Services & Pricing

Pricing for Shannon Hall and Play Circle bookings consists of four categories: Room Usage Fee, Labor, Equipment, and Services. More info about each of these areas can be found below.

Once your date is confirmed, you will be sent a Theater Usage Agreement which will include an Estimate of the costs for your event based on info shared. This Estimate can be revised during the advancing process prior to the event to reflect any changes to your needs. Your final cost will include actual labor hours and equipment usage during the event. If you sell tickets through Campus Arts Ticketing, ticket revenue will be applied towards the event costs and the balance will be remitted to you.

Pricing Details

Pricing depends on the venue, type of event, and activity. Usage time includes all hours needed for technical load-in, setup, rehearsal, performance, and strike/load-out.

The Room Usage Fee includes the use of:

House Sound System (Public Address plus console)
House Lighting System (console and a lighting rep plot including front light, down light, high sides, gobo washes, specials, and lighting for the upstage cyc), plus an additional inventory of lighting fixtures for side lighting booms, specials, or other needs.
Soft Goods / Curtains:
- Shannon Hall - red main curtain, black borders and legs, fullstage black curtains located midstage and upstage, a cyclorama (cyc), a flown projection screen with masking, and black scrim
- Play Circle - black legs, fullstage black curtain located upstage, and a cyclorama (cyc) located upstage that doubles as a projection surface

SHANNON HALL ROOM USAGE FEE – Rates Valid Through April 2025

	External Groups & WI Union Members	UW Departments, Government/State & Nonprofits	Registered Student Organizations (RSO)
Event Day, Performance Up to 12 hours	$ 3,300	$ 2,475	$ 1,650
Tech / Rehearsal Day Up to 12 hours, performers present	$ 2,400	$ 1,800	$ 1,200
Load-In Day Up to 12 hours, technical crew only	$ 600	$450	$300
Additional fee for exceeding 12 hours in one day	$600	$450	$300

PLAY CIRCLE ROOM USAGE FEE – Rates Valid Through April 2025

	External Groups & WI Union Members	UW Departments, Government/State & Nonprofits	Registered Student Organizations (RSO)
Event Day, Performance Up to 12 hours	$600	$450	$300
Tech / Rehearsal Day Up to 12 hours, performers present	$400	$300	$200
Load-In Day Up to 12 hours, technical crew only	$200	$150	$100
Additional fee for exceeding 12 hours in one day	$200	$150	$100

NOTE: If rehearsal and performance take place on the same day, the Event Day fee applies. If load-in and rehearsal take place on the same day, the Tech / Rehearsal Day fee applies.

Labor costs include stagehands and front-of-house staff, billed hourly. The Theater Usage Agreement will include an estimated cost. Your final invoice will have actual labor hours.

Stagehands

Technical crew for lighting, audio, video, and backstage needs during your event

Rates Effective July 1, 2024	External Groups & WI Union Members	UW Departments, Government/State	Registered Student Organizations (RSO)
Stagehand Labor, Standard Per person, per hour	$40	$30	$21
Stagehand Labor, Specialized * Per person, per hour	$60	$40	$26

* Specialized Labor includes Stage Manager, Lighting Programmer, Followspot Operator, and Livestream Operator.

An event in Shannon Hall requires a minimum crew of three stagehands (lighting, audio, and backstage) with more needed to depending on the complexity of the event. Play Circle events typically require two to three stagehands. In most cases, shows are crewed by trained student and part-time hourly stagehands.

Hiring IATSE technicians to supplement event staffing may be necessary if our stagehands are not available, or if the event requires highly skilled or specialized labor (e.g. rigging, wardrobe). Hiring IATSE crew is more likely necessary for weekday, daytime events occurring during the academic year, or for multi-day events that require the same crew throughout. Actual IATSE Labor costs will be included in the final invoice. If you prefer to work with IATSE technicians, please request at the time of booking your event.

Front-of-House

Includes house manager and usher(s) during your event

Rates Effective July 1, 2024	External Groups & WI Union Members	UW Departments, Government/State	Registered Student Organizations (RSO)
House Manager Per person, per hour	$23	$21	$19
Ushers Per person, per hour	$22	$20	$18

The quantity of front-of-house staff is dependent on the venue and type of event. The Play Circle frequently requires one house manager and one to two ushers. Shannon Hall requires one house manager and four to 12 ushers. Events that require more ushers include events with more than 500 guests, reserved seating ticketed events, events anticipated to be at full capacity, and events wishing to have a standby line.

Other Labor

Labor charges may also be incurred for other needs such as Security Guards.

The Room Usage Fee includes a sound system, lighting system, and soft goods (see above for more details). Additional equipment is available upon request, as follows:

Equipment available at no cost includes choral risers, curtains and other soft goods, cyclorama, lectern, music stands, orchestra chairs, platforms, and folding tables (among others) for backstage use. Learn more
Equipment with additional costs includes things such as wireless mics, use of projector, etc. Visit our Technical Details page for more info.
Equipment charges may also be incurred for use of Union equipment in theater or lobby spaces (e.g. covered tables, a 70” TV)

Booking through May 31, 2025 is now open. New requests will be reviewed in the order they were received. Please allow 2-3 business days for a response.
New requests for Shannon Hall or the Play Circle need to be submitted at least 6 weeks in advance.
Event requests that are dependent on campus or ASM funding must be submitted at least 9 weeks in advance. This allows time to discuss the needs of the event and prepare a cost estimate for the application.
When submitting requests, please complete the below Theater Space Request Form and include as much detail about your event as possible. The more involved the event, the more staffing is required. Even if the theater is available on the date and time requested, we may not be able to properly and safely support your event.
For weekday, daytime events: Hiring IATSE crew is likely necessary and will incur higher labor costs; contracting an outside vendor to provide livestreaming services may be necessary, which may increase costs.
Cancellations of the theater rental must be received in writing no later than 14 calendar days before the event to avoid charges. If the user cancels less than 14 days before the event, the user will be responsible for the entire theater usage fee and a portion of the estimated labor.