Financial Philosophy

 

The financial structure of the Moisture Festival reflects the philosophy of its producers, and differs in many ways from other festivals around the world. The purpose of the festival is to present live Comedy/Varieté performance in the upper left-hand corner of the United States, to give performers a chance to interact with each other, and to educate audiences and performers about the history of Comedy/Varieté from its roots in Europe through American Vaudeville to its present-day resurgence.

 

One of the things which makes the festival’s financial structure unique is the “share” system, wherein all the performers receive the same amount of money per show. For more detailed information about our share system, please see below.

 

The festival is incorporated in Seattle, Washington, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. As a community-based organization, it depends on the generosity of volunteers and seeks individual donations and sponsorship from local businesses, as well as grants, to help defray the production costs.

 

Ticket sales cover roughly half the expenses of the festival. This reflects our desire to keep ticket prices affordable. As a result Moisture Festival relies heavily on fundraising and community support.

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How Does the Share System Work?

 

It works like this: 

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For each show in which someone performs, they accumulate one share. After the festival, each performer receives an honorarium based on the number of shares that they have accumulated, multiplied by the value of a share.

 

All income goes into the same pot. At the end of the Festival, after all hard expenses are paid (such as transportation, insurance, theater rental, and food) and enough money is put aside to cover the year-round operating costs, the remainder is divided among all of the performers and the lead technicians. Therefore the value of a share is set AFTER the Festival, based on how well the Festival does financially. It takes around three to four weeks to do all of the accounting and determine the value of a share.

 

Because everyone’s shares are of equal value, everyone’s honorarium is based on how many shows they have done, and not on the ticket sales for any specific show.

 

For a full explanation, please see our blog post on the share system.