Theatre Management - Producing

  • 9/11 - we thought theater was gonna collapse forever (professor worked on lion king as company manager)

  • Theaters are STILL struggling today post covid, about 30 professional ones are about to go out of business.

  • March 12 2020 - broadway officially closed (@2:45pm)

  • BILLIONS of dollars lost cuz of covid ☹

Ecology of professional theater

  • gravely affected by loss of income

    • Not just broadway but regional theaters

    • EVEN PART TIME USHERS AT THE STATE THEATRE

      • popular gig for students

    • $30M earning for Middlesex arts

    • Budget isn’t even 1 million for state theaters or regional in NJ.

Sept 14 2021 broadway was back (professor saw hamilton 2nd time there and saw lin)

The theater producer:

  • The person responsible for all aspects of mounting a professional production.

    • Includes (but not limited to):

      • Obtaining property rights (playwright)

      • raising funds

        • typical broadway musical is about 10 mil

      • Managing budget

      • Hiring personnel

        • creative, administrative, and production

      • production management

      • casting

      • marketing

  • role has evolved over years

  • today’s producer is more a business person

  • A good producer

    • follows traditional model of entrepreneurship

      • willing to take risks

    • characteristics like

      • discipline

      • self motivation

      • inspiration

      • strong leadership

      • visionary

        • they can usually see things others cant

  • Producers either should

    • have a STRONG BELIEF in the CREATIVITY of the show

    • have a STRONG BELIEF in the FINANCIAL POTENTIAL of the show

Notable Broadway Producer:

  • Margo Lion - grew up in Baltimore, produced Hairspray. Favorite film? Hairspray.

  • Won 2003 tony award for best musical and led to a new movie being made

Leadership

  • Most studied aspect of business. More than marketing, finance, accounting, stocks and bonds.

  • Are leaders born or made?

  • 3 keys to successful leadership

    • 1) gain cooperation of others

      • followers must buy into your vision of the future and believe the leader can get them there

      • corollary of teamwork

      • understands power of synergy (1+1 = 3 metaphorically)

    • 2) listen well

      • gathers many kinds of information to make informed decisions

      • values information

      • creates climate for exchange of ideas

    • 3) putting the needs of others above your own

      • sacrifice for the greater goal

      • disrupt hierarchical thinking

      • belief in teamwork

      • creates climate for the exchange of ideas

  • The consistent quality in most successful leaders? EMPATHY!!!!

EQ EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TEST DUE MONDAY VIA EMAIL

LEADERSHIP ESSAY DUE NEXT MONDAY VIA EMAIL

  • Write about an individual who was a successful leader. SOMEONE YOU KNOW PERSONALLY. Use the 3 keys to analyze (2ish pages)

  • Write about a situation when YOU were a successful leader. Use the 3 keys to analyze. (2ish pages)

  • Put their behavior under the microscope and analyze.

Economic:

  • Allocation of scarce resources.

  • The study of how people and society choose to employ scarce resources that could have alternative uses in order to produce various commodities.

    • Supply & Demand

      • Market price will move to level at which the quantity purchasers want to buy

        • Supply is managed by seating capacity and performance weeks

  • Broadway Grosses

    • Theaters that sold the most went over capacity (standing tickets)

      • Just In Time

      • Hamilton

      • Mamma Mia

    • Theaters under capacity or underselling, using dynamic pricing:

      • Oh Mary

  • NEVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR A BROADWAY SHOW. TICKETS ARE ALWAYS ON SALE.

  • For Profit v. Not-for-Profit

    • Business Assumption

      • Ongoing concern - continue as entity

      • Maximize profit

        • Essential to mission of company

        • increase shareholder value

      • Why?

        • Instead of dow jones average, what about societal contributions?

  • Broadway Green Alliance

    • industry wide initiative that educates, motivates, and inspires theater community ad its patreons to implement environmentally friendlier practices on broadway and beyond

  • Not for profit organizations

    • demand is limited

    • profanity is nearly impossible

  • Broadway vs Regional Theater

    • Broadway

      • commercial entity

      • biz assumption: $

      • show has legs

      • long running

      • investors

    • Regional Theater (LORT league of resident theaters)

      • not for profit

      • educational/mission driven

      • limited demand

      • season model

      • board of trustees

SELECTING THE PLAY

  • A strong belief in the creativity of the show OR a strong belief in the financial potential of the show

  • How does a producer determine which play to produce?

    • Personal taste is an important factor!!

  • 5 FACTORS THAT A PRODUCER UUSES TO DETERMINE A PLAY TO PRODUCE

    • Affinity

      • What draws you to the work? How does it speak to you? What are the rewards for producing the work?

