "Support for the Basement Theatre" and financed the rental of the building and two performances in 2000.

 

The proposal of the Basement Theatre instead of entering the budget and municipal structures was to create a line in the budget which will be spent on independent initiatives in cultures and in this case-in theatre, where all the independent individuals and groups can apply for financing.

 

An even more serious thing happened in 2000, when the organizational and financial structures of the Basement Theatre forced the government to evaluate the existing system and look for new ways to solve the financing of culture. The municipality created a new special body (commission) for this process.

The real debates and process will start in november-december, 2000. The 9 municipal theatres will be evaluated by their work during the last 3-4 years and a new system of financing will be proposed. Until now 2 from this 9 are not working at all - neither producing, nor showing performances for more than 4 years. The others have huge budgets for administrative and communal costs (electricity, water and etc.), huge portion for salaries and big administrative, technical and artistic staff but can not produce more than 1 performance per year and can not show more than 3 shows a week.

The Basement Theatre has contributed to the changes in financing of culture and towards the change of mentality of the government and society by proving that new political, economic, social, and cultural environment needs radically different approach. Also the future of the theater very much depends on the changes in the financing policy in culture in Georgia.

The main directions in the strategy for 2000-2003

• Producing shows-experimental, innovative performances which reveal new talents and possibilities of the performing arts in Georgia
• Educational and training programs for young actors, stage designers.
• Stimulating writers, composers, and art critics for active professional life.
• International cooperation-participation in festivals and touring abroad as well as joint projects and hosting theatre companies in Georgia
• Active civil position

On the basis of these strategic plans one is most important. It is the creation of a new theater space, which will be another working space of the Basement Theatre, with bigger stage and twice as many seats. The new theatre space will enable the theatre to be freer in the staging process as compared to the basement dimensions and the quality of performances will increase, as well as possibilities for performing arts professionals. The Pro Helvetia Swiss Cultural Foundation supported this new project of theatre with crucial technical infrastructure building. Those organizations and grant-giving foundations that are able to understand the cultural and social role of such initiatives in the post-communist societies also help the future of the theater. Their financial aid is very important to support culture in this part of the world.

 

The creation of a new art organization is the reality that is in Georgia now is very difficult. But not impossible, so the theater finds the ways of existence that should be best in given situation with the real long-term development possibilities. We are not thinking about succes, but we can say that the Basement Theater is a dynamic, flexible organization, having a sense of innovation that will drive the theater towards future.

As one of the founders says - "freedom is the most expensive thing" and we are paying for it.  Best Practice, to my mind, is one, that enables this or that organization to work as actively as possible in given conditions.

 

(The case study was prepared by Ekaterina Mazmishvili, the Executive Manager of the Theatre)

Address:

The Basement Theatre
Tbilisi 380008 Georgia, Rustaveli Avenue 42
Tel: + 995 32 99 95 00
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.