Master Thesis Proposal

Master in: Arts And Culture Management

Date: 12.04.2017

Author: Francesco Grech

E-mail: fgpavia@gmail.com
Phone: 00356 99091092

Proposed Topic:

Business Plan for Teatru Salesjan (Salesians Theatre)

Topic Characteristics:

The organisation I chose to do the business plan for is called Teatru Salesjan (Salesians
Theatre). Basically this is one of the main theatres in Malta and its the most popular theatre after the
national theatre which can be found in Valletta. Teatru Salesjan was founded in 1908 and its location is
in the heart of Tas-Sliema, one of the most vibrant cities in Malta.

Although the theatre has been active for more than a 100 years it is only last year that it
entered into a cultural partnership agreement with Maltas Arts Council and through this partnership
the theatre was able to employ its first employee (myself as a theatre manager). Before it was only run
by volunteers and this is why its interesting to do a business plan because it would be the first for
such an organisation. The theatre is now trying to move to a more professional leadership from an
amateur one.

Working hypotheses:

The hypotheses for the business plan can be translated into the challenges to do such a
business plan. The first challenge is for sure to start changing the mentality of the theatre. Whereas
before little was done to take care of the business vision of the theatre, now through this business plan
the theatre needs a more serious and professional approach.

Although volunteers in themselves contain financial value, one needs to pay attention to the
actual quality of work being done. If the theatre needs to hire a professional director to start producing
good quality shows and manage to make a profit, this needs to be done without creating tension
between the professional personnel and the volunteers who have helped run the theatre for the last
100 years.
The main challenge will of course be that I would need to create this business plan from
scratch seeing that before there was no business structure.

Methodology:

The Methodology for my research will vary from going through past finances, the few that are
available, towards trying to start building a finance structure for the theatre to help it become
financially viable.

I will also try to research other similar community theatres in Malta and check the methods they
use for their finances. Through this research I can see what works and what not.

Outline:

The structure used for my thesis will be based on the business plan provided the Rome
Business School.

References / Bibliography:

1. Anatomy of a Business Plan by Linda Pinson

2. The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan by Hal Shelton
3. Successful Business Plan by Rhonda Abrams