    • Audience

      • What is there an audience?

      • Who is that audience?

      • Is there enough of the audience?

    • Venue

      • Theater is all about the environment

      • Size - does it fit the text?

      • Structure - proscenium/thrust/arena/location of space

      • Location of space:

        • parking, box office, transportation, HVAC [don’t underestimate the climate in a theater]

    • Director

      • Producer’s most CRITICAL hire

      • Does the director’s vision/concept match yours?

      • They need to understand the need for budget

      • Casting viewpoint

      • Design options

        • Both personnel and concept

    • Casting

      • Critical choice of director

      • Star casting - what is true value?

      • To sell seats or perform?

  • Law -

    • Binding custom or practice in a community

  • Rights

    • Power or privilege to which one is justly entitled

  • Copyright

    • exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell the matter and form of a literary, musical, or artistic work.

  • Trademark

    • a device pointing distinctly to the origin or ownership of merchandise to which its applied and legally reserved to the exclusive use of the owner as maker and/or seller

  • Copyright

    • a form of protection proved by the laws of the united states (title 17 US code to the authors of original works of authorship) this protection is available to both published and unpublished works.

      • if you write a script, register it to the library of congress

    • To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords

    • To prepare derivative works based on the work;

    • To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental, lease, or lending;

    • To perform the work publicly; in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works.

    • Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression.

    • Works protected:

      • literary works; musical works (including any accompanying words), dramatic works (including music), pantomimes and coreogrpahic works, pictures/graphics,sculptures, videos, etc.

    • NOT protected:

      • Not been in a fixed tangible form of expression  (ex: totals, names slogans, not recording something as proof or something that you created stuff)

  • Licensing Plays:

    • How does a producer obtain rights for a show?

    • Licensing Agent:

      • “ultimate middle man”

      • Intermediary for rights holder; not agents for the playwright

      • Rights differ between professional and amateur

    • Concord theatricals

      • worlds largest theatrical licensing organization

        • including Rodgers & Hammerstein, Tams-Witmark, Samuel French, Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, Dramastists Play Service, and Playscripts plus many others

Current Event: Nicki Hunter will succeed Lyne Meadow in December as one of the first new artistic directors in broadway in 53 years.

  • Lincoln Center Theater: Lear DeBessonet, 44 replacing Andre Bishop who was there since 1992

  • Roundabout Theater Company: Christopher Ashley, artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse

  • Second Stage: Evan Cabnet, former artistic director of LTC3

Lynne Meadow:

  • 53rd year as Aristic Director for Manhattan Theater Club MTC

  • Directed and/or produced 600 world, American, new york, and broadway premieres

  • created one of the nation’s most acclaimed non-profit theaters

  • 7 pulzer prizes

SCRIPT SELECTION - SELECT A PLAY THAT WILL BE UTILIZED AS A MODEL FOR OTHER ASSIGNMENTS THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER

  • write a one page summary including cast size and other pertinent design/production issues

Working with Creatives

MJ producing model:

  • Concentrated level of Research & Development + Talented Creative Team + Solid Management & Marketing = Satisfactory Production

Research & Development

  • A script for live theater is created to be performed. NOT stored on a computer or in a desk.

  • MJ talks about Syracuse Stage basic script formatting which led to an academy award winner

What is the R&D process for a playwright?

  • Workshops!!

Broadway producer → first thing you do is hire a director!

  • The director is charged with bringing the script to three dimensional life.

Goal:

  • Talented actors elevate the words in the script

  • Talented set designers elevate the worlds in the script

  • Talented costume designers elevate the clothing in the script

  • Talented lighting designers elevate the moods of the script

  • Talented sound designers elevate the aural sound in the script.

DNA - Double Helix

  • Trust the 1% difference

  • Human kind is 99% the same.

  • This was connected to writing and how you shouldn’t plagarize or use AI.

Producing Mission Statement:

  • 30 second elevator pitch

    • Why you believe this story needs to be told

      • Personal to you and only you

      • Why this story RIGHT NOW

ASSIGNMENT NEXT WEEK DUE: Why do you think Streetcar named desire needs to be told? Make a producing mission statement (30 second elevator pitch).

  • 1st sentence should state overall theme (Good V Evil, romance, underdog, coming of age, etc) along with genre (drama, comedy, etc) and should address the underlying premise

  • 2nd Sentence should succinctly state the basic story.

