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The Little Theatre is a nonprofit organization devoted to staging plays for children. The theater has a very small full-time professional administrative staff. Through a

The Little Theatre is a nonprofit organization devoted to staging plays for children. The theater has a very small full-time professional administrative staff. Through a special arrangement with the actors union, actors and directors rehearse without pay and are paid only for actual performances.

The Little Theatre had tentatively planned to put on six different productions with a total of 108 performances. For example, one of the productions was Peter Rabbit, which had a six-week run with three performances on each weekend. The costs from the current years planning budget appear below.

The Little Theatre Costs from the Planning Budget For the Year Ended December 31
Budgeted number of productions 6
Budgeted number of performances 108
Actors and directors wages $ 246,240
Stagehands wages 62,640
Ticket booth personnel and ushers wages 46,440
Scenery, costumes, and props 109,680
Theater hall rent 84,240
Printed programs 57,240
Publicity 13,680
Administrative expenses 45,360
Total $ 665,520

Some of the costs vary with the number of productions, some with the number of performances, and some are fixed and depend on neither the number of productions nor the number of performances. The costs of scenery, costumes, props, and publicity vary with the number of productions. It doesnt make any difference how many times Peter Rabbit is performed, the cost of the scenery is the same. Likewise, the cost of publicizing a play with posters and radio commercials is the same whether there are 10, 20, or 30 performances of the play. On the other hand, the wages of the actors, directors, stagehands, ticket booth personnel, and ushers vary with the number of performances. The greater the number of performances, the higher the wage costs will be. Similarly, the costs of renting the hall and printing the programs will vary with the number of performances. Administrative expenses are more difficult to analyze, but the best estimate is that approximately 75% of the budgeted costs are fixed, 15% depend on the number of productions staged, and the remaining 10% depend on the number of performances.

After the beginning of the year, the board of directors of the theater authorized expanding the theaters program to seven productions and a total of 168 performances. Not surprisingly, actual costs were considerably higher than the costs from the planning budget. (Grants from donors and ticket sales were also correspondingly higher, but are not shown here.) Data concerning the actual costs appear below:

The Little Theatre Actual Costs For the Year Ended December 31
Actual number of productions 7
Actual number of performances 168
Actors and directors wages $ 419,400
Stagehands wages 95,900
Ticket booth personnel and ushers wages 74,900
Scenery, costumes, and props 132,000
Theater hall rent 121,400
Printed programs 81,700
Publicity 17,900
Administrative expenses 50,000
Total $ 993,200
The Little Theatre
Flexible Budget
For the Year Ended December 31
Actual number of productions 7
Actual number of performances 168
Actors' and directors' wages $383,040
Stagehands' wages 97,440
Ticket booth personnel and ushers' wages 72,240
Scenery, costumes, and props 127,960
Theater hall rent 131,040
Printed programs 89,040
Publicity 15,960
Administrative expenses 49,014
Total expense $965,734

Required:

Prepare a report for the year that shows the spending variances for all expense items.

The Little Theatre
Spending Variances
For the Year Ended December 31
Actual Results Spending Variances Flexible Budget
Number of productions 7
Number of performances 168
Actors' and directors' wages $419,400
Stagehands' wages 95,900
Ticket booth personnel and ushers' wages 74,900
Scenery, costumes, and props 132,000
Theater hall rent 121,400
Printed programs 81,700
Publicity 17,900
Administrative expenses 50,000
Total expense $993,200

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