Final answer:
Regional theatres are professional, nonprofit venues that offer annual seasons of diverse productions and are often crucial in developing plays that move to Broadway. They depend on season ticket sales, donations, and support from art funding organizations, and are represented by LORT for contractual matters.
Step-by-step explanation:
Regional theatres are permanent, professional, nonprofit theatres that offer a season of first-class productions to their audiences each year. These theatres, which number over 1400 in the U.S., produce their shows in their own spaces, some of which may include multiple stages for different kinds of productions. Regional theatres are known for their emphasis on both classical works and new plays, and they may serve as launchpads for shows that move on to Broadway.
Financially, regional theatres differ from commercial theatres in that they rely more on season ticket sales than single ticket sales. They often hold fundraising events and seek donations, grants, and funds from organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts. Most regional theatres are part of the League Of Resident Theatres (LORT), which represents these theatres in contract negotiations with various guilds.
Professionals working in regional theatres are typically members of artistic guilds and receive compensation for their work, which includes actors, directors, designers, and crew members. Nonprofit theatres like regional theatres are not primarily focused on making a profit but on creating artistically viable productions, some of which may become incubators for future Broadway hits, like those produced by the American Repertory Theatre (ART).