  • 3rd sentence should state show’s emotional and/or intellectual crux

  • 4th Sentence: the reasons why you connect with the story, subject, and/or characters

Streetcar named desire is focused on a LOT of the ideas of desire, destruction, and death. The story, in very short, is about the tragic downfall of Blanche, as she stays with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley, who is suspicious of her past stories. Streetcar named desire is an important tragedy story that talks about both a tragedy of one’s life, and how important domestic abuse, sexual assault, pedophilia, and other violence should be made aware of. Though I am a male, I still feel that domestic violence, sexual assault, and misogyny issues that are still massive today in our society, and have not been looked at or called out to support women today and their situations.

Economics of Broadway

Economic: allocation of scarce resource

(limited resources and unlimited wants lead to the problem of scarcity)

Business Asumpton:

1) ongoing concern - continue as entity

2) maximize profit

Not for profit organizations - mission to not make money but to serve the community

Browdway:

  • Commercial entity

  • Biz assumptions $

  • show has legs

  • long running

  • investors

Regional Theater (LORT)

  • Not for profit

  • Educational, mission driven

  • Limited demand

  • Season model

  • Board of Trustees

Artistry of Lin-Manuel

  • Importance of mother (fun fact, she went to Rutgers and lived in East Brunswick)

  • Learn to collaborate

  • Freestyle Love Supreme

Jeffrey Seller

  • Broadway producer of RENT, AVENUE Q, HAMILTON, IN THE HEIGHTS

  • Higher costs:

    • labor - on and off stage

    • rentals for equipment (lights/etc)

    • building sets, costumes, etc

    • Rental of theater

    • advertising expenses

Cost Disease

Baumol’s cost disease

  • Explains rising cost in labor-intensive jobs like professional theater

  • Ticket prices continue to rise despite performances remaining similar

  • Example: string quartet illustrates the number of musicians that hasn’t changed over centuries

  • Factors

    • Technical charge - labor savings - nope!

      • live performing arts, education

    • Rising productivity - labor still necessary

      • Pressure of cost disease - education, healthcare (labor: nurses, etc)

    • Cost disease is a result of economy rising.

      • Tech advances in manufacturing, food, and transportation = cheaper costs

      • Not in labor-intensive fields like barbers.

    • Movies benefit from technological advances

      • Streaming plays?

      • Next week: National at home

ATG (please see slideshow notes cuz you forgot to copy this)

Oh Mary

  • Absurdist slapstick comedy

    • Started off broadway

  • Bradway capitalization at 4.5 mil

    • recouped after 4 months

    • Still running at 100% capacity

Legally Blonde:

  • US Tour: highly profitable

  • west end: profitable

  • UK tour: very profitable

  • amateur rights: 300-400 annual productions prior to covid

What is marketing?

  • “whole business seen from point of view of its final result, that is the customer’s point of view” - peter drucker

  • the right goods/services to the right people at the right place at right time at right place with right communication-promotion

  • modern marketing phenomena emphasizes

    • SPEED AND CONVENIENCE

The 4 P’s (Marketing Mix)

1) Product/Production

  • How is product perceivd from the customer’s pov?

    • EI: Starbucks

    • what about the value of your favorite products?

    • why are you willing to give up limited resources to get it?

    • Think about Netflix vs Hulu

      • Or amazon prime

      • or cable

      • What are the perceived differences?

      • what about other social media platforms?

    • Establish target market

      • BE SPECIFIC - its your BFF

      • you need to know who your market is

    • Market Research

      • Analysis of who purchases what and when

      • Computers opened new frontier

      • Critical component to determine target audience!

2) Price'

  • Maximize income potential

  • Open new markets

  • Typically low price is consumer oriented

    • More appeal caused by low price

  • High price is demand-oriented

    • Supply is limited

3) Promotion

  • Pre-requisite of the exchange (purchase)

  • Advertising, press relations (publicity which is free), social media

  • Internet blurs the line

    • Is it advertising OR public relations OR both?

  • Good promotion

    • Inform target market

    • Associate desire

    • Enhance positive perception

    • penetrate deeply

4) Placement or place

  • Location

  • Website

  • Simple and easy

  • Atmospherics

    • Physical location

  • Box Office

    • Drastic changes over the year

      • Broadway typically hired family members… why?

        • MONEY

  • Location

  • Transportation

    • Parking, parking, parkingNew Brunswick parking getting reputation like Hoboken

    • Guthrie - parking deck directly across

Baumols Cost Disease

  • Explains rising cost in labor intensive jobs like professional theater and higher ed

  • Ticket prices continue to rise despite performances remaining similar

  • Example: string quartet illustrates the number of musicians hasn’t changed over centuries

Musical theater is the most popular genre of commercial theater.

