TDF Ticket Subsidy Program

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Theatre Subsidy


After a project has been reviewed and approved by a play-reading committee, TDF agrees to purchase 300 to 6,000 tickets during the first eight weeks of the show's run and offer them to TDF's membership of more than 90,000 enthusiastic theatre-goers.   

For Broadway shows, TDF pays $45 per ticket for plays and $50 for musicals, and offers them to TDF members for $37 and $43, respectively. The per-ticket difference constitutes TDF's subsidy. For Off Broadway shows, the subsidy is similar: TDF pays $36 per ticket for a play, $38 per ticket for a musical and sells them to members for $27 and $29, respectively.

In return for this support, productions are asked to acknowledge the TDF subsidy on the title page of their program. They must also repay five percent of any profit after recoupment until the full amount of the subsidy is repaid.

TDF will only consider subsidizing productions with a firm booking of at least two months in a proper Broadway or Off-Broadway theatre (with a minimum seating capacity of 199).

Dance Subsidy


TDF contracts to buy up to 6,000 tickets to performances of companies that have been approved by the TDF Dance Selection Committee for seasons in New York City; TDF then offers tickets to members at $17 or $21 (for dance engagements of at least one week in houses with 199-499 seats and tickets with a $35 or $39 minimum face value, respectively) or $31 (for engagements of at least one week in houses with 500 or more seats and tickets with $49 minimum face value), and pays companies $23, $30, and $40, respectively.

How to Apply


Bona fide producers or managers (sorry, no playwrights or agents) may apply to TDF at least eight weeks before the first performance date.

To be considered, please submit the following:
  1. a cover letter including the producing entity (LLC, LP, etc.) and producers' names
  2. six copies of the script (please indicate if you require that these copies be returned)
  3. for musicals or dance performances, include six CDs
This material is reviewed by selected consultants and members of the TDF Board of Trustees, who then make a recommendation to the full board. Material should be sent to:

Theatre Development Fund
Attn: Julian Christenberry
520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 801
New York, NY 10018

 

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TDF has provided financial assistance to 33 productions that won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama.