The Paypal button is a good idea, but I hope people won't get mad at contributing and then still having to pay for a ticket!
Basically, here's how much it costs (preliminary figures):
Equipment Hire: £750.00
PA: £1400.00
Venue: £1800.00
Rehearsal and meals: £300.00
Accommodation: £400.00
Proper ticket printing: £130.00 (might not go for this, actually).
Other transport: At least £500.00
That adds up to £5280.00. And of course there are always miscellaneous costs, like wifi costs, stage props, bits of equipment, etc, which always mount up. Plus I may be out on some of the costs.
Frightening, huh? Plus bear in mind that the face value of the ticket price includes tax: which means the government steals 15% of the price you pay (tax at 17.5% works out at 15% of the ticket price including tax, for the mathematically minded).
There will certainly be at least two types of tickets: balcony and stalls. I'm still not sure which one is the best. Plus I might have to charge extra for the first few rows in case we don't get 300 people, which would kill the maths a bit.
Do you all appreciate knowing these things, or were you happier when you didn't know?
Chris