Modern marketing phenomena emphasizes speed and convenience.

Marketing is NOT selling, its the sophistic alignment of needs, wants, demands.

Experience - effective marketing for performing arts captures the expeience

Define your audience

  • Share your message with them!

    • Advertising!

    • Public Relations

    • Social Media

  • Advertising:

    • Direct Mail

    • Commercial - TV/Radio/Digital

    • Print Ads

    • Social media - Digital

      • Banner / Ad words / social / commentary

1) Website

  • design/commernce/library

2) Ad agency

  • complexity/changing landscape

3) Facebook/Instagram/twitter/tiktok

  • outlet to serve your needs

Public Relations

1) News media

  • publications

2) TV/Radio

  • Interviews

3) Digital

  • Posting/podcasts/blogs/vlogs

Show Art:

  • Image should be active - expressing the experience of the play

DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE

  • Share your message with them

Venue Selection

  • Capacity

    • must be financially viable

    • number of seats has a huge impact on s

    • : joe haj does not produce original work at guthrie due to its size

  • Creative

    • does it fit the vision and genre of the show

      • thrust or proscenium

      • musical - where to put orchestra pit?

  • Atmosphere

    • Best example - rent at the nederlander in the 90s

  • Box Office

    • Function website a MUST

  • Ancillary

    • Technical needs

    • Accessibility needs

    • Bathrooms

    • Parking

    • Location - easy access, public transportation

  • LAW - binding custom or practice in a community

    • Good Lawyers

      • BEST LAWYERS ARE RARELY IN COURT

        • avoid litigation and costs, which leads to a more productive relationship with the client.

  • Rights - power or privilege to which one is justly entitled

  • Agreement - harmony of opinion, action, or character duly executed and legally binding by contract

  • Contracts - binding agreement between two or more persons or parties; a writing made by two or more parties 

    • satisfy expectations and concerns for both sides

      • Who: the parties involved

      • what: is expected of both parties

      • When: start and end

      • Where: place and locale

      • How: extenuating circumstances?

      • Compensation: this is critical for all parties involved

    • Contract negotiation:

      • Negotiation is a skill

      • It can be learned

      • KNOW YOUR WORTH

        • years of experience in the industry

        • education level

        • applicable skills

      • Research

        • Google salaries in the region

        • similar positions at other organizations

      • Prepare

        • Develop talking points

          • 3 strengths

          • 3 areas of improvement (NOT WEAKNESSES)

        • Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

        • ASK COMPELLING QUESTIONS!

UNIONS

  • Collective bargaining unit for labor

  • Establish jurisdiction - quantifiable boundaries for guidelines

  • Compensation and work rules. (This is really important, otherwise you have LTC workload)

  • Theater is LABOR INTENSIVE, therefore LOTS of unions

    • Remember: cost disease - an industry that depends on labor

  • Can be considered a monopoly of labor, but without organized labor, historically workers were exploited

    • Core principle of capitalism = maximize profits

    • Without laws, regulations, accepted norms; greed takes over.

Actors Equity Association

  • Represents stage actors

  • Differs from British Equity

  • Structure is very democratic, thus bureaucratic

    • Committees

  • Oldest performing arts union

  • Stage managers are covered as well

  • Screen Actors Guild

    • It represents approximately 170,000 media professionals worldwide

    • Actors in motion pictures, including filmed commercials/TV

    • Due to pandemic, Sag secured several agreements with prominent regional theaters

      • Settlement between equity and sag

AFTRA

  • American Federation of Television & Radio Artists

  • Merged with SAG in 2012

SAG-AFRTA

  • Screen actors guild/ American Federation of Television and radio artists

    • July 14th to Nov 9 2023 (118 days)

    • Residuals from streaming

      • Decline of netwrk television - reduction in residuals

    • Limit use of digital images and voices

IATSE - Intetrnational Alliance of Theatrical Stagehand Employees

  • Umbrella for stagehands, wardrobe, ATPAM, hair

  • Local #1 - broadway

  • Recently strike adverted for movie studio craft persons

American Federation of Musicians

  • Local #802 - most powerful union on Broadway

ATPAM - Association of Theatrical Press Agents, and Managers

SDC

  • Society of Stage diectors and choreographers

  • don't search SDC online, search the full term….

AGVA

  • American Guild of Variety Artists

  • Radio City Rockettes

AGMA

  • American Guild of Musical Artists

Writer Guilds of America

  • May 2nd to September 27 2023 (148 days)

  • Residuals from streaming

  • Limit use of AI

  • Elimate use of mini rooms