Because Tickets Are $0 — and That’s the Point |
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🎭 Your Gift Makes the Magic Happen
From the $1 bill dropped into a donation basket
to one extraordinary donor who gives $100 a month --
about 28% of our budget comes from individuals like you.
to one extraordinary donor who gives $100 a month --
about 28% of our budget comes from individuals like you.
Why does that matter?
In most theatre companies:
Optimist Theatre?
- Ticket sales account for 25–50% of their revenue,
- With prices ranging from $30 to $150 per seat.
Optimist Theatre?
- $0.00 from ticket sales.
- Because Shakespeare in the Park is free — on purpose.
Where does your donation go?
Roughly 80–85% of it goes directly to:
Since 2010, Optimist Theatre has:
- Pay the 35 to 40 people who bring Shakespeare in the Park to life each summer.
Since 2010, Optimist Theatre has:
- Prioritized paying people first,
- Steadily increased those wages over time,
- Still fallen far below what their work is worth — and it shows in the budget, not the work.
They do it because…
They love it.
They believe in the mission.
They believe in Milwaukee,
and in the power of theatre to change lives.
They believe in the mission.
They believe in Milwaukee,
and in the power of theatre to change lives.
🌟 Please believe in them, too.
Thank you for — essentially --
buying the tickets for the 2,500 to 3,000 people
who gather in the park each summer to share something extraordinary.
Please Donate Now
buying the tickets for the 2,500 to 3,000 people
who gather in the park each summer to share something extraordinary.
Please Donate Now