I am new here..Do you have parents complaining for buying a ticket for the show? I explain to them that we have to cover some of the costs. They also don't want to pay for video or photos, and they complain about buying costumes. I try to keep the cost of costumes very low and in most of my dance shows we get settled with casual cloths and using imagination.
Yes, I agree, if you are transparent about the extra costs to put on a production (theatre hire, tech fees, costumes and of course your time) they should come around. You cannot be expected to absorb all of those costs.