Jared Neff - My Thoughts

Fringe in Full Swing

2010-06-24T14:26:00.003-04:00

So my Capital Fringe Festival show, The Diary of a Dancer, is in rehearsal in NYC. Down here in DC I am starting the marketing. I started a Facebook group and Mary has her own Facebook page. You should add her by clicking here. There will be some fun updates I am sure.

Postcards just arrived! Thanks to my talented fellow Fringe producer, Anne Kohn. I wrote about her theatre company a while back, No Rules Theatre Company and now they are doing a Fringe show too.

The biggest challenge we face is our 1st show has a crappy timeslot (Saturday July, 11th at 11am). I am hoping we can sell out that first show maybe by giving something away??? Anyone have any ideas on how to make the first and earliest show sell out? Give me a shout or leave a comment.

Update

2010-06-21T17:05:00.001-04:00

Well tomorrow turned into a week and a half later.

Things are busy here. We have Avenue Q coming in next month which is pretty exciting. I am working my Capital Fringe Festival show, The Diary of a Dancer, which is now fully off and running. Not to mention a third project that has yet to be announced that I am so excited about. It has run into many bumps but keeps on moving forward which is so nice. A friend of mine says do something every day that scares you. Well this new project is super scare and super excited.

I have decided twice a week is a good amount of blogging. Not setting a goal for the blog keeps making it okay to push back and writing five times a week was simply just too much. So I will shoot for two new posts every week. Wish me luck with everything and if you want to really support me buy a ticket!

The Return

2010-06-08T14:53:00.003-04:00

I have returned from my long absence. So much to catch up and so many thought! First off the Tony Awards are coming up and I have only seen one show! American Idiot and I loved it. Apparently people think it won’t get the Tony for Best Musical and I think they may be right. It was such a great show though and I really hopes it wins. Go see it!

I am really going to get better about blogging. It won’t be every day and probably won’t be as long of posts but it is back.

Tomorrow there is so much on the Capital Fringe Festival and my show, The Diary of a Dancer.

Mixed Reviews for Phantom 2

2010-03-10T11:23:00.003-05:00

Love Never Dies opened in London last night mixed reviews. The Telegraph gives it four stars and the Independent gives it four stars. Other reviews are not so nice. The New York Times didn’t like it at all.

Phantom of the Opera is the highest grossing musical of all time bringing in over 5 Billion dollars. That is more than Titanic (the movie) and Star Wars. Phantom has been seen by over 100 million people in 14 languages. The Phantom also didn’t see 100 percent rave reviews. So who knows what the fans will think. I personally like the one song I have heard. The album is out and I hope to give the whole show a listen soon.

I personally am excited for Love Never Dies to get to the States so I can see it. I have made fun of it since they started talking about it but the press today and the publicity they have done have over the last couple of months have really swayed my perception of the show. Share your thoughts about Love Never Dies in the comments section. I want to know what you think.

Fringe Project 10 - And So It Begins…

2010-03-09T10:07:00.005-05:00

The Diary of a Dancer will be my Fringe Show! I am soooo excited to be working on this show. Author Wade Dooley contacted me months ago to put his show in for the running for my Project Fringe show. The show I will produce at the Capital Fringe Festival this summer. His show was a wonderful musical about a retirement community that had many great characters and some fun music but ultimately was just too big for me to budget at Fringe.

Then he came back with the idea of using the main character from that musical and creating a one-man show. I was instantly intrigued and loved all the work he has put into the show.

Then there was the whole application process for Fringe. You have to apply and wait to see if you even get accepted. We have been accepted and I have put the first payment in $250 (including the application fee) and I have to make the rest of the payment a week from Friday.

I am going to start a three part fundraising project for this show. My goal is to raise $1,000 to cover the fees involved in Fringe and to help pay the rest of the costs involved in producing a show. The total budget today is $4,430. Scary right? Stay tuned for how you can help!

The Oscars, Anything to Learn?

2010-03-08T10:11:00.001-05:00

The Oscars are by far the Creme del la Crème of the awards shows. They, like the Tonys, have had declining viewership over the last several years. The Oscars took it head on and tried to figure what their problems were and how to fix them. First, they added more movies to the Best Picture category. They noticed that the Best Picture nominees were often leaving out some of the year’s biggest blockbuster movies. Should we add more Plays and Musicals to the Best Play and Musical categories respectively? I am not sure that would solve our problem. Usually our blockbusters do make it onto the nominee list.

Another thing the Oscars did was embrace social media. With their average viewership age at 49.5 they tried to use social media to accomplish a couple of things. The Oscars streamed the nominees live on the Facebook page bringing in 170,000 unique visitors. Then there was my favorite the Oscar iPhone application. You could pick your predictions then see how you faired. They also upgraded the site this year. The goals of all this was to of course get viewership up. But to also enhance the experience and hopefully make people continue the conversations after the awards show was over.

This was the best year for the Hollywood Box Office so let’s see how that relates to their new strategies and lets borrow what we can.

Shout Out!

2010-03-04T13:59:00.002-05:00

I have to give a shout out today to a new company in Washington DC. As many smaller theatre companies have closed in the area and around the country my friend Anne Kohn and her friends have founded the No Rules Theatre Company. The company just started a campaign to help them “kickstart” their next couple of projects including the run of Some Girl(s) that is playing now through March 21.

I hope you will help support them as they make their mark on DC.

Just Network

2010-03-03T13:01:00.000-05:00

A good friend wrote me yesterday to ask for advice on how to get a job in a new country. She has lived there for a bit but was not getting anywhere in her job search and wanted to know if she should just give up on her theatre career and take an office job or try and start over as an intern. My answer was “either.” The most important thing she needs to be doing right now is expanding her network and meeting new people. In order to do that she needs to be doing something. Interning or an office job could lead to her next job. I said go to work. Meet new people and then meet their friends. And find people with interest in the area you want to work in.

It is rare that a job will come find you out (although it has happened to me once). More likely than not you will gain employment by the people you know. So when in a new town or country in her case, get out and meet as many people as you can and turn one of those connections into a job.

New York to DC to New York to DC

2010-03-02T12:32:00.001-05:00

It was announced this morning that Next to Normal will be back in DC during the next season at the Kennedy Center. I remember getting the demo CD at Arena Stage and falling in LOVE with this show. It was also my last show with Arena and I still went back to see it many time.

If you are in NYC or one of the many stops on the upcoming tour I hope you go see this production. From the producer of Wicked and the director of Rent this show is truly amazing.

If you didn’t get the chance to see it you can see it at The Kennedy Center.

I am back!

2010-03-01T15:27:00.002-05:00

It has been so long since I have blogged I feel a little weird getting back into it. Since I have been gone, I have been working on two projects. One is a Fringe Show and the other a real live commercial project for next Christmas. Although the Christmas project hit a big bump today I hope it will pan out.

I don’t even know where to start.

Hmm. I think I will just share the “Obama musical” with you first and really pick up some hot topics tomorrow. (Please watch it all so you can hear how catchy “Yes We Can” is.)

THE BLOG IS BACK!

2010-02-18T11:06:00.003-05:00

I will be posting again starting Monday, Marh 1! Check back then!

People to Know - Rocco Landesman

2010-01-14T12:34:00.003-05:00

Last weekend at the Missouri Thespian Conference a high school teacher was telling me a story of how she was one of the first high schools to get the rights to Les Miz. On obtaining the right she decided to right Cameron Mackintosh and he wrote back. She went on to talk about no matter how big you get don’t forget the little guy. Which brings me to my next person in the “People to Know” series, Rocco Landesman. As I said previously I wrote Mr. Landesman when he arrived in Washington DC and welcomed him and asked if he could meet with me. To my surprise he responded and we met last week.

Rocco was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri and after completing his undergrad he went to Yale to earn a doctorate in Dramatic Literature. He taught at Yale after completing his doctorate before going on to start and run a private investment firm. In 1987 he was appointed President of Jujamcyn which operates several Broadway Theaters. In 2005 he bought the company all while producing Broadway Shows.

He has produced Big River, Angles in America and The Producers just to name a few. In May of 2009 Barack Obama nominated Mr. Landesman to become the next Chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts to which he was appointed in August. His career has been a comprised of many commercial, philanthropic and pure artistic endeavors. He is known to be outspoken and very aggressive in his business. I can say from the few times I have talked to him and heard him speak that he is down to earth and very smart. I think we can look forward to having a new champion of the arts in a very powerful position.

Stop the Rumors

2010-01-13T11:26:00.001-05:00

Today we go back to my favorite new musical with most of the drama behind the scenes. Yes we are talking about Spider-Man. Rumors are spinning out of control and people are dying to guess what is going on. Yesterday the producers announced that the previews would be delayed. They also reported that they had capitalized the show.

Last weekend in my producing class we talked about Capitalization and Weekly Net and we specifically talked about the estimated cost of Spider-Man. These high school students asked why you would ever move forward with a project that has little to no change of recouping. I said, “Exactly. Everyone is asking that question.”

If there is anything we have learned from superstars with problems is that you want to get ahead of the rumors. Maybe the producing team likes the rumors to keep us all talking about their show. But each time the rumors turn in to a dooms-day scenario for the show they have to come out and talk to the press. So why not come up with a solid plan. Announce it. Then if something changes announce the new plan. The press is dying to know what is happening with this show. So let them. But step up and control the conversation as much as you can. Build the brand of a strong show that will wow. Instead of this rumor mill situation for the show that is getting to be known as the “show that never will make it.”

Back from St. Louis

2010-01-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a wonderful weekend at the Missouri Thespian Conference in St. Louis. This is where high school students from all over Missouri come together to learn about theatre. There are also several activities and performances. This trip I taught several classes and each year I am impressed by knowledge these kids have of the business.

Outside of the classroom there were two big questions. How do I pick a college and how can my theatre company raise money. So I will try and answer these questions this week.

When picking a college I think the most important thing is to do your homework. Go and see the school. See a production there. Talk to the teachers and students. Most importantly see if recent graduates are working and if they are not, ask why. You go to college to get the experience and knowledge to get jobs but also to get the contacts to assist you in getting jobs. Networking, networking, networking!

Traveling today!

2010-01-06T11:56:00.001-05:00

On my way to the Missouri Thespian Conference today. Hope to learn something and hopefully share a little too. More to come once I have landed in St. Louis.

It's ALIVE!

2010-01-05T14:20:00.000-05:00

Your budget that is. As I think ahead to the summer show I think of something new every day and that thing could help or hurt the budget. I am constantly updating a rough budget and with every new idea it changes and with everything we spend it changes and becomes more exact. A budget will change so much it is not even funny.

Don’t get so set in your budget that it becomes hard to change.

New Year’s Resolution / Tomorrow

2010-01-04T11:53:00.002-05:00

I hope you all had a great holiday and happy New Year’s. Mine was exciting to say the least. Many life lessons learned that night that will be shared in later posts.

I have been slacking with the blog this last month so my first resolution for the new year is to be better about writing and writing in advance.

Other resolutions are to read more, (the classic) go to the gym more, volunteer more and produce something. I will update you on the progress throughout the year.

Tomorrow is an exciting day for me. I will be meeting (briefly) with NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. As I have said before I write letters to people when I know they are new to the DC area. That is how I got a meeting with Broadway Producer and new Managing Director of Arena Stage, Edgar Dobie. But I also write them to any employee that I know to be new hoping to always expand my network and build relationships. Not long after Chairman Landesman moved to DC I wrote him a letter welcoming him to the area and let him know how excited I was for him to be in DC. After thinking I wouldn’t hear from him, which is what I expected, I got a call from his office. Well, tomorrow I am having that meeting. I have no idea what we will discuss but I look forward to it. Some people look up to basketball stars, I look up to Broadway Producers.

Networking Paying Off

2009-12-29T11:10:00.001-05:00

There is a director in DC who is a good friend of mine and I have watched over the last couple of years make strategic moves in networking. He always reaches out to Artistic Directors and makes a point email them, take them to dinner and meet them when they attend shows he’s involved in.

I think he is a very talented director but I have no doubt that he has gotten as far as he did by the networking he has done with all the Artistic Directors. He is my age and about to direct a main stage production for one of the hottest theatres in Washington DC.

Just another example of how good networking pays off.

Project Fringe 10 – Moving Forward

2009-12-28T11:37:00.000-05:00

I have been amazed recently by this one man show that is playing in one of my theaters. I guess it is technically not a one man show since there are two people on stage but really one person is carrying the show. I have been stopping by to see full houses and am truly amazed by the potential of a one man show. The script and story have to be spot on and the production must be first class. But with a cast of one the gross potential is much high and makes the production way less risky.

You only have a cast of one to pay and possibly a hundred less costumes. I am not ready to announce it yet but in looking at doing a Fringe I discovered two things. First the quality of production was less than I thought and second the chance of recoupment was also less than I had planned. The Capital Fringe Festival in Washington DC charges a total of $825 to just get in the door when all is said and done. At Fringe the houses are relatively small so with a 100 percent attendance gross of a 50 seat house I would be looking of $2,250. That doesn’t leave a lot for actors, sets, costumes, directors, designers or marketing. Also remember that is 100 percent attendance. Try and think of Fringe like Broadway. There will be many shows playing at once. Sure a couple of them will be hits but that’s a couple out of many. And some of them could be flops.

Weighing all of those factors I have decided two things. I want a one man show for my first time and second I want to partner up with Producers who have done Fringe before.

Again because of no one signing anything yet and not even being excepted yet I will wait to announce what the show is and who the partners are but I have to say I am starting to get excited. More to come soon hopefully…

Winter Break

2009-12-21T11:18:00.001-05:00

As you can tell I have been pretty busy lately and not posting as regular as I would like. For this reason I am deeming it “Winter Break.” I am going to take a break and return refreshed. I will return on DECEMBER 28, 2009.

Have a Happy Holiday!

2009-12-16T09:41:00.003-05:00

Today I wanted to continue in Twitter and I came across a wonderful blog called problogger.net. In this blog post he talked about many ways your twitter account can work for you (or your blog) but I thought he made so many great points that I wanted to share a link to his blog.

"Learn that Every Tweet Counts
This is another thing that I speak about when it comes to blogging that also applies to Twitter. Every time you publish something on your Twitter account (or Blog) you can potentially improve or hurt your reputation, brand and profile. This is an important lesson to learn – particularly for Twitter where it’s so easy to post something out of anger, in a drunken moment or that could hurt your reputation in some way. Sure posting in this way can add ’spice’ to your Twittering – but it can also hurt your reputation."

To read the rest of the post click HERE

Twitter Week Part 2

2009-12-15T12:32:00.002-05:00

Now that you have your account and can tweet there are a couple of simple things you should know to help you through the process.

First, this will seem very foreign at first and you will have trouble finding the right people to follow. It took me a well over a month to find the right mix of people to follow and I am constantly tweaking who I follow. I started following news organizations and found that to be too much. They tweet everything including much news I didn’t care about in an hour I would get over 20 tweets from some of them. That was just too much for me but maybe that’s just what you want. There is no right or wrong way to pick who to follow. I have a mix of friends, businesses, and celebrities.

The next thing you need to know is how to link in the Twitter world. You can put a # in front of a word or series of words and then anyone who sees that can click that word and it will show them everyone that used that same # and word combination. It would be like searching for a word.

The other is the @ sign. That will link you to other users. So if you wanted to talk about me you could say @JaredNeff and then someone could click on that and it would take them to me or people that write to me. Again the symbol makes that word that follows a link.

The last tip is with web links. Because you may only use 140 characters typing in a long ink will take up too much of your characters. So I recommend using a link shortening site like bit.ly. This site will shorten the link for you and let you know how many people click on it.

More tips to follow later in the week. Leave comments or your twitter tips in the comments section.

Twitter Week Begins

2009-12-14T11:04:00.002-05:00

Over the last couple of months more than a few people have asked me about Twitter and how to use it, so I am going to dedicate, for the most part, this week to Twitter. Someone said to me recently that Twitter gets more hype than actual users. That may be true, but only time will tell. I think the same was said about Facebook in its first couple of years, and as a business person you would think being connected to your audience, whoever they are, will be important. Having another way of reaching them is also important.

First, you have to set up an actual account. It is easy and takes little to no time. Just go to Twitter.com and get started. They just ask for your name, a user name and email, and you are on your way. I always think being straightforward is the best approach. So you can follow me @JaredNeff and see a picture of me.

That goes to the next point. There a couple of design features that can make your Twitter page unique. The most important is your picture. This will be next to every comment you make. Because it is so small, make sure it easy to see. If you are small in the picture to begin with, you will be hard to see. I also recommend using the same photo for all your profiles, so if you have a good photo on Facebook, go ahead and use it. There are also background pictures and color changing options, but most people access their accounts from their phones and will just see your picture, so that is the most important.

Once you have your account set up you can start to follow people and have them follow you. I will get more into this tomorrow, but you have the basics, and tomorrow we will go into the details of tweeting.

Great Story

2009-12-10T11:39:00.000-05:00

Ask My Frends - Inspiration for Design

2009-12-09T10:09:00.003-05:00

Ask Your Friends Wednesdays is my favorite day because it reconnects me to my most talented friends. Today I pose the question to one of the most talented designers I have worked with. Not only is he a good designer but he is one of the most honest and caring people I know. We always have a blast when we hang out and I look forward to seeing where his designs take us. My question to Michael McClain was, “Where do you go for inspiration once you have been hired to design a show?”

"When Jared put forth this question, I thought it would come with an easy answer. However, that belief was quickly proven incorrect. Staring at the blank screen in front of me, the only text was the question provided. I attempted to write and rewrite my first paragraph. How do I find inspiration, what is my inspiration?

I imagine all designers, all artists, start with the same tools, the same resources. The written word. A key word you hear the director use over and over. Mountains of books on history, architecture, fashion and art. Random collections of images from magazines and Google searches. Music that relates to the piece. A day spent in the park. The magic is how one uses these tools, this collection of information to inspire a design.

Personally, I have a love of books, preferably with pictures. I tend to spread all my books and any additional library finds around me on the floor. Spines open to images I like, Post-It notes on countless pages to be photo copied. A mess of loose computer paper, which has been following me since my first read, intermixed. Most of my notes are one word scribbles, describing emotions, color, and texture. Some notes are questions I’ve asked myself; Things to research in more depth. Desires and concerns the director may have brought to the table. Doodles I’ve begun to play around with. Relatable music, hopefully a musical soundtrack, playing in the background adds to the creative nest. And then there is me sitting in the middle of all this talking to myself, the egg.

To avoid getting blocked by the pressure of turning this egg, my mind, into some magical, special, poetic master design…I talk to myself. By talking through different ideas out loud, I can then question and challenge whether or not they hold water. At times, working through the collection of chaos can clear a path to something tangible. I can start to see a pattern forming from this kaleidoscope of information. Perhaps I notice that I keep identifying with the color or shade of blue, or that there is a reoccurring use of a certain material. I then have to ask myself, why? Why are these elements speaking to me, and then how does it relate to the play? As I begin to isolate these clues, a world beings to develop. There is almost always an image that becomes the jumping off point. One source that is the catalyst for the rest of my imagination to build upon.

There’s nothing like the moment when things just start clicking and for the first time you have a solid foundation. After twelve years of designing I still recall almost every magic moment of a design. I can remember where I was, what it was that made a light bulb go off. There’s a rush of energy that charges through the body as you search for pen and paper to capture an idea. That moment of clarity is personal for the artist and his work. For better or worse, each design is with me and a part of my story as a designer.

Of course there are plenty of times when nothing seems to come to me. My mind is so blank I can hear the clock in the next room keeping time. That’s when it is time to put everything down and walk away. A forced design is never a good design. I’ll look for inspiration tomorrow.

Even now as I am looking for a solid way to wrap this up, I’m blank. Think I’ll leave this ending open. I’m going to take my advice and walk to the inter-coastal and watch the boats coming in and out of the docks as the sun sets for the day.

Repost; Safe is Risky

2009-12-08T10:39:00.002-05:00

Today I was watching TED, and Seth Godin, a marketing genius, said, "Safe is risky." One of his books, The Purple Cow, discusses how to make businesses stand out, how to do something different. We need to do this in theatre, too. We need to come up with some outside of the box ideas to market our shows (and maybe even to use to create our shows).

One of my crazy ideas is to do a show with monkeys. Yes, you read that correctly, a show with monkeys. You are thinking

"WTF," right? Well, here is the idea. You take a straight play and train (or block) monkeys to walk around in costumes. Have people do the voice overs and watch a play performed. Now you are thinking, "How did he get here?" Well, I was thinking of some really untraditional casting. I thought, "How far could I go?" Then I went there. Monkeys.

Now you are starting to imagine plays being performed by monkeys. Yes, you are buying into the idea. Now for the title of the play . . . Inherit the Wind. Yes, I realize all the legal problems with doing this, but think of the potential. You get families that just want to see monkeys and some people who just want to see it for the sake of classical art.

I am sure there were a lot of people scared about the Muny in St. Louis using a real helicopter in Miss Saigon, but by doing that they did something risky and got a lot of attention, and I still talk about the performance of Miss Saigon I saw with a real helicopter.

The point is to think outside the box. Don’t be afraid to go too far. Your friends and colleagues can always bring you back in. But push yourself and see where you land.

Christmas Cards

2009-12-07T11:21:00.002-05:00

It is that time of year. Christmas cards (or now more likely holiday cards) will be flying around soon and probably landing in your mailbox. I actually think the idea is wonderful and a great way to remind people that you appreciate them and their business.

The expense is maybe just too great, though. Looking at all the budgets that are tightening, I wonder if emailing a personal note of some kind my have just as much affect. I have about 125 people in my small department alone that I want to receive cards, but I think the money could be put to better use.

I am going to think about this and poll a couple of people and get back to you. But please write a comment about what you think of Christmas cards. Not from Grandma, but from the business perspective.

Filling A Gap

2009-12-04T10:56:00.003-05:00

Yesterday there was a piece in the Washington Post about the Washington Ballet. It was on the homepage so I clicked to see what it was about. The Washington Ballet lost an expected 1 million dollars which is about 1/8th of their budget.

In a stroke of geniuses and maybe luck, they came up with a unique collaboration with Design Army and photographer Cade Martin. They ended up producing a commemorative book with shots of dancers throughout Washington DC. The paper and printing were donated and the book looks to generate around $100,000 in additional income for the company. I have to say, from what I see I am interested in buying this book. It looks beautiful and knowing the money is going to a good arts organization really makes the $55 seem not so high.

Congratulations to the Ballet and their partners in coming up with a great way to begin to fill the gap and hopefully get some more buzz about their company. You can read the article at the Washington Post and go check out the Ballet if you get a chance.

"And I'm Telling You"

2009-12-03T13:43:00.000-05:00

Ask My Friends - Developing Development

2009-12-02T11:04:00.003-05:00

The other night, at the Opening Night of As You Like It, I was speaking with a good friend about his job in development and talked about building relationships and preparing for "the ask." The area I am most interested in these days is Development. I know little about it and think I might be somewhat good at it. So today in the “Ask My Friends” segment we have Chris Sewell. Chris and I met just a couple of months ago when I was looking for another person to play basketball with us. Chris has become a close friend after the last couple of months. He completed his undergrad at Xavier University and is pursuing his master's at Johns Hopkins University. Chris has no theatre background but has worked in development for the last four years.

“Let’s face it, whether you work for a small, environmental nonprofit like myself or a large organization for the arts, the show can’t go on if there’s no funding to keep the doors open. Development, or fundraising, is a core element to any group’s work.

There’s a skill required to successfully ask people to open their wallets, and we’ve all watched in awe at some of our colleagues as they bring in check after check. To win donations, donors have to trust your judgment, believe in your production, and be willing to invest in your organization. Maybe then they’ll open their wallets. But there’s more to worry about. What about connections, organization, timing, and making the big ask??? All of this detail is important, but it all is a second priority. Successful development starts with relationships.

You might have recently wrapped up another six figure donation for one production, or maybe you’re about to ask a friend for $25 for the first time. No matter what, you depend on relationships to help answer the questions above. Are you asking a poor college student for a million dollars? Do you know the person well enough to anticipate his interest in an issue or show? Can you meet him for coffee to give him an inside scoop? Development is successful when you know the potential donor enough to bring value to the relationship. If nine times out of ten you call or meet for interesting, organic reasons, you might be able to work with him as a potential donor later.

Development is the art of building good relationships. Get to know the people interested in your work enough to make the smart ask, and development can be as easy as your next meeting over a cup of coffee.”

Twitter / $25 Gift Card

2009-12-01T11:57:00.001-05:00

How much if at all do you use Twitter? Help out a promising grad student and take a very short survey. Also there is a chance to win a $25 Best Buy Gift Card.

Take the two minutes and click the link below and thanks in advance.

twitter survey

Brief Yourself

2009-11-30T10:36:00.002-05:00

In today’s age of the internet, it surprises me how little we know about people and companies, and even the day’s events, before we go into a meeting or social setting. You no longer need an assistant to debrief you of everything, although I love the thought of that. You can do it yourself. I am probably giving something away here and making myself seem less smart by admitting this, but I think it is better than not doing it all.

Before I meet with someone I “google” him and see what I can find out about him first. I do that for everyone who I know will be present whom I don’t know. If nothing else, I will at least be able to put a face with the name. This is really helpful for people who are as bad at remembering names as I am. Then I will “google” the company, project or related projects and read up on them. This will save you time and make them feel like you know enough about them to care. How impressive does it make them feel when you know the last show they did or the last project they worked on? It makes everyone feel good, and only takes a little bit of effort.

If you know me, you know I often get lost in classical plays. So before I go, I read a synopsis, and now that we have Wikipedia, I can not only read the synopsis, but I can also get background about performances, learn the origin of the play and read what scholars thought about the show. In 5 minutes of reading, I have enough information to talk to anyone about the play that I might have gotten from just watching.

Take the time and brief yourself before you go see these shows or go into these meetings. It will make a marginal difference in how your evening or day plays out.

Happy Turkey Day!

2009-11-26T12:23:00.001-05:00

Ask My Frends - Producing at Fringe Follow Up

2009-11-25T10:15:00.003-05:00

Incase you haven’t read Jamie’s first post please go back and do so. I asked Jamie Galhon to do a follow up post about what it was like after Capital Fringe. What she liked and learned from her time as a producer. Jamie is a Georgetown Grad and now works in the Artistic Department at Arena Stage. Don’t let the work artistic fool you though. She is very business savvy and will be producing huge hits all over town really soon.

Skywriter: The Fringe Redux

"Skywriter came and went. The Fringe madness peaked and subsided, and I and the rest of The Angry Young Theatre Company lived to tell the tale. Lessons learned, challenges overcome, and a little sweet success as well. So, here goes...

When I last blogged, we were heading into our one two-hour technical rehearsal, getting ready to open, and praying that the Zip Car pick-up truck we rented would be big enough to fit our set. Luckily, the set arrived in one piece (albeit not without some extensive rigging and one slightly terrifying and point-and-laugh inducing trip across town), and tech went as well as one could hope given the circumstances. We opened to a good sized house; our venue had 60 seats, and were pleased to see the seats continue to fill as the run went on. We ended up selling out 3 of our 5 total shows, thanks largely to our amazingly supportive friends, their word of mouth, and some good press. All told we ran at an average 94% capacity, not adjusting for the comps in each house. This totally met, if not exceeded, our initial goal of 60% capacity throughout the run. Then again, when we made that goal we didn't really know what to expect, or what we were doing for that matter.

Looking back, I wish I had found a way to get those first two shows sold out. Having full houses to kick off the run would have more or less ensured success the following weekend. After all, everyone wants to go see the shows that are selling out, even if they don't know the content. When the tickets were tallied and we got our check from Fringe (a pre-set % of the total box office), we were able to recoup all direct expenses. At the start of this endeavor, everyone in the company had agreed to give their time for free (this was a true labor of love, after all), and we focused on keeping costs down throughout the process, which meant finding free rehearsal space, re-furbing materials into our set, etc., and our actors knew from the get-go that this was not a paid gig. That said, we all had our fingers crossed that we would do well enough to a.) not run me into debt, and b) pay our artists and ourselves for our commitment and hard work on the project. Thankfully, even after reimbursing company members for their direct expenses, we had enough left over to pay all four of our actors, our writer, director, stage manager, and producer (me). The money was by no means indicative of the worth or value of the contribution everyone put in, but regardless, I was proud to be able to walk away knowing we did what we could in that regard.

But of course, in the end, it really wasn't about the money (though money is nice). It was about putting up a new play that I believed in, that had something important and relevant to say to THIS community, with a host of artists I respect. It was about creating something from nothing and sharing it with the world, about having the opportunity and challenge to do so; it was about pushing myself and growing in the process, with my friends and colleagues. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat."

Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T11:04:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow we will have a great guest blog from Jamie, who is following up with her first guest posting about Capital Fringe. She will be doing a recap about things that did and didn’t work for her.

And since Thursday is Thanksgiving, there will be no postings on Thursday and Friday.

As for the things I am thankful for: I am thankful to all of you who read this blog and share it with your friends and colleagues. The traffic to the blog has really picked up and the thank you notes and emails I get are really motivating.

I want to thank my Dad for creating the “top ten” logo. I want to thank Dave Inman for all the great photos he took of me and how fabulous he made me look. I want to thank Brianna for helping out with editing every now and then, and I want to thank my guest bloggers for really helping make this blog special by bringing your expertise and opinions to the blog. And I want to thank Ken Davenport for posting on his blog a challenge to 'create your own blog,' which actually gave me the push to start writing.

Last but certainly not least I want to thank Clayton Smith, my brilliant editor. Clayton edits the blog everyday without pay and really guides me when I need help with anything to do with social media and websites. He is so smart and after he finishes grad school he will make a excellent manager in some arts organization.

Thank you and have a great Thanksgiving and wonderful weekend.

Plan Ahead and Save Time

2009-11-23T13:05:00.001-05:00

Each Thursday or Friday I look ahead at the next week’s calendar and try to plan out the best use of my time for that week. With the holidays approaching, I thought it would be a good time to remind you how important calendar management is.

If you wait until Monday to plan your calendar, then you are already probably swamped with emails and phone calls to return by the time you walk in the door. If you plan ahead, it will give you a true chance to prioritize you needs. I have reoccurring appointments in my calendar that prompt me to set the calendar for the next week. I suggest looking at the projects ahead and actually schedule those projects into your calendar.

Top Ten List

2009-11-20T12:11:00.002-05:00

Well, in case you missed it, I put together a list of the 10 Most Powerful People in DCTheatre . Which, by the way, has resulted in a lot of new readers to the blog. The day the list was released I got about 20 calls and emails with comments and questions, so I thought I would address them here. And next time, please leave the comments in the comments section. That’s what it's for, and it will start a discussion.

First off, I did not create the list. Well, I did, but I did through a fair amount of votes from many DC insiders. Secondly, I didn’t want to sway the votes. People thought the Helen Hayes Awards were over represented. Well, maybe they and the people behind them have more pull than we think. But in any case, I did not want to combine any of the names. No one did on their votes, and I didn’t see it as my job to sway them by making that decision.

I think the most interesting part of this list will come next year. Who will be named? Will the Helen Hayes be combined? Who will fill those gaps? Will there be more votes for people who weren’t named just because they weren’t? Will Eric still be in the top three?

Welcome to all the new readers, and I look forward to your comments as the year goes on.

People to Know - George Abbott

2009-11-19T12:18:00.004-05:00

I first heard of Mr. Abbott when I watched Elaine Stritch at Liberty. She was talking about working for him on a revival of his show On Your Toes.

George Abbott was born in 1887 and was a great producer, director, playwright and actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1913 in The Misleading Lady. He went on to act in several Broadway shows, and in 1925 the first play he wrote made it to Broadway. From there his career really took off. He was the original director of Chicago, Room Service, The Boys from Syracuse, Pal Joey, Sweet Charity, On the Town, A Funny Thing … Forum and many more. He also wrote On Your Toes, Damn Yankees and The Pajama Game, to name a few.

Abbott was known for being a show doctor. If a show was not working on its out of town try out or before opening on Broadway, many producers brought in Abbott to look at and help fix the work.

George Abbott died just days before his 108th birthday. In 1995 during the opening of the Damn Yankees revival on Broadway he was greeted by a standing ovation. As everyone was applauding he leaned over to someone he was with and said, “Someone really important must be here.”

Ask My Frends - Box Office

2009-11-18T10:43:00.003-05:00

Today we have someone that I rely on for all my ticketing questions. If you haven’t heard me say it before, you need to make friends in the Box Office because they are the one choosing your seats and can really help you out in a pinch. Tammy Enright is currently working for the Washington Nationals where she is one of the ticketing managers and handles ticket operations. Before that she was at Arena Stage where they won INTIX’s Outstanding Box Office Award in 2009, which is only giving to one box office in the world. She now heads the Box Office Manager’s Roundtable which is a local group that is part of INTIX. Beyond all her experience there is no one more kind than Tammy. I always loved running into her at Arena and hearing her Christmas music way before it was “time.” Here are Tammy’s thoughts from the Box Office.

"A View from the Box Office
When you think of your theater’s box office, you may think of those nice folks who answer the phones, stuff envelopes, & (most importantly!) process your comps.

Like most who have sought to make a living in theater, I’m sure you’ve paid your dues and sold some tickets. But some of us get sucked in, choose to stay, and make ticketing our careers. For those of us in the industry, it’s more than just processing comps.

Below, I’ve listed some common conversations I’ve been involved with and which are fairly universal across the theater and ticketing worlds. So if you’ve ever wondered what that self-proclaimed “ticketing dork” in your organization does, read on. In just these 4 examples, you’ll see how ticketing professionals work with, and think through, situations involving production, communications, development, IT, finance, marketing, and (always) the audience.

1. “For Cabaret, we’re going to replace the front row with café tables!”
· How do you communicate this to all the patrons, in all of the front row seats, for all 42 performances?
· What do you do if the café table seats 2 and you have a group of 3?
· Is the seating raked enough that the folks in the 2nd row can see?
· Are these now “premium seats” that we should charge more for?
· And my favorite question EVERY patron asked...“Do the chairs have arms?”

2. “The run of the show has been shortened by 2 weeks.” You need to move people into earlier performances. Who gets moved 1st and claims the best/most comparable seats?
· The person who renewed earliest?
· The person who’s been subscribing the longest?
· The 7-person group? They’re harder to just squeeze in just anywhere, so move them first, then handle the couples and singles, right?
· But wait…what if those singles attend together?
· And has Devo checked to see if there’s a major donor affected because maybe THEY should be moved first…?

3. “Tonight’s performance has been cancelled due to weather/gas leak/car accident/Emmy nomination.”
· If it’s rescheduled (i.e. you still have 42 performance of Footloose), you can keep people in their same seats. Configure your ticket scanners to accept barcodes from the original date. Adjust your reporting so that when royalties data is pulled for a range of dates, you get info from when the event was held, not the original date.
· If it’s cancelled (i.e. you now have just 41 performances of Footloose) you’ll need to reschedule and reseat everyone in other performances. Adjust your reporting, your capacities, average attendance, and maximum possible income. Figure out how to absorb and report on the price difference when that weekday-only STUDENT-priced ticket can only reschedule for a Friday night. And deal with situations where patrons cannot make another date or are from out of town.

4. “We’re thinking of doing dynamic pricing.” Think airline pricing - the fuller a flight, the higher the price. Easy to say, “Once we’re at X% capacity, we raise our prices $X.” How do you implement it?
· Is it PAID capacity or do comps factor in? (Can I comp out the house to raise single ticket prices?)
· If I raise my FULL price, do I adjust the half-price, student, military, senior, etc?
· How does this affect my group pricing? What if a group cancels and our capacity percentage goes down?
· How long will it take to run the capacity report? (Think 8 shows a week over a full season…that’s a lot of numbers to crunch!)
· How long will it take to turn off & on the new prices?
· How long for the web prices to clear the cache & go live?
· There are programs that interface with ticketing software (www.Qcue.net). Are they worth your investment? Or should you do it manually?"

FELA

2009-11-17T10:44:00.002-05:00

Remember The Color Purple on Broadway? It wasn’t the great reviews that kept that show alive but the lead producer behind it. Oprah. Need I say more? She has so much power and capital behind her that the reviews, which were good, didn’t really matter. The show was actually selling because her name was above the title. There were other producers, and I am sure she didn’t have a huge hands-on producing role, but her name was the only producer's name that was printed every time the title was printed. Stars can bring a lot to a show just by attaching their names.

Yesterday it happened again. The New York Times and Playbill both reported that Jay-Z, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have all joined the producing team of Fela! Now the show opens next week, so I would take a guess that their roles will be more in marketing and capital. When tourists who don’t normally go to theatre see Jay-Z and the Smiths' names on that poster, they may be inclined to attend.

I personally think this is a great way to get a new audience into the theatre. Maybe if they like the show they will become repeat costumers and start to build a new audience in a time when our core audience is maybe trying to save more money and see less theatre. My hat is off to the person that made that deal happen. Watch for all the publicity Broadway will get in other markets as we lead up to and after opening night of Fela!

Think About It

2009-11-16T11:18:00.001-05:00

I often see things in the day to day routine of my job that make think, “Why do we do it that way?” Then I go on to think that it is not my responsibility, and I let it go instead of taking any kind of action. There was a lady at my old theatre who was infamous for calling facility operations about every light bulb that was out in the lobby or theatre. Everyone would make fun of her because she was so such a busybody. Looking back on it I wondered why no one ever asked why there were so many lights out in the lobby. They should also be asking whose job is it to check those, or maybe why we didn’t have a better system in place.

The fact of the matter is people often do enough to get by and don’t want to interfere with other peoples' jobs when sometimes maybe they should.

For instance, look at this sign. Someone had to hang these signs up. I have no doubt they were told to do it, and instead of questioning whoever hired them to put this up, they just did it. Surely they were smart enough to say, “This doesn’t make sense,” but instead they just hung them and walked away. It wasn’t their job to fix it, but just to hang them.

Think about where you work and what things are not working. We should be asking what is working and what is not and how can we fix the stuff that isn’t. Instead of making fun of the lady calling about the out lights everywhere, maybe look at why there are so many lights out and figure out how to fix that problem. Just saying "It isn’t my job to do that" leads to more and more problems. If you make things easier for customers you improve their experience. What are some problems you see every day that you just walk by because it is someone else’s responsibility?

10 Most Powerful People in DC Theatre

2009-11-13T09:05:00.015-05:00

So you might have seen the “Broadway's 50 Most Powerful People” on Broadwayspace.com that was compiled by industry insiders. They wrote, “Who are Broadway’s most powerful people? We put the question to a handful of industry insiders who, on condition of anonymity, ranked Broadway’s movers and shakers for a final and decidedly unscientific list of 50. Is power the ability to get a show up with the scratch of a pen? Is it the person at the very top of the game, or the person you wouldn’t dare put on hold? We let everyone define 'power'" for themselves and let the chips fall as they may.”

So I set out to do the same thing, but with the people inside the Beltway. I asked 50 people to participate from over 10 theatres, giving no one theatre more than 5 potential votes. I gave the recipients the task of naming whom they thought were the most powerful people with no definition of what "power" meant. Half of the people replied, and no one theatre outweighed another, so I feel it is a good list. I should mention that other than local theatre employees, donors, actors, designers and directors who are not affiliated with a particular theatre were also asked to participate. There were exactly 40 different people named as the “most powerful,” but I felt that only the top should be on the list so that we have a list of 10. As it was stated in the Broadway.com version, the insiders have complete anonymity.

10. Helen Hayes Awards honors excellence with one of the most prestigious theatrical honors in the country and also has a mission of outreach and building audiences. It gives awards annually in the DC region with categories in direction, design, acting and more.

9. Victor Shargai serves on the Kennedy Center Community Board, the Studio Theater, The Washington Ballet, and the Laurel Fund for the Performing Arts, and he is the Chairman of the Board for the Helen Hayes Awards. Before he got involved in interior design (Victor Shargai and Associates Inc.) he designed sets and costumes on and off Broadway. Mr. Shargai earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater and English from Queens College.

8. Mark Shugoll is CEO of Shugoll Research. In addition, he is a devoted patron of the arts, serving as a Board Chair of Arena Stage, and the national arts scene as a Board member of the Business Committee for the Arts and TCG. He is the founder of various award-winning arts education programs in Fairfax County, including ArtSpeak! and TheaterTrips!

7. Linda Levy Grossman is the Executive Director of the Helen Hayes Awards Society, the premiere professional theatre recognition program. She has also worked with area theatres and resides in Baltimore.

6. Molly Smith is the Artistic Director of Arena Stage and also serves as a member of the Board of the Theatre Communications Group, as well as the Center for International Theatre Development. Arena Stage has helped develop three shows that moved to Broadway in the last year.

5. Michael M. Kaiser has been President of the Kennedy Center since January 2001. Mr. Kaiser created the Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute to provide advanced training for arts administrators at varying stages of development and has created a series of programs to help train others in the field. Mr. Kaiser previously served as the Executive Director of the Royal Opera House. Kaiser launched Arts In Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative in early February 2009, which provides free arts management consultation to arts organizations across the United States.

4. Michael Kahn is the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. From 1992-2006, he was the Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School, where he has been a leading member of the faculty since its founding in 1968. He has worked all over the country and run many of the nation's leading theatres, as well as directed on and off Broadway.

3. Eric Schaeffer is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA which won the 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award. He has directed many shows at the Kennedy Center, and he served as the Artistic Director of their Sondheim Celebration. He is currently directing his third Broadway show. He has directed across the country and in the UK.

2. Peter Marks is the lead theatre critic at the Washington Post.

1. Jaylee Mead and the late Gilbert Mead are huge donors to many area arts organizations. They have been noted as giving the largest individual gift to a theatre in United States when they pledged $35 million to Arena Stage to help build their new building, properly titled The Mead Center for American Theatre. Their interest in theatre stemmed from Gil and Jaylee's involvement since 1970 in an employee theater group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., where both were employed as research scientists. Jaylee produced many of the shows and performed onstage, and Gil was often the musical director. Beyond their money, they have been said to be the nicest and most caring individuals. Gilbert passed away in 2007.

People to Know - Mary Martin

2009-11-12T11:51:00.001-05:00

Mary Martin was born in 1913 and was a singer and actress who struggled for many years, as do many actresses. She sang in many clubs and on the radio and landed her first show in 1938 in Leave It to Me! She was lucky in originating the roles of many famous musicals. She was Ensign Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. Martin is probably most known for her title role in Peter Pan, which she played on Broadway and later on TV. Mary toured the country in Annie Get Your Gun and won the special Tony Award for “spreading Broadway to the rest of the Country.” She also won Tony Awards for Peter Pan, The Sound of Music and South Pacific. Martin often turned down the roles for the movie adaptations of musicals because she didn’t like the disconnect of the audience that movies had.

Ask My Friends - Living in NYC

2009-11-11T08:46:00.005-05:00

Today we meet yet another fellow Nixian, Jessica Palmer. Jessica and I not only went to the same high school but we also both went to Webster University. She is such a sweet person and her talent and passion make her rise above many others. I asked Jessica to talk about living in NYC and what its like when you are just getting started.

“A few things I have learned since moving to NYC (2 years ago).
Time is of the essence, it reveals itself to you as an enemy or a best friend. Through prosperous and difficult times in the city I have learned that for myself I have to create my own every day STRUCTURE. Structure may come from a day job, a writing group you participate in, or a yoga class you take a few nights a week.You must create a life for yourself in the city in which you feel connected to the community that includes not only the theatre community but also communities such as those bozo yuppie types perusing used bookstores on the Upper West Side. There's plenty of room for you and your 5 roommates to join their book clubs!
Someone once spoke to my college acting class and said, "Be a TONKA truck." I interpreted that as "Do not limit yourself and your talent to any 'agreements.' “Yes, you have to absorb what you've read in college theatre textbooks, in books you've read about getting agents and so forth. However, absorb it, then stuff that information in the back of your closet with your poncho and break the rules, run people over. Who says you have to work "there" before working "here"?
Meet new people (then record their contact information in a database!), read lots of plays by getting a FREE library card, and go ahead... splurge on an AC unit for your apt. Augusts in NYC are brutal!
You may go through times where you lose a sense of your purpose, forget why you moved to the city in the first place. You have to put yourself first and take the time to regain your passion and ravenous need to be in the theatre. It's a holy place. But, it does not need tender loving care. It needs to have the door busted open by some hungry, crazed artist demanding to take it to the heavy side layer."

Musicians have been “Locked Out”

2009-11-10T10:46:00.002-05:00

It has been reported by the New York Times blog and Playbill.com that the Off-Broadway production of Tony ‘N Tina’s Wedding has stopped using live musicians and moved to recorded music while breaking the musicians' union’s contract with the company. This will be something to watch. So far only local 802, the musicians' union, is making statements. The production has recently changed producers. The agreement with the musicians' union, however, says that they will employee union musicians until 2011, even if the production changes producers. When the musicians returned to work, they were locked out and replaced by recorded music.

The unions have constantly increased their costs and have won some major battles in work rules. This led to the Broadway stage hands strike in 2007 and the 2003 Broadway musicians' union strike.

I am all for paying equal wages and having fair work rules, but it is really out of hand and makes it hard to put up good productions by the shear cost of having union stage hands and union musicians. I won’t go into great detail just yet about the strikes, but I think it is something I will discuss later. On this incident I think the producers should have not locked out the musicians because of the standing contract, but right now we are only hearing the side of the union.

Spider-Man Saga Continues

2009-11-09T09:39:00.002-05:00

Yes. It looks like Spider-Man the musical will make it after all. Or at least that is what we know right now. Again, I think this musical is going to be watched so closely be the industry, and I for one hope it does well.

On Friday it was announced that Jeremiah Harris, the lead producer of the new musical, would step down to be the second producer while investor Michael Cohl would step into the lead producing role. Cohl is a known rock concert promoter and I think could save this struggling show.

I have to say I tip my hats to everyone involved in the process. When you start a huge show like this as lead producer you are up against huge odds before you even step out of the gate. In this show you have a high profile writing team and director, huge budgets, people in the press commenting on your every move. You have to keep fighting to just do the job. And I applaud that fight, but more so I applaud the fact that you can step into the number two spot as producer. That’s not easy, but if it is ultimately good for the production, and I think in this case it was, it must be done.

Giving up is never good, but asking for help and charting a new course is better than good. It takes true leadership and a lot of courage. I wish this show the best and can't wait to share more thoughts about this production as it moves closer to opening, which is now to be in 2010.

Twitter Lives On

2009-11-06T07:45:00.001-05:00

This week if you “tweet” you have probably seen the LORT Twitter list that was posted by Yale MFA Student Devon Smith. Theatres that did well on the list are tweeting about how they did and I am sure the lower ranking ones are waking up and taking a real hard look at how they are doing not only with Twitter but social media in general. In the past month, four very smart people from the leaderships of various companies have come to me and said show me how to use twitter. I am not the best tweeter but I understand the basics and frankly once you practice it just isn’t that hard.

Number four on the “LORT Twitter Index” was Arena Stage. I think they are probably the best in the DC area about social media. They have a blog that is constantly updated and contains exciting stuff. They have YouTube channel that has great videos and is very well branded. They have a great Twitter account according to the list and most importantly they interact with their audience through these forms of media.

In a week they will be having a scavenger hunt that will be organized through Twitter and Facebook. It will take people on a journey through DC and I would imagine to the Lincoln Theatre where their production of The Fantasticks will be playing. The prize is actually a great one too, four tickets to opening night of The Fantasticks and a restaurant gift certificate for four.

Social media is more than just having a Twitter account and Facebook page but knowing how to take those tools and use them to interact with your audience.

People to Know - Joseph Papp

2009-11-05T10:36:00.003-05:00

Here is a producer after my own heart. Joseph Papp was born in 1921 in Brooklyn to Jewish immigrants. He went on to be one of the most well known and respected producers in history. Papp had a true passion for Shakespeare and tried promoting his idea that there should be free Shakespeare in New York for years when he finally produced and directed Taming of the Shew on the Lower East Side in 1956. He was praised by Brooks Atkinson with a great review in the New York Times, and then his idea took off. And so the New York Shakespeare Festival began. He later moved the festival to Central Park at the Delacorte Theatre, where they still perform today.

After his success with the Shakespeare Festival he wanted to find a home where he could produce year round. In 1967 he created the Public Theatre to produce new and lesser know plays. His first big Broadway transfer was Hair, and because he did stay on as producer of Hair he received no financial benefits. This lesson learned, he went on to produce A Chorus Line and used the money to help fund his other theatres and even help start and run some Off-Broadway Theatres. He also helped produce The Pirates of Penzance, which I discovered has been produced on Broadway 26 times.

He also lead the way in non-traditional casting by using people of all colors in his plays and got involved in gay rights when Congress imposed conservative provisions on the National Endowment for the Arts and produced The Normal Heart, which discussed homophobia and the neglect of the AIDS crisis.

As a producer he brought so much talent, both directorial and in casting, that the lists could go on and on. I wish more producers would take interest in non-profits they way he did. He was able to accomplish so much with the funds from his few Broadway hits, it makes me wonder who will be the next producer to not only produce hits on Broadway, but get really involved in producing lots of theatre and lots of affordable theatre. Someone said Merrick was probably my hero, but I think so far I would have to say Joseph Papp is my hero.

Ask My Friends – Directing

2009-11-04T07:54:00.004-05:00

Edward Coffield was one of the first people at Webster I really looked up to. He was funny, nice and very smart. He was a professor of mine at Webster University and the Production Manager at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. At the time I knew little about his ambitions to direct, although he had been directing around town a fair amount. Since then he has gone on to direct many more shows in St. Louis and even nominated for a Kevin Kline Award for his outstanding direction of Door to Door. He has worked as the La Jolla Playhouse, the Alley Theatre and many other theatres across the country. It is an honor for me to have someone I respect so much writing a guest posting. I asked Edward to write about directing and how he got into it.

“But what I really want to do is direct.”

This expression has of course taken on a slight wink with people who work in the theatre, but I never intended to direct, I swear I didn’t.

I always wanted to produce. Like many of us in the theatre I have a small, delicate, fragile ego, so when at the age of seven I suddenly understood billing and realized the producer’s name goes at the top of the marquee – well, my sights were set on producing.

Over the years, I have done a lot of things in the biz. I was a stage manger for a long time and then moved into production management. Along the way I have produced various things. Most recently I had the great pleasure of producing The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. I have loved all these jobs, and they have served me well.

So how did I become a director?

Originally, I started out getting hired to re-mount shows that I had been the PSM for. Technically, I suppose, that was not directing, but it was a foot in the door. At some point someone hired me to direct a show that I had not been attached to before. I cannot say I didn’t know what I was doing -- but I will say that I have learned a great deal since then. I was lucky enough to direct in theatres with big hearts but low profiles, where I could fall on my face and the theatre world at large would never know.

At this point, I have been fortunate to direct many shows for numerous theatre companies. With no formal training as a director, I have learned a great deal by absorption – learning by doing. I also have spent thousands of hours in rehearsal watching some amazing director’s work. That has been a wonderful gift.

My successes have been great, and the failures have provided even greater lessons. I used to panic about the fact that I simply don’t understand how actors do their craft. I admire them, I adore them and I am in awe of them, but I cannot make them better actors. I am honest about that and recommend that if they need help with acting, they go get a coach. My job is to tell the story.

I seem to have a good sense for casting, and that is another gift I do not take for granted. Like many of us, I had a brief stint in front of the footlights. As I recall, I was on stage in a bunny costume, and even at the age of six, I knew the other bunny was a better actor!

I have spent a great deal of my directing career helming musicals and comedies, two genres I adore. I have already discovered that directors can be pigeon-holed, just like actors. If a producer knows you understand comedy, you are not going to get an offer to direct The Normal Heart. I seem to intellectually and emotionally understand comedy. I don’t take that skill for granted -- ever. I am a funny person, but I am not convinced that makes me able to direct comedies.

As for musicals, I was raised on them, and I believe -- as Mr. Laurents espouses -- it has to be in your bones. When most children were playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians, I was playing Hello, Dolly and South Pacific!

Last summer, I directed my first drama for a wonderful theatre company in St. Louis called The Orange Girls. They had invited me to direct Donald Margulies’ play Collected Stories, an intense two-hander with great roles for two actresses. I found it challenging in a totally different way. There are about three laughs in the script, and I knew how to handle those. But riding to “the dark side” was tremendous and scary and gratifying. I found that all those comedies I had directed had taught me a lot about drama -- drama is about timing in the same way that comedy is.

I have learned so much from other directors (thank you to Mr. Woolf, Mr. Barnes, Ms. Gregg, Mr. Mason), but the utmost surprise is what I have learned from the directing students who have assisted me (Shelley, Nick, Kaitlyn et al). They have been superior guides. I was always a very good storyteller, and as my friends and colleagues will tell you, I am not afraid to embellish. But I have learned from these student directors how to be a student of directing.

Now I have learned how to read a play. More importantly, I have learned how to research a play. I also have learned at what point to set all the research aside and tell the story. The director’s job is simply to tell the story with gusto, heart and tempo.

In the last year, directing for me has clicked, and I have become comfortable with it. This of course has made me understand that I have only just begun. Directing is a skill that builds over time and a craft that always offers new lessons. I am very lucky.”

My 23 Hour Day

2009-11-03T12:20:00.002-05:00

I have done many exciting shows in my life. The most exciting are actually not theatre but more in the concert or speaking category. I have worked on concerts like Maria Carey, Pearl Jam, and even David Copperfield (oh, the stories there). Last week I worked on my biggest event here at the Harman Center with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I worked for two jam-packed days to get ready for their speech on Global Health. If you have the time you should watch the speech.

The first day I ended up working 23 hours in a day. I had many questions about why, and I thought I would share the insight to why I made that decision. Looking back I don’t know that there is anything that I would have done differently.

The day was scheduled to start at 3:30am with the arrival of catering. At about 4:30am the Technical Director for the event company arrived. I felt that it was extremely important that I be there in the beginning of the day to meet the senior staff from the Gates Foundation and make sure things were off to a good start. Luckily for me, they were. The plan was that my assistant would come in to work part of the day with me and then go and run the other event in our second theatre. We would both be ending about the same time (midnight), and he would take the morning shift the second day so I could be well rested for the actual event, which we would both work. Then I could stay for the strike, as I was coming in at noon. Sounded like a great plan, right? Well it was, but no one counted on the video not being ready. With 6 high powered projectors, overlapping the alignment of the projectors was crucial. The projection team had to stay to get everything ready so that we did not cut into the tech / rehearsal time of day two. So I decided to stay with them, knowing I could sleep in the second day.

Would I have done anything different to not work a 23 hour day? Maybe not booked the second event at the other theatre so my assistant could have been in my place. The show must go on, as they say, and the projectors had to get aligned to not take up the second day tech time. There's not much that could have been done. When you are managing things, you sometimes have to work extra to get the project done. All good managers will work until the job is done. And to balance my work life schedule, I will be taking this Friday off to make up for all the extra hours.

Entertainment Review: This Is It

2009-11-02T10:36:00.002-05:00

This is the first review I have done because it can get a little touchy reviewing local theatre when I have the job I have. However, there is something I think you should see, and so I will share my thoughts.

This Is It, the new Michael Jackson concert documentary, is great. I have overheard people say it is not really him or that it is bad. Both are false. Because this footage was not meant to be seen by the public, director Kenny Ortega has to piece together several days to get different shots. There are no great camera shots by movie standards, but it gives you an up close and personal look at the brilliance that Michael Jackson has as a performer. Whatever you may think about his personal life, after seeing this movie you will have no doubt about the artistic genius and leadership he takes on in his concerts. You can see him work over and over until he gets everything right. He settles for nothing but perfection.

There are some cheesy moments where I think Ortega wanted you to see all his hard pre-filming work for the concert that was not necessary. But overall, this is a must-see movie.

There is only a little over a week of this film left, and I have to recommend that you go and see this in theatres where the sound and size of the show are as close as we will ever get to see the concert.

If you have seen the movie please leave your comments below because I am interested in what others have thought.

Be Proud

2009-10-30T13:10:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I had an great dinner with one of the smartest people I know. She was a professor of mine at Webster University. In such a ego driven and competitive business it is often that we as students fill like failures if we don’t win the Tony or if we God-forbid get out of theatre and do something else with our lives.

Even I am guilty of constantly worrying about what people think of me. I have gotten better but it still plays a role in my life. When I was laid off last year I felt like a huge failure. It took me a week to get the nerve to call my mentor and tell him what had happened. I don’t why but I thought he would be disappointed or whatever but instead he was encouraging and supportive. We often build up these things in our heads that simply are not true.

At dinner last night Dottie said we just want you to be healthy and happy. We don’t care if you stay in theatre as long as you’re happy and a productive citizen. I just wanted to share that nugget of wisdom to everyone who worries as much as I do. Be proud of who you are and what you are doing.

People to Know - Federal Theatre Project

2009-10-29T12:47:00.000-04:00

Today’s is not realty a person but a Project. During the last economic downturn President Franklin Roosevelt created the New Deal which was meant to create lots of jobs as quick as possible. The Great Depression devastated America and Roosevelt wanted to make sure artists, actors, directors and writers. And so we have the Federal Theatre Project which was created in 1935.

The Federal Theatre Project was also intended to bring arts all over the country and to poorer families. The biggest part of the project was Living Newspapers which took current events from newspaper clippings and turned them into plays. Most of the topics focused around farm policy and were know to be very liberal. This is what made them so controversial in congress and ultimately killed the project.

There were many notable people like Arthur Miller and Orson Welles who got there start in the Project. The Federal Theatre Project came to an end in 1939 when congress stopped funding because of the left-wing spin that most of the projects had.

Ask My Friends - Organizing Your Tax Portfolio

2009-10-28T00:29:00.000-04:00

It is Ask My Friends again, and today is a great post. Something we should ALL pay attention too. I am the worst about this, and I think I could be missing out on saving money. Gary Castaneda and I worked together at Cedar Point several years ago, and he is one of the sweetest guys I know. He was asked back to teach workshops at Cedar Point, and one of his workshops when I was there was about Taxes. Gary has performed on cruise lines and toured the country with several productions (one of them Miss Saigon). With the year coming to an end soon, it is almost tax time and I thought it would be great to get tips on taxes so we as artist could save money. So I simply asked Gary to give us some tax tips.

"Doing taxes every year is about as much fun as having a colonoscopy. You can put it off as long as you can - but in the end you just have suck it up and get it where the sun doesn’t shine and move on to bigger and better things. Procrastination is a serious disease that can lead to the destruction of your economic health. I encourage you to face these tax fears & phobias head-on and get organized little by little. This is the key to make your April 15th Tax Day Deadline less painful so you can get out there and have more fun (or actually get a colonoscopy).

1. Invest in an Accordion File: This is a Tax-Time office supply staple. You can make fun decorative tabs where you can separate your receipts by category and include: Travel, Food, Make-up/Hair, Promotional Materials, Classes/Lessons, Equipment, Office Supplies, and Postage to name a few tab headings. Don’t go super-detailed or crazy. At the end of the year, add up the total, write it on an envelope and throw the receipts inside. This will prepare your line-item deductions for your tax preparer and they won’t kill you for handing them a shoebox full of random receipts.

2. Keep a Date Book/Journal: This is where you can list auditions attended, meetings with agents, casting directors, etc. You should be able to recall the circumstances for all your appointments to justify why you spent $40.00 to take out your vocal coach for drinks to get the inside scoop on an upcoming audition. You can also keep track of your mileage, out-of-town auditions & miscellaneous business expenses in this space as well. Furthermore, this “mini-scrapbook” is a great way to look back on your year to see your progress within your craft or to find out where you need more work.

3. Keep a File of Pay Stubs & Tax Forms from Employers: Most performers have several jobs within a year and keeping track of them is a task in itself. Hold on to all your Pay Stubs and use this as a checklist to ensure you have every tax form (W-2, 1099, etc.) from all your employers at the end of the year.

4. Find a Tax Preparer Experienced with the Arts: Theatre performers have special needs and it is essential to have a tax preparer you can trust and who can answer your questions in plain English. Asking friends for referrals or inquiring whom they employ to process their taxes is a great way to find a good candidate.

5. Safeguard your Information: Keep filed tax returns in a safe place for several years. It will help to have your last year’s tax return on hand to help with filing the following year’s paperwork (why invent the wheel twice). However, when you do decide to purge your mountain of paperwork (after the tax people say its okay) you should opt to shred the materials utilizing a paper shredder to safeguard your identity. It would really suck to find an identity bandit living it up in Mexico City on your dime.

Money is the easiest way to obtain the essential things in life: like food, shelter and tickets to see Patty Lupone in concert. Keeping it all straight and organized is one way to continue on the path of making it in a business where skins are tough, competition is high and the odds are never in your favor. However, keeping your eyes on some of the business essentials of money and finances will help extend your long and healthy performing arts careers. I wish you many “broken-legs” in your future!"

What I Learned at the Summit – Part 2

2009-10-27T14:37:00.000-04:00

“They Call It A Job For A Reason.” This is what the Publisher of the Washington Blade said in a workshop as she referred to our generation and our attitude toward work. I was the youngest person in the room and I wanted to stand up and say, “Excuse me?” But I knew that she was partly- well maybe more than partly- right. I don’t think I am as lazy as some but I do think our generation expects to have things handed to them. They expect to have Facebook time at work. They expect to have weekends off and not stay late.

I'm not saying that I have never been guilty of wanting to skip out early. But then again, I think of all the times we put so much time and energy into a company to just be let down. Take Arena Stage for instance; I worked so many hours and put in so much extra time because I loved the job but more importantly because I truly cared about the company and my work there. Was it life or death if I didn’t finish the budget reports on time? No. But I personally just couldn’t let them sit undone. And then the company hit on hard times and I was laid off. I was even more heartbreaking because I had tried so hard while I was there. Many days when I was sick I would come in only so I would not let the team down.

My point is that while we should care about our work and try our best, there is a point that you have to reach a work-life balance. Don’t expect your boss to make your job easy. Expect him to challenge you, test you and most importantly, make you a better employee and person. Put in the hours without sacrificing your sanity.

Lynne Brown, the Publisher of the Blade, said she could host a whole panel on “our generation” and our work ethic. When I sat next to her later in the day I asked her about that and said I would love to be a part of that panel. Are we lazy? Or are we just smarter about work / life balance? I am really curious to hear your thoughts.

What I Learned at the Summit – Part 1

2009-10-26T10:39:00.001-04:00

This weekend was the 3rd Annual GLBT Economic Summit in Washington, DC. This was my second year in attendance and I learned so much again I thought I would share the big points in a couple of blog posts. The Summit is put on by the Office of GLBT Affairs, the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development for Washington DC, the Washington Economic Partnership and PEN- Metro DC’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce. As you can see, this Summit was no joke.

One of the Keynote Speakers was Harriet Tregoning the Director of the Office of Planning. Right away I sat there and thought, I will probably learn some business stuff but tying this into theatre is going to be tough. Then she delivered her keynote and she spoke about how DC should and can grow highlighting three ways to do so, Green Jobs, Retail and the Arts. Yes, the Arts took on a pretty big role in her speech. In fact she mentioned my company by name twice and she didn’t just talk about the big theatres but addressed smaller ones like the Fringe Festival and the Atlas Theatre.

She highlighted that in DC there are over 75,000 “creative” jobs. Which are everything from museums to media to theatre. She also said that of those jobs about 5,200 were in the performing arts. Most of the jobs were in media and communications in DC. In fact almost half of the creative jobs were in media.

Tregoning spoke about how we need the arts everywhere and how important they were to a thriving community. She said that the arts brought business to areas and helped with restaurants and retail. She encouraged us to think of creative ways to use empty space in the city and talked about having a rehearsal in a store front or even someone painting portraits and how that was more interesting than just an abandoned store front.

Why was I so excited about her speech? Because this room was full of business men and women, most of whom had nothing to do with the arts. Yet here stood someone from the planning office taking one third of her speech to discuss how the arts impact and should be thought of when planning the city.

Bonus – Tree Tweeting – She also was asked about trees in the city and she mentioned that you are responsible for watering any trees in front of your house even if it is not directly on your property. She went on to say that they are working on having your trees tweet you. This way you are reminded if the tree has not gotten rain in a while that you should water it. I just thought that was neat and had to share. More from the summit tomorrow.

The More You Know

2009-10-23T10:23:00.000-04:00

I am always looking to learn more about theatre and there are many ways to do so. The American Theatre Wing presents the Tony Awards every year but they do more than present the Tony Awards. They actually have one of, if not the best educational materials about theatre and Broadway. They have videos, podcast and more. If you are bored at work or at home take a look at what they have to offer. And if you are as busy as I am then just book mark it and come back. There are some really great video here. Happy Friday!

People to Know - Gwen Verdon

2009-10-22T11:13:00.000-04:00

Gwen Verdon was know as the best dancer on Broadway during the 1950’s and 1960’s, which was far from what her parents would have ever dreamed since she was affected with rickets. (Rickets is a softening of bones in children that potentially leads to fractures and deformity.) She was called “Gimpy” by the other kids and spent her early years in orthopedic boots. Her parents, both in show business themselves, put Gwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon in ballet class to help strengthen her legs. By age 11 she was already in her first film as a solo ballerina in The King Steps Out.

Verdon’s first major job was assisting choreographer Jack Cole and teaching dance. Some of her students during that time were Jane Russell, Gene Kelly, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe. She was in many choruses on Broadway, but her first big break was in Can-Can by Cole Porter in 1953. She then went on to lead many musicals; Lola in Damn Yankees, Charity in Sweet Charity, and Roxie in Chicago. By this time she was in married to Bob Fosse. Verdon went on to continue her movie career later in life, working with Woody Allen and Meryl Streep.

I have to say I learn a lot each time a write these posts, and they are really paying off. The most interesting thing that I didn’t know was that Gwen was on the Ed Sullivan Show performing Fosse’s choreography to a song titled "Mexican Breakfast," and that dance was updated and responsible for Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" dance that you see everywhere on YouTube. I even found a clip of the two dances side by side.

Ask My Frends - Off to College

2009-10-21T11:02:00.000-04:00

If you read my post on Monday you know I teach at the Missouri State Thespian Conference every year. Last year I met a bright up and coming student who is one of the best networkers from all my years teaching. He stays in touch with me and always lets me know what he is up to. His name is James Hesse and he is currently a freshman at Nebraska Wesleyan University getting his B.F.A. I asked Jesse what his freshman year was like and what he wished he had known going into it.

“When I graduated high school I didn't exactly feel like a big fish in a small pond, but I thought I had reasonable experience in theater. College was a big smack in the face. I was lucky enough to start my freshman year a few months early and perform in HAIR, which had rehearsed over the summer. That experience taught me more than years in high school had. For one thing, I wish I had known the level of professionalism that was expected from everyone doing college theater. Lines, dances, songs are all memorized after just a few times rehearsing them, and then they are made intuitive. Intuition was never expected from us in high school and is something I wish I had been taught because once lines are intuitive and you own them, real theater starts to happen. Coming to college I wish I had more opportunities to direct and see theater from that perspective. All I've been hearing here is that directing is your best acting lesson--so why didn't I do that much in high school? Most importantly I feel like commitment in every aspect of theater is the biggest difference between high school and college, and I am very happy to see everyone after their freshman year is committed entirely to their work. Freshman year is really exciting so far, and I tried to come in with the attitude that I am going to learn something while I'm here. I know I have, and I'm working hard to keep learning something new every day.

So to anyone who is interested in going into theater, make sure you are ready to work really hard and learn a lot about yourself. You need to be ready to behave professionally all the time, and remember you are always auditioning! The amount of work you put into a show, or an audition, and your behavior in class is an audition for your faculty (learned that this year). And for God's sake, SMILE.”

Musicals of Movies

2009-10-20T10:55:00.000-04:00

I get asked all the time about what I think about movies that get made into musicals...often with comments about how bad they are. So here is my two cents about movies being turned into Broadway musicals.

We all love the original musical, and recently there have been some great ones, like In the Heights and Next to Normal. But I also have some favorites that came from movies. In fact, I think one of the most imaginative productions I have ever seen came from the movie The Lion King, and look how long it has run. And now it has over 15 companies worldwide, grossing over 4 billion dollars. I mean, really, can all movies be that bad? Even the best musical of this year, Billy Elliot, was a movie first. In fact, 7 out of the last 11 Best Musical winners were movies turned into musicals.

So while we have a lot of flops from musicals, we have a lot of successes too. I think people probably used to say the same about turning books into musicals, but now our storytelling comes more from movies to the masses. Plus, there is that secure feeling of having a known title to comfort you as you pour several million dollars into your project.

What are your thoughts about movie musicals? Think about your recent favorites and see how many came from movies.

Get Involved in the Future

2009-10-19T10:45:00.001-04:00

Every year for the past 13 years I have been involved in a great organization. I am sure many of you are involved in it as well. It is the International Thespian Society. I have been a member since my freshman year in high school, and for the past 7 years I have taught at the Missouri Thespian Conference.

I started out teaching Stage Management, and then it grew to adding a “life in theatre” workshop and a producing workshop where students form groups and produce shows to see if they can recoup. I try and make sure I can attend every year for a couple of reasons. First, this is the organization that helped me fall in love with theatre and actually where I first met Peter Sargent from Webster University. So I like to give back and teach other students about the art that I love. Secondly, I get to see a lot of great people and make friends. The staff that puts this together is great about caring for the guest artists and making us feel at home. They take us to dinner the last night and we get to catch up with all of them, and I am happy to say I have made many great friends.

There are many reasons why I go, but the most important to me is to get a glimpse into the future of theatre. These students will take our place in college and in the profession, and it is neat to watch them grow. I get several students who come take my workshops every year, and most of them have gone on to college to study theatre. It is nice to see what they are up to, and every once in a while I get a note thanking me for my workshop. Almost every state has a Thespian Conference, and there is a National Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska every summer. If you are a theatre professional, I encourage you to reach out to a local group and get involved.

Learning from each other

2009-10-16T10:42:00.000-04:00

This week in an all-staff meeting, the Development Department got up and explained to the company what they do. They each took a segment of their job and spoke about it to the whole company.

How often have you been sitting around and talking about work and saying, “Why do they need so many devo people? Or lights people? Or whatever?” We often take for granted the departments we work with less. When you don’t interact with them, it may seen like there are just too many in xyz department.

Each staff meeting we will have another department talk about what they do. I just thought it was a good idea to keep in mind how important every part of the organization is.

Ask My Frends - Production Photos

2009-10-14T10:27:00.000-04:00

Today we have a dear friend of mine from Arena Stage who is studying photography. Christina Rojas is one of the more fun and caring people I have ever worked with. Her topic was productions photos. I asked her to give us her thoughts on production photos.

"Given the right photographer, a picture can be worth a thousand words. But, in the arts world, a production picture can be worth a thousand audience members. And let’s be serious; producers aren’t weighing a show on how many words it’s going to return!

After much deliberation on how to best illustrate this point without using actual photos (The arts world is small; I’m not here to step on toes!), I’ve come to a decision. One I feel really good about! So, put on your “ready to think outside the box” caps and go with me here:

PRODUCTION PHOTOS ARE LIKE HAIR CUTS!

But, before we go any further, let’s come to an understanding. I am not for one second judging where you get your hair cut. I’ve had everything from a bargain bin poodle-perm to a day’s pay sleek angled asymmetrical bob and all kinds of disasters in between, so I, my friend, am not judging.

And away we go…

HAIR CUTTERY

You walk in. You talk to a hostess who quickly runs his/her finger through the appointment book, finds the employee who has been sitting idle the longest, and thus appoints your “specialized” stylist. You chat briefly about your future coiffure, rush to the shampoo/condition stall, return to your hydraulic chair. The magic is about to happen.

But, in the end, the magic consists mostly of those Ball-Under-Bowl or Is This The Right Card deals—your hair is in fact clean and shorter than when you walked in, and if you paid the additional $5, it is dry. So Hair Cuttery has held up its end of the bargain. Their work here is done.

.......................................................................

We’ve seen those production photos; hell, we may have even TAKEN those production photos. They are the ones that show us that yes, there is a stage. And yes, there are some people on that stage. And perhaps yes, there are some costumes and props and maybe even a focused light or two. But that’s all—they are a documentation that this production happened once.

AVEDA

You look online, ooh and aah at all the luxurious options you have, chat with an expert (seriously, it’s an option!), fine tune every detail of exactly what your visit will consist of, and finalize your appointment. Stir with excitement until the big day arrives.

A very pleasant someone meets you at the front, takes your coat/bag/trepidation, leads you to a waiting room with beverage options and a bubbling, stone-lined fountain. An impeccably dressed stylist sets you on your road to recovery, one which includes no less than three decadently thick towels wrapped around your organic lavender shampooed hair. Every single snip of those scissors is predetermined and perfectly pointed at what your stylist has crafted as your haircut. YOURS. And, well, you look fabulous. Obviously. But really, you FEEL fabulous. More than your hair being clean and shorter, your hair is now a Hairdo, and you are ready to work it.

.......................................................................

Those are the production photos that impart the story, capture that story in such a way that you immediately are drawn in and find it impossible to look away without wanting to know more. Maybe you want to know what happens in the following scene. Maybe you want to see what those sequins look like in the next dance number. These production photos are full-bodied and capture an experience.

TLC’S “WHAT NOT TO WEAR”

(Don’t pretend you haven’t seen it. You have. We know you have. And it’s okay. There are marathons running all the time and you probably were sucked in while flipping through channels. Seriously, we aren’t judging.)

But, those Converts walk through the Pearly Gates of Hair-ven a pre-Fairy Godmother Cinderella, are pampered and primped until the point of absolute indulgence, and emerge as Demi Moore—I mean, a WHOLE. NEW. PERSON, folks. That little man works wonders the world hasn’t seen since the Pyramids!

The Convert doesn’t just feel different, they ARE different. Their change is not solely topical but lies internally, in what they want for themselves, what they expect of themselves, what they expect of others.

.......................................................................

Sometimes, a photographer uses her lens to unearth a tiny and beautiful moment that was never scripted, never rehearsed, never intended. That glimpse transforms, re-envisions even, the initial body of work and thus becomes its own art.

So, what does all this mean? Great question.

Photographers, in the arts world it is imperative to really connect with your subject. Find a new vantage point. Find a story. Find a new story. Engage your audience. Shoot until the story speaks to you. Don’t be afraid to shoot outside your comfort zone.

These are the production photos that do their art and your creativity justice.

(Thanks for reading, y’all. And for hanging in there with the extended metaphor! Grab your camera and hit the open road!)"

"What does it take, To wake up a generation?"

2009-10-13T08:54:00.000-04:00

As I was driving into the office I was listening to TICK, TICK, BOOM! and the lyrics took on a new meaning after the National Equality March yesterday.

"What does it take

To wake up a generation?

How can you make someone

Take off and fly?

If we don't wake up

And shake up the nation

We'll eat the dust of the world

Wondering why…

…Why do we follow leaders who never lead?

Why does it take catastrophe to start a revolution?

If we're so free, tell me why?...

…Actions speak louder than words"

When I was growing up in Nixa, Missouri, I never knew what to do. I knew I was gay but was afraid of rejection from my family and, worse, afraid of getting beat up at school. I was teased enough throughout high school and I had not told a soul how I felt. There was a classmate of mine who actually came out in school and was spit on and had to live on his own. The counselors at our school did nothing to help him, and I knew I was not strong enough for all of that. Then my sophomore year a gay college student was beaten and killed for being gay in Laramie, WY.

Yesterday at the March I met up with a bus that my good friend mine, Ed Reggi, brought in from Missouri, and on that bus were three Webster University Students. One was from St. Joseph, the place where I was born. I asked him when he came out and he said in high school, and I am hopeful that it seems to be getting easier.

People asked why I was marching, and my answer was equal rights. My brother was married over a year ago, and I want to be able to get married too, but for me it is not just that right that matters but just the fact that because we don’t have the rights as everyone else does make us less equal, and that translates to hate. It's hard to stand up to people in Nixa and say, "I am just as equal as you" when in fact the law says I am not and that makes them think it is okay to spit on us.

Homosexuals are just as equal as heterosexuals. Why should I have to live a lie so that some people don’t feel threatened? We don’t want to get married in a church that doesn’t want to marry us, but we should have the right to get married in a church that will. I would just want those kids in Nixa and places just like it to know that there is nothing wrong with them. You are born that way, and that is okay. You are loved, and people are standing up for you right now.

Yesterday at the March I think there were two very important points that were made. First, to President Obama, we need you to act now. We need you to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Secondly, we all need to do our part. Meet with Congress and let them know we are the people and we have the votes and money and if you are not with us we will not be with you. We will elect people that will support us and will get things done. Obama needs Congress to help us, so we have to help him.

I know I have ranted and raved and this blog is suppose to be about theatre and producing, but from time to time it becomes personal with the me talking about the death of a loved one or friend or about me having the same rights as others. I have about 200 people who read this blog, and I have to share and hope that I can motivate you to have conversations and take action so kids never have to grow up afraid and think something is wrong with them.

Happy Columbus Day Weekend

2009-10-09T09:23:00.000-04:00

Today I know we are all excited for the three day weekend so I just leave you with this . . .

Music of Hope and Equality Concert

National Equality March

People to Know - David Merrick

2009-10-08T10:31:00.000-04:00

David Merrick, whom I actually have heard of because he is a famous producer (but I didn’t really know more than his name), used to be plastered all over the Great White Way. But there was much I didn’t know, like the fact he is from St. Louis. Hmm. Rocco Landesman, David Merrick . . . Jared Neff. I digress. He was born in St. Louis and attended Washington University and then studied law at Saint Louis University.

Merrick was famous for his publicity stunts. When I was given the assignment I was told of the story where Merrick got seven people to come see his show Subways Are For Sleeping and give him quotes about how much they loved it. The seven people had the same names as the seven most well know reviewers in New York City. 7 Out of 7 Are Ecstatically Unanimous About Subways Are For Sleeping the full page ad read. The ad actually helped the musical stay open for about 6 months, and it turned out he actually had the idea for the stunt years earlier but could never find someone with the name Brooks Atkinson, so he had to wait until Atkinson retired from the New York Times to carry out the stunt.

When director Gower Champion, the original director of 42nd Street, died on the morning of August 25th, 1980, Merrick, who produced the show, kept his death a secret to everyone involved in the production and the press so that he could announce it later that night at the curtain call of the opening night performance.

Although Merrick was known to be extremely hard to work with, he won 11 Tony Awards and often was the sole producer of his shows. Some his most famous shows were the original production of Gypsy with Ethel Merman and Hello Dolly with Carol Channing. He produced so many shows that he was often his own competition for the Tony Award. Merrick passed away in 2000 and leaves us with many great shows and even better stories.

Ask My Frends - Consult Us

2009-10-07T07:40:00.000-04:00

Today’s Ask My Friends is coming from completely outside the world of theatre for the first time. Today’s posting is from Joshua White who is a great friend and pretty good basketball player (compared to me). Josh consults large companies on major projects in the greater DC area and around the world so my question was, “You consult for large companies every day and are familiar with non-profit theatres. If you were hired to consult for non-profit theatres, what is the biggest problem you see that you would suggest they fix or change?”

“Hi, my name is Josh, and I'm an IT consultant. Since this blog is aimed at the theatre industry (and since my parents still don't even understand what I do) I'd like to start off with an explanation of what that means. First, let's debunk some of the myths: I cannot fix your computer, I don't send anyone's jobs to India, and most importantly, I don't go to companies to tell them what they're doing wrong.

Instead, I'm hired to help businesses find what they can do better. I'm there to streamline their processes, improve their systems (anything from websites to customer management tools), and make it so the business user won't try to throw his computer out of the window after spending 3 hours trying to log an electronic expense report.

Is this relevant to you? Probably not, unless you happen to work in the IT department of a theatre. But there's a less transparent part of my job. It's harder to quantify but equally as important as the items above. Consultants are outsiders to a company, and while we may come in with a defined goal (Let's introduce new donor tracking software!), a good consultant is always looking for other areas of improvement. Not to mention having to learn, and re-learn, the culture and politics of whatever company/organization you happen to be working for.

Now, unlike many IT consultants, I'm also an avid theater-goer (Yes, I know that's stereotyping, but the last show I was able to convince my co-workers to see was Spamalot.) I'm fortunate enough to have lots of friends who work in theatre. I've gotten up-close views of the ins-and-outs of a number of DC's non-profit theaters, big and small. I'm always amazed at how these seemingly small organizations are able to put on such amazing shows, raise money, market themselves, and manage all of their workers, outside actors, and crew.

So here is where the lines between consultant and theatre-goer get blurred. I was asked to put on my consultant hat and write about what I would change or fix at a theatre. This was actually really hard for me, because I think all theatres are doing things right as long as they are fully committed to meeting their artistic missions. So instead, I'm going to look at an area where a theatre can grow (and not have to change), and an area that I'm all too familiar with as a consultant.

I'd like to focus on skills-based volunteering. Most theatres have pretty extensive volunteer programs. It's a good way to encourage community members to be active (ie. paying) members of that theatre. They tend to be middle-aged or older and spend most of their volunteer hours calling donors, ushering patrons, and arranging the opening night cheese platter.

While all of these activities are important, I'd like to recommend looking at other ways your theatre could use their volunteers. It's no secret that times are tough right now, and the headcounts are being frozen or cut at both for-profits and non-profits. With limitations on headcount, skills-based volunteering allows for theatres to use their volunteers as extensions of their paid staffs. Skills-based volunteering allows for volunteers to use skills they're specifically trained in (IT, marketing) instead of the more traditional tasks (licking envelopes).

The obvious limitation to this form of volunteerism is the investment time needed by in-house employees. Skills-based volunteers will need more organizational training and will require more oversight from the theatre. However, the benefits can be huge, with the traditional volunteer in DC being worth about $30 an hour (Volunteer Time Value Chart). Compare that to a typical IT worker, who can fetch more than $100 an hour. Plus, it gives the actual theatre employees a chance to work with an industry outsider (most likely with different skills), which can encourage innovation within the organization.

That's not to say it doesn't help the volunteers too. The Boston Globe printed an article last year that discussed the win-win situation posed by skills-based volunteerism. Volunteers not only feel they've provided a valuable service, but sometimes learn workplace skills - such as managing a project or mastering a software - that make them more valuable professionally. For nonprofits, the assistance not only helps their constituents, but strengthens the charities internally.

A number of Fortune 500 companies do offer skills-based volunteering, but it typically goes to investor-friendly non-profits that are A) helping the needy or B) helping the environment. Theatres would need to be a little more creative to bring people in. However, that doesn't mean it needs to be difficult. College students are always looking for opportunities to add to their resumes and could even add new knowledge to an organization (no matter how many social networking conferences you attend, a 20 year old marketing major could out-Facebook and out-Twitter you any day). Plus, theatres have one advantage other non-profits don't: free tickets!

In closing (finally), I'd encourage you to look into skills-based volunteering for your organization (be it production, marketing, HR, or development). Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too (and have that cake baked for free by the nice lady down the street)?”

HAIR

2009-10-06T09:36:00.001-04:00

We are now four days away from the National Equality March. Broadway is taking a huge interest in this march, and it is exciting for our industry to get so involved. Broadway raises millions of dollars every year for everything from AIDS to Animal Rights. Now they are getting involved in the fight for equal rights. The producers of the Tony Winner musical HAIR are taking the biggest involvement in letting their cast have the day off so they can go to Washington. It is estimated that it will cost them between $100,000 and $150,000 to close on Sunday, October 11th.

As you have seen in my videos of Sutton Foster, they are not the only ones getting involved. Producer David Stone, Audra McDonald, Jonathan Groff and Neil Patrick Harris, as well as some Broadway casts, have raised money to send over 20 buses from New York City to Washington D.C.

The producers of HAIR are not only taking a risk, but they are also making head lines in all the major industry papers, including a great article last week in the New York Times.

I think it was a very smart move for the show about taking a stand for what’s right to show their own commitment to that idea by canceling their show, even though it means a loss for them. I think in the end it will more than make up for it in the press. I know I personally will see it the next time I am in NYC.

Laramie Project, Ten Years Later

2009-10-05T10:27:00.000-04:00

If you know me, then you know that there are not many plays I am really excited to see, but I am super excited about Laramie Project, Ten Years Later, which will be playing all over the country on October 12th, one day after the National Equality March. Click here to find a performance near you. So far over 150 theatres will present the show with The Tectonic Theatre Project. These readings are FREE, so I encourage you all to go and see this if you can. Locally, the show will be presented by Arena Stage at the Lincoln Theatre. You must RSVP for this event. Even Missouri there are at least four theatres putting on this production.

The Laramie Project is the about the death of Matthew Sheppard, a gay man who was beaten, robbed and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming. This play takes interviews from people in the town and covers all points of view. It is very moving, and now the company that wrote the play goes back to Laramie to see where the town is now and how America has changed in the last ten years.

I found a short video that gives you some insight into what you will see. Please watch the video and share with your friends. Glenn Close and Judy Sheppard will be webcast live from Lincoln Center before the readings, and this is something you won't want to miss. Check it out if you can.

One Week Until We March

2009-10-03T13:43:00.000-04:00

The March I am talking about is the National Equality March that will take place in Washington D.C. and all over the nation on October 10th and 11th. This is so important to me. Being a gay man and not having equal rights is more than frustrating. A little more than a year ago I was the best man at my brother's wedding. I was moved by the obvious love and commitment they had for each other. I was so jealous that he had found his soul mate and that they were making that commitment to each other. I don’t want to force anything on a religion, but if a church does (and many do) want to marry a gay or lesbian couple, it should be able to happen. I should have the same rights that my brother has; to marry the person I love no matter what sex they are. On October 11th we will stand and show the nation that we are just as equal. Many minorities have had to fight for their rights, and now it is our turn. I hope you will stand and join our fight for equality.

Enough rambling. Please watch this 2 minute video.

And if you are in town, there are a lot of great things happening besides the march. There is a great concert at my theatre on the eve of the march titled Music of Hope and Equality . There is also a reading of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, an Epilogue at the Lincoln Theatre that is FREE presented by Arena Stage on the 12th.

Top of the list!

2009-10-02T14:14:00.000-04:00

Okay, in truth it’s just a list of business and theatrical blogs put together by Ken Davenport , but right now I am at the top of that list. I am pretty sure he just puts new people at the top of the list, so I plan on riding this high for as long as it lasts. Ken’s blog is a pretty big deal in the producing world, and I have been trying to get more traffic to my blog. My numbers go up and down, depending on what I write and where I post it.

Ken just asked that I add him to my blog role, which I did. The test will be to see if traffic picks up. In the first month of the blog I averaged 113 hits per week, and now I average 139 per week. My goal is to have it reach around 300 per week in one year.

We will see if I can keep this up and if people are still interested. Writing a blog is NOT as easy as I thought it was going to be. Fist off, you have to have enough things to write about, which is why I have Ask My Friends Wednesdays so that I can take one day off, but even then I have to line people up and make sure there is good content for them to write about. Then I have to make sure I write the night before so that I can send it off to Clayton, my godsend who edits these blogs. Go back to the first week, and you can see why I need someone to edit. I enjoy sharing my thoughts and hope you all enjoy reading them. I have gotten some really nice notes about the blog and hope to keep it up.

That said, I love writing the blog and encourage others to do the same. Some of my friends have better ideas and things to talk about, and I try to get them to write a blog. Pick a topic and just go. If you do start a blog, let me know and let’s compare how we do it, and who knows...maybe I can put you on my blog role.

People to Know - Leonard Bernstein

2009-10-01T11:26:00.000-04:00

As I said last week, when I didn’t know who Leonard Bernstein was, my boss about died. So begins a weekly series on people you should know in theatre. We start with Leonard Bernstein, who was born in 1918 and passed away in 1990.

His most popular musical is back on for its fifth time since opening in 1957, and this latest production is another hit, recouping its 14 million dollar capitalization just yesterday. He also wrote On the Town, Candide, and Wonderful Town. His name can be found in playbills from 28 different productions spanning from 1944 to today.

He is actually probably more known in the music industry for his work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and later the New York Philharmonic, where he was named the principal conductor in 1957. He started the Young People’s Concerts, which aired on CBS for several years.

I was also impressed by his work as a teacher, AIDS activist and anti-discrimination activist. You can tell how important his music was to West Side Story just by watching the Tony Awards this year. In case you missed it, there is a clip below.

Ask My Frends -Work / Life Balance

2009-09-30T09:17:00.000-04:00

“Ask my friends” continues to be a huge success. Today we have Jennifer Foster who is the Audio / Video Engineer for the sound department at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Jenn is a good friend and a great sound engineer. We have worked together on several productions and I am always impressed with her professionalism and attitude. I throw lots of curve balls to her and she handles them all gracefully and always with a smile which goes along way with not only me but our clients. I asked Jen how working in theatre she balances a work / life balance and why it is important.

“The clock strikes midnight at Sidney Harman Hall. Another show done, and I’m heading home in hopes of engaging in sweet dreams about... that rental event that starts tomorrow at 8am?! And the five projectors that I have to hang from the ceiling in the Forum after that?! Am I going to make it to orchestra rehearsal on time? I don’t know who wants to start their event that early, or who wants projectors hung from the ceiling, but I do know that I continue to work quite a zany schedule while still being able to call that which I have outside the theatre a life all the while trying very hard to maintain my sanity! I’m sure all of us working in the theatre world can fully understand the state of a sleep-deprived prisoner, and while my own sanity comes and goes (as some of my fellow colleagues can confirm), I do somehow manage to keep my life away from the Shakespeare Theatre an actual life.

When I was considering joining the McLean Symphony Orchestra a while back, a fellow theatre friend of mine said to me, “Wow, you’re like a real person!" This made me laugh, of course, but strangely I knew what she meant. How do I do this, you say? How do I balance a crazy work schedule with my personal life without being the next to fly over the cuckoo’s nest? I do owe a lot of my ability to maintain my non-work activities to a great department at work. Without the mutual respect that the five of us in the sound department share, I might not be able to attend Alliance Française events, or run that 8k on St Patty’s Day, or film weddings on Saturdays. We all compromise a little bit to accommodate each others’ personal lives to a certain degree, and we have a boss who is more than happy to see that we are all getting enough time away from work to ensure a more productive group of sound folks. If I have a race I want to run, or a vacation I'd like to take, I can bring it to my boss and we work together to see who’s available to work in my place while I’m out. Similarly, if someone else in the sound department asks for time off, I will step up to take their place while they are out. We work as a team, and are therefore able to properly fulfill our own personal lives.

Now, this is not to say that I get to do everything I would like to do outside of work. There are times when the schedule gets quite hectic and I am not able to get a night off. There are times when events pop up, the schedule changes, and all of a sudden I’m canceling my own plans. It’s in these instances that I am ever grateful to have such considerate groups of individuals outside of my work environment. The people in my amazing young adult group at Messiah UMC are always understanding of group get-togethers or meetings that I have to miss. Likewise, the McLean Symphony conductor has always been accepting of times when I have either had to be late or miss a night of rehearsal. And so the story goes it’s a juggling act, in which I’ve had to become rather skillful.

But why do I do this, you say? Why do I continue such an outrageous balancing act? I suppose the short answer would be that I love it. Despite the craziness of my job, I love the variety of work that I do, the people with whom I work, the atmosphere of the theatre, and the challenge it all presents - hanging projectors and everything! I must admit that I am completely new to the theatre world in my career, and this is the first job that I’ve ever really enjoyed in my career, so I have been motivated to accept the responsibilities it has presented albeit I have to make sacrifices at times. As this is my first theatre job, I have tried hard to maintain my previously “normal” life by continuing the activities that I have enjoyed since the age before I started working crazy nights and early mornings. The good thing about this is that I don’t take my free time for granted. I try to make the most of it while I can. And so, life continues on... I can work in theatre and be a real person all at the same time!”

Results

2009-09-29T11:54:00.000-04:00

I have talked about building your brand a lot and not enough about results. If you are going to make it in this business you have to have results. You have to work hard and do it well. You can have all the Facebook friends in the world, but if you are not good at what you do, it won’t matter.

You need to always be improving in your job and pushing for more and better results. That is what will get you truly noticed. Yes, you want to have a network to reach out to, but then you want key people in that network to be your champions. You want to be able to sell yourself, but how much better is it when people do that for you?

I am running into some huge challenges in my position. I have goals that are unreachable and not enough to split my focus as is required. I am currently looking at my time very carefully and making sure I am putting the time to best possible use and looking at my resources to see where I can pass some things off. I also am looking at my goals and trying to come up with out of the box ideas to help get me closer to the goals. It is kind of a running joke that my co-worker Gen and I are always think way out of the box. I have to say that some of those “way out of the box” ideas have really helped.

I am happy to be known as an out of the box thinker. (Don’t forget the monkeys.) I will keep pushing to build my network and expand this blog, but I know my real focus is results. That is what will make you stand out above the rest. Having a great network, personal brand, and, most importantly, getting results.

As I Travel

2009-09-28T09:04:00.000-04:00

Today I am traveling so I will be catching up on my blog reading. My favorite blog is the Producers Perspective by Ken Davenport. I suggest you it add it to your favorites and stay up to date with Ken.

http://www.theproducersperspective.com/

Two Weeks Until We March

2009-09-26T10:52:00.000-04:00

We are two weeks away from the National Equality March in Washington DC so I wanted to repost this and hope that you all come out for the March. If you can’t make it there are many things happening around the country.

March with Us Posting

I have been waiting for a while to write this post, wondering what the angle was to tie it to theatre. True, the producers of HAIR on Broadway are canceling shows so their cast can come down for the march, but that has been blogged about. Then on Twitter I saw a video Broadway star Sutton Foster had made and I thought, “Perfect.”

The March I am talking about is the National Equality March that will take place in Washington D.C. and all over the nation on October 10th and 11th. This is so important to me. Being a gay man and not having equal rights is more than frustrating. A little more than a year ago I was the best man at my brother's wedding. I was moved by the obvious love and commitment they had for each other. I was so jealous that he had found his soul mate and that they were making that commitment to each other. I don’t want to force anything on a religion, but if a church does (and many do) want to marry a gay or lesbian couple, it should be able to happen. I should have the same rights that my brother has; to marry the person I love no matter what sex they are. On October 11th we will stand and show the nation that we are just as equal. Many minorities have had to fight for their rights, and now it is our turn. I hope you will stand and join our fight for equality.

Enough rambling.

Please watch this 2 minute video.Sutton Foster Video

And if you are in town, there are a lot of great things happening besides the march. There is a great concert at my theatre on the eve of the march titled Music of Hope and Equality . There is also a reading of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, an Epilogue at the Lincoln Theatre that is FREE presented by Arena Stage on the 12th.

Family

2009-09-25T12:53:00.000-04:00

When I was going to high school and I was the stage manager for the first time, my mother wanted me to attend something the same night as I had rehearsal, and I told her I simply couldn’t. Theatre people, like many artists, are so passionate about their work, they often give up so much to make their art. As I went to college my mentor, Peter, always taught us about balance and how important family was. This is why I often talk about a work-life balance on this blog. I am still passionate and sacrifice time with my family and friends sometimes, but I now understand the importance of it.

Last night my grandfather past away. He lived a good life, and I will miss him. If you know you me, once I get past my initial shyness I have a weird but good sense of humor. I owe this to my father and grandfather. In August I saw him and remember laughing at a story he told about when he worked on a turkey farm. I actually recorded these stories the last time I was home and listened to them again last night.

The things I will always remember will be riding around in his pick-up and going to the bank to see my grandmother. She was a teller and would give my brother and me candy. I remember how he would never ride “The Ducks” in Branson because they reminded him of when he served in the military. I will remember that he loved the casinos as much as I did, and I will never forget his smile.

A New Segment In the Blog Begins

2009-09-24T11:50:00.000-04:00

The other evening I was out with my boss and a co-worker, and we were talking about musicals. Go figure. I had taught them some of the tricks of Twitter, but then they were talking about Leonard Bernstein. I had that look on my face of “Who is that?” and my boss asked me if I knew who it was. I knew the name but couldn’t tell you if he was an actor or singer. Yes, I know less about musicals before the 80’s, I admit it.

In a quest to know more about theatre and become a producer, I now have a mission. On Thursdays I will write a short report about a person in theatre. I will compile a list from several people more vers than I and share what I learn with you. I will do this for one year and see how it goes. I will start with Leonard next week and hopefully have a list.

If there is someone you think I should know, please list them below. We are always students, and I love to learn. Let the learning continue . . .

Ask My Frends - Inspiration for Design

2009-09-23T10:48:00.000-04:00

When Jared put forth this question, I thought it would come with an easy answer. However, that belief was quickly proven incorrect. Staring at the blank screen in front of me, the only text was the question provided. I attempted to write and rewrite my first paragraph. How do I find inspiration, what is my inspiration?

Be Aggressive

2009-09-22T12:08:00.000-04:00

I was talking to a good friend in New York, and she was in a rut about her career. She decided she wanted to break into Broadway. My response was, "Okay, go and do it."

How can you go from not knowing many people working on Broadway to working on Broadway yourself? I told her to connect with anyone she knows who has ties. Turned out I even had someone for her to meet. I told her to follow up. Have people introduce her or introduce herself and have her connection make the follow up call and talk about how great she was. And fortunately for her, she is one of the best.

This business is about connections. It won’t just land in your lap. As I was talking to her, I thought about my connection. I send out about 15 cards or letters every month. I get about 3 responses a month to those notes. That’s a 20% return rate. Not too good. But that’s three more contacts per month that I get than someone who sends no notes.

And some of those notes that don’t get responses pay off later. The job I have now, for instance. I was at a Technical Cattle Call for DC and noticed a new person in the room. It was the Director of Production from Shakespeare Theatre, and she had to take off before I got the chance to meet her. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make a connection. I collected all the resumes she missed. Then, the next day, I wrote a note welcoming her to town and included all the resumes she missed. I never heard anything from her, but when I interviewed it was one of the first things we talked about. She thought it was sweet and forgot to send a note.

I don’t think it got me the job, but it made her remember my name and sure didn’t hurt. So when you are looking to change things up or even just looking to improve your network (which you should always be doing), be aggressive and send notes. You never know when it will pay off.

Rights?

2009-09-21T10:51:00.000-04:00

The one time I saw my class at CTI get into an uproar was when we were all going around and discussing our current projects and one of the producers in my class didn’t have the rights to a show he had been working on for years and put money into.

Another time, I remember Arena Stage announced The Women of Brewster Place and then pulled it from the season because Gloria Naylor had not signed off on her rights from the book. She later did, and it appeared the following season, but you see where I am going with this.

I had just started to pursue a show for Project Fringe 10 when the authors asked about getting the rights from the book. I felt a little dumb for not asking first off. I thought it was public domain, but it turns out it is not. They now are hiring a lawyer to help them through this matter. This is so important because they have already had other people interested in licensing the show. So this is something that could yield a profit for the authors. Needless to say, I am hoping and praying the rights come through.

If you are working on a show or getting ready to, always make sure the authors and or company have the appropriate rights. It is so important.

March with Us

2009-09-18T09:43:00.000-04:00

I have been waiting for a while to write this post, wondering what the angle was to tie it to theatre. True, the producers of HAIR on Broadway are canceling shows so their cast can come down for the march, but that has been blogged about. Then on Twitter I saw a video Broadway star Sutton Foster had made and I thought, “Perfect.”

The March I am talking about is the National Equality March that will take place in Washington D.C. and all over the nation on October 10th and 11th. This is so important to me. Being a gay man and not having equal rights is more than frustrating. A little more than a year ago I was the best man at my brother's wedding. I was moved by the obvious love and commitment they had for each other. I was so jealous that he had found his soul mate and that they were making that commitment to each other. I don’t want to force anything on a religion, but if a church does (and many do) want to marry a gay or lesbian couple, it should be able to happen. I should have the same rights that my brother has; to marry the person I love no matter what sex they are. On October 11th we will stand and show the nation that we are just as equal. Many minorities have had to fight for their rights, and now it is our turn. I hope you will stand and join our fight for equality.

Enough rambling. Please watch this 2 minute video.

Sutton Foster Video

And if you are in town, there are a lot of great things happening besides the march. There is a great concert at my theatre on the eve of the march titled Music of Hope and Equality . There is also a reading of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, an Epilogue at the Lincoln Theatre that is FREE presented by Arena Stage on the 12th.

Thank You

2009-09-17T11:57:00.000-04:00

I always tell people to send thank you notes so I wanted to send one to all of you. I have made to 100 posts and I want to thank all the readers. I want to thank all the guest bloggers for writing a post for me and last but not least, Clayton Smith who edits all my posts and guest posts.

Thank You!

Ask My Frends - Development Today

2009-09-16T09:50:00.000-04:00

We are doing a repeat today but if you missed it the first time this is one of the best posts and it comes from Lara Smith. Lara is the Development Director at Dad’s Garage, and I have to say I keep getting more and more impressed with my friends. Lara is not only a fellow Webster University Grad but a fellow Missourian. I asked Lara, “With all the talk about the economy, how are small companies doing in the Devo area? What trends are you seeing, and how are you changing your plan to deal with the changing trends?”

"In order to give you a context for my answers, let me tell you a little about the incredible theatre where I work. Dad’s Garage Theatre Company is located in Atlanta, GA, and we like to refer to ourselves as the gateway drug to theatre. What we mean by that is we’re introducing new and nontraditional audiences in an age where many theatres are struggling with building this very audience. Not only that, but we’re cultivating new and established talent. We produce improv year-round (every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) as well as a full season of shows in our two spaces. This translates to roughly three-hundred performances of twenty some odd scripted works and improv formats, twenty-five classes, private workshops and performances, as well as numerous special events. Dad’s Garage has been operating in the black and will finish this fiscal year (ending July 31st) that way as well.

First off, I would venture to say that the organizations most affected by the economy are the big guys. Most small to mid-sized organizations didn’t lose any money in the crash and were already operating with lean budgets. That isn’t to say that some aren’t feeling the crunch, but it’s more of a trickle down. Many are predicting that the same will happen with foundations. While foundation giving wasn’t hugely impacted this year, the idea is that they’ll have less money during their next budget cycle.

Small to mid-size theatres across the country have been experiencing success with special events as long as they are being made worthwhile. Theatres are getting smarter about the events they throw, what the ticket price includes, and what they’re spending. Our biggest annual fundraiser is BaconFest—250 pounds of bacon, 5 kegs of beer, a silent auction, an improv performance, bands, carnival games...well, you get the picture. Theatres are getting to know their audiences and throwing parties that people want to attend. Nobody wants to hang out on a sinking ship. They want to go to the biggest, most awesome, ridiculous party you can throw. Whatever that means for you.

The biggest impact of the economy has been on individual contributions. Regardless of the economy, people give to people. Therefore, more and more theatres are spending time making sure they’re keeping their friends, fans, and families close. This means honesty, transparency, and a willingness to over-communicate. Donors want to know how the places they are passionate about are coping and what their plans are for sustainability.

Just as organizations are reacting to the changing times, so too are granting organizations. The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund recently reworked their funding priorities. In the past, the two had been more focused on project support. They recognized the need in the community, and both turned around to offer general operating support grants for the current fiscal year to nonprofit organizations. They awarded these grants to organizations that had built up the infrastructure to not only survive, but thrive in this economy with additional capital.

Each organization is reacting differently to changing trends. We’re interacting with our audience online instead of via mail. As an organization anchored in improv, we’re making everything more interactive with our patrons. We’re building deeper relationships and creating audiences that are truly invested in our product. In my mind, being in development just means selling someone on an idea. If you have an individual in love with your idea, who understands its necessity and the impact it has on the world, then the economy won’t stop them from giving. It all begins with the product.

People want a definite answer of what is working right now, and the truth is there are a lot of things. The biggest question someone in development has to be able to answer is, "What would the world be missing if my organization ceased to exist?” If you can answer that question and answer it well, you will always have donors. There are a lot of answers to that question, and organizations have donors who give for every one of those reasons.

The name of the game is mass customization. Personalization. But this has nothing to do with the economy and everything to do with the changing face of the world. Investment Philanthropy. Donors want to know exactly what impact their money is having and are probably giving for a very specific reason. (This logic is the same reason that traditional subscription packages are falling to the wayside for flex passes. People don’t want to see a whole season—they want to see very specific shows for personal reasons.)

So: how are small to mid-sized theatres doing? Depends on who you talk to. Surely you’ve seen one of the many “give us money or we can’t survive” emails that have gone out over the past few months. But our ticket sales are actually up. Our contributed income is projected to come in at goal. Every organization is facing different waters.

What are the trends? Keep your friends and fans closer and more informed than you ever have before. One of the big successes we’ve seen this year is letting people know exactly what we can get with their money. Yup--$53 buys us bathroom supplies for one month. We have a younger audience, so we’re utilizing a lot more technology than anything else, but this won’t work for every organization. It’s all about the audience. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is great for building a deeper relationship with patrons, but only if they’re using it.

How are my plans changing? Every day. Truly. That’s the great thing about working at a small organization and one of the reasons we are weathering this economy so well. We’re nimble enough to react to the environment but stable enough to make decisions with sustainability in mind. You have to keep an open mind, know when to take risks, and take responsibility for your actions. In those ways (and a lot of others), nonprofit management is improv in practice."

Ad Evolution

2009-09-15T12:28:00.000-04:00

Artwork is such an important part of advertising a show. When I worked at Arena Stage they had artists hired to draw and design a poster for every show. I loved the variety and loved that it was from different artists and not just a graphic designer who threw something together. I am not picking on graphic designers, but often the season designs look the same and don’t define every show as its own.

I ran across this link in the New York Times about the design and creation of the Ragtime poster and thought it was interesting to see the different stages of design and hear the creative director from the ad agency discuss how they got to the final poster.

In my office I have a poster of the 07-08 Broadway season and love how different the images are. When I look up at it, a couple of them pop out to me. Enjoy the video and tell me what your favorite show poster is.

NY Times Article

Closing? Not with a reputation like that.

2009-09-14T11:31:00.000-04:00

Avenue Q closed last evening on Broadway, but at that performance the producers announced that they would move the show to off-Broadway at New World Stage.

Genius!

The show is losing attendance and cannot make the nut it needs to run on Broadway. But it is a more off-Broadway show anyway, and after 6 years and recouping, it has such a reputation that it can move to off-Broadway. Variety reported it is the first Broadway show to transfer to off-Broadway.

I personally think this is a great move. They have the sets, costumes, and puppets and have recouped the cost, so why not keep it running! My hats are off to the producers, and may they have a long run off-Broadway.

Today We Remember

2009-09-11T11:31:00.000-04:00

Today we remember those lives lost on September 11, 2001. I have put a tribute video below that I found on YouTube. The video is graphic with live video from that day.

Oh, Human Resources

2009-09-10T10:44:00.000-04:00

I must say, I love having a real department dedicated to Human Recourses. This is the first time I have been at a non-profit that had that. Some had part-time HR employees, but never two full-time people. And they do a great job.

This week the blog and website policy was revealed. I get a little touchy about this because it is free speech, though I do understand the necessity of the policy. Not everyone has a blog as serious as mine and might slip, and Lord knows I could slip up too. So here is a line that will not appear on every page or with every posting, but I will say it once for all to read so that should I ever slip up, it is in there.

These are my personal views and not those of the Shakespeare Theatre Company.

I have said it before and am still so surprised by the content I see out there on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. This could all come back to bite you at some point, and you should be careful. A friend put it this way, “Just imagine everything you post is going on the front page of the New York Times.”

Ask My Frends - Going Back To School

2009-09-09T09:46:00.000-04:00

Today we have a person who recently came back into my life and I can’t wait to hang out more often. Jennifer Hopkins and I both attended Webster University in St. Louis which is where I fell in love with her sweet personality and passion for the art. We haven’t seen each other since college but she was recently accepted to the Academy of Classical Acting here in Washington, DC. Many of us think should we go back to school? I have noticed a large number of my friends are returning to school so my question to Jenn is, “Why, after 5 years, have I made the decision to return to my studies at a graduate level acting program?”

“You could say I wasn’t getting to where I wanted to be artistically and felt that I needed more schooling in the illustrious ways of acting on stage. But this might be too pretty a picture. You could say that no one goes to get their Master’s degree if they don’t intend to teach one day (as my best friend so accused) but this would be…an unfortunate assumption. You could say I needed to reformat the hard drive of Me: That so-called vessel of my character work and the tool which allows me to do what I love. Above all, this would be closer to the truth. I once heard a (relatively) wise man say that actors wanted to be told the truth. I do. And I need to be told some truths right now.

I returned from a tour this January and immediately began to re-access the avenue in which I was pursuing a performance career. With a musical theater BFA that I have never used in the 5 years I’ve lived in New York since undergrad, which is to say I have not been a part of one musical since college, I knew something needed to change. Have I been going about this in the wrong way? Or am I simply not truly “musical theater” material? Every singing audition felt like a knife twisting in my gut. I would shower myself with excuses and reasons not to walk out my door to that MT audition. The same excuses every actor conjures when facing something that tests their nerve or lacks personal inspiration. So – here we have it – 2009 and a new president telling me, “Yes we can!” so heck, I suppose I must Do. I discovered The Academy for Classical Acting through George Washington University and the Shakespeare Theater Company of DC by a few fortuitous strokes of my keyboard, and the audition date was set. No question. Over the last three summers I have been employed (quite luckily) as a teacher of Shakespeare at various programs for 15-18 year olds in England and France. The sudden impulse to immerse myself in iambic pentameter as a student was powerful and doubtless.

I auditioned on February 28th. The audition, the people, the atmosphere felt overwhelmingly like home, and I left feeling successful in what I’d set out to accomplish. Sometimes, as an actor, that is simply all you can ask for. Within 5 minutes I was stopped by a phone message on my way to buy a celebratory latte. My dad had been in a near-fatal car accident, hit by a drunk driver that Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. Everything changed – and “To be or not to be” became quickly replaced with nothing but prayers. I immediately flew to my hometown and no thoughts of my own future really prevailed. It was three weeks, countless tears, broken bones, and a big leap in the right direction of my father’s health later that I received a phone call as I sat by his hospital bedside. [Freakin’] A, I was actually accepted to ACA. I tell you honestly and without self-indulgence that, aside from my father’s improving health, it is the only grand thing that has happened to me this year.

After months of taking care of my favorite person (Daddy) and teaching students over the summer, I find myself immersed in daily activity that is selfishly about Me. My own alignment is important. My voice. My stretch. My intent. I have no delusions of being an axis, but it is a beautiful thing to remind yourself, actor or not, that Your health matters. We spend so much time as performers trying to please directors and those who cast, as people we have others to take care of and to appease. I’m here in DC now to speak the speech I long to speak. To retrain myself out of bad habits, both metaphorically and realistically. My apartment in New York is empty and will soon be the stage of someone else’s life, whilst mine continues on this new adventure. I believe everyone is entitled to a period of time when they are allowed to focus in and take care of themselves. I can’t wait to see what it does to me this year amongst a group of talented fellow students and leaders of this profession as my instructors.”

The Show Must Go On

2009-09-08T09:34:00.000-04:00

That was the title of a NY Times article that discussed the seasons of many theatres in New Jersey, but they also cited the budget problems many theatres are facing. In the article, the first three theatres said they had made staff reductions.

Yes, the show must go on, and many theatres are doing what they can. Each theatre is trying to find a way to make it through. We, as was reported by the Washington Post, took a week furlough (a temporary leave of absence from employment without pay). Which was not so bad, but I am feeling the effects now. But at least there was not a staff reduction. I have been there and seen the affects it has on the staff.

Budgets are so tight it makes you forget the wonderful times when you had the money. I remember a couple of years ago, before things were tight and our office went to have a Christmas lunch, and we made a little field trip out of it by taking the bus across the city. It was a nice meal, which the theatre picked up. Just that little act made a huge difference on our office. I remember thinking to myself, “When you are the boss, don’t forget to treat your employees,” because I saw how much the mood and productivity picked up.

Now we are in tough times, and I think we forget to have fun. I always thought Arena Stage tried to make sure there were fun things to do throughout the year. It was usually headed up by Alison in the executive office, but even when they didn’t have money they were doing something fun to keep the “kids” happy. I write this because I want you to think of something special you can do for your staff, even if it's for free. Maybe let them take a half day on Friday because they have worked so hard through this summer. Whatever it is doesn’t have to cost money, but never forget the importance of your staff's morale.

Happy Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-04T10:07:00.000-04:00

I hope you all have a great Labor Day Weekend! Push through today and here is a little video to help get you through. See you all next week!

Ask My Frends - At the Ballet Part II

2009-09-03T10:44:00.000-04:00

Part II from Brianna Harnden yesterday. I didn’t mention how much I love this girl. She is so bright and funny. When I think of the days that Neff Theatricals becomes a reality I have a couple people that I MUST have on my team and Brianna is defiantly at the top of the list. As you can tell by yesterday’s post she is much more than a talented Stage Manager. Here is the second half of her post.

"... Kat mentioned that the lifestyle of an opera stage manager is somewhat nomadic. Because one stage manager can probably do all of the shows in the whole season, it can be tricky to get a position, but once you are in, you are likely to stay for years. Ballet stage managers will probably find the easiest time of settling down and staying in one town. Of course, there is the occasional tour to Russia or China, but those are with your own company and are more like a holiday than anything (yet another reason I am in love with ballet).

I do also want to comment on how lovely dancers are to work with. Whenever I tell someone I’ve moved into ballet, they ask a question related to the “diva” attitude stereotypically associated with dancers. I have seen nothing but the opposite. These artists have been in intense physical training for probably 80 percent of their lives, and they are trained to listen to their directors and stage managers. As with any artist, if you show the dancers that you are there to protect them and do whatever you can to help them dance at their highest quality, they will clear the stage when you ask them to. I have never gotten any lip or encountered anyone thinking they are entitled to better treatment than another dancer, which I can not say of any of my experiences in regional theatre. And how can you not respect a dancer? I will gladly work all hours of the day perfecting my cue calling because I know they are always working harder than I am.

I am lucky to have found my passion in the world of ballet. For any stage manager starting out in the world, no matter the genre, the most important advice I can give you is to do the things that scare you; take those big chances. Yes, you may fall flat on your face. But if you prepare, and if you’re good, it really is the only way to get ahead. When I was on my first internship with a major ballet company, I didn’t take the big chance that was staring at me. The stage manager was training the ASM to call Giselle. I would come into the office everyday and he would be studying the tapes, the massive score open on his lap, and I thought, “I could do that too.” I could almost feel that if I asked, I may be allowed to actually call a Tuesday Matinee. But I didn’t ask, because I was terrified I would mess it up. So I missed out on a big opportunity to learn, even if I never got to call a real show.

Also, find a company with people that you love. We have committed ourselves to doing something we love instead of something expected. If you find yourself not getting along with co-workers to an unhealthy degree, maybe you aren’t in the right place. I think this was also part of the problem on that first ballet internship. Still, I fell in love with stage managing dance, and I was lucky enough to find a home with The Washington Ballet, for whom I now assistant stage manage for occasionally. My first job with them was last winter, working on their whimsical production of The Nutcracker. From day one, I knew it was going to be fantastic, and the camaraderie and respect everyone in the company has for one another was immediately apparent. Because I felt so safe, I was willing to take the risk of asking to learn to call the show (even though it still terrified me), and thanks to my amazing stage manager, by the end of the run, I was calling 4 out of 8 shows per week. I simply adored it.

In short, there is nothing in the world quite like ballet. If you haven’t seen a proper ballet, go put it on your to-do list right now. If you’re timid, go see something newly choreographed and modern; the things these dancers can do will stun you. But go see a classic and you will see an art form that truly encompasses all that we are capable of as humans."

Ask My Frends - At the Ballet Part I

2009-09-02T10:32:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we heard from a stage manager about the differences between Opera and Theatre and so I thought it would be interesting to hear the differences between Dance and Theatre. For that I have asked my dear friend Brianna Harnden. I actually help recruit Bri for Webster University and then hired her as an intern at Arena Stage where she went on to become a full-time staff member. Her true passion is with dance and Ballet and she has worked on several productions with the Washington Ballet. As you will see Bri is a tremendous writer although a little wordy for a blog so this will be broken into two days.

“From the audience, it is lush and perfect in the theatre before a ballet. The seats are the same thick velvet as the house curtain, and a little thrill runs through the air as the lights dim and the theater vibrates with the sound of a full, live orchestra tuning to A. From backstage, you are temporarily blinded by the abundant side-lighting required for dance. The dancers take their places, shedding their warm-up clothes and, with simply the straightening of a spine, transform their bodies into highly skilled, taut pieces of art in seconds. It goes dark onstage, and the curtain rises.

There is nothing more amazing and beautiful than watching ballet - except watching it from backstage. From the wings, you can see the dancers breathe. You can hear them mutter through frozen smiles at their partners before a particularly difficult lift. And my goodness do they sweat! The audience can see none of this, and to them it looks effortless. As a stage manager of ballet, I love that I get to see the secrets of this magical world, and be a small part of it.

The week before last one of our mutual friends wrote to you about the world of opera. Today I’m going to give you a little peek into the world of the ballet, and hopefully give you a feel for what it’s like to stage manage dance.

Like Kat and Jared, I was trained to stage manage for regional theatre. The basic organizational and communication skills you need to be an effective stage manager are the same across all fields of live entertainment, but there are many interesting deviations between forms. Ballet is an even more intense version of opera, I think. Gone are the days of feeding actors lines. Gone are the days of sitting behind a table in the rehearsal hall going through one page of script over and over, constantly erasing your blocking notes until the page resembles crumpled newspaper. Ballet is all tech and performance, quick and dirty work for a stage manager.

Let’s start from the beginning of a stage manager’s work on any one particular ballet. The first major difference is that they often work alone. In larger companies, they are likely to have one assistant, but 90% of the responsibility of the team still falls on the stage manager. Usually they begin working on a show 2 to 3 weeks before it goes into tech. This work is done usually in front of their TV at home, because the great majority of ballets are in true repertoire - meaning the ballet in question was choreographed, designed, rehearsed, perfected, and archived as many as 173 years ago. (Obviously in the case of those ballets, only the choreography is that old; the sets and costumes are newer.) The stage manager learns the choreography and music by watching a VHS or DVD of the piece from the last time it was recorded. Sometimes, if that particular company hasn’t done the ballet before, the tape and all set pieces and costumes will be sent from another company. Larger companies with fancy equipment have DVDs that actually include a feed of the stage manager calling the show, making the job of learning the show even easier. Still, without an extensive knowledge of how to read and (this is important) feel music, calling the hundreds of cues involved in a full-length classical ballet can be daunting.

A week or so before the big opening night, a team goes down to the warehouse and pulls out all of the set pieces and costumes and shines them up a bit. The dancers have been in the studio for a few weeks learning their parts by watching videos or learning from Ballet Masters, who are generally former principal dancers who know the choreography to many ballets in immense detail. Because these Masters deal with the pressings of play and pause on the stereo, the stage manager generally only has to attend one or two rehearsals in the studios. I like to lurk around more often because I find it fascinating, but most of the learning is done off of the archival tapes.

Another major difference: you don’t have to touch or check a single prop. You are there to call cues. That is all. Your assistant doesn’t even have to touch or check a single prop. Of course, as stage managers and perfectionists it is hard, and you’ll find us subtly glancing about the stage to make sure that the prop handlers have set the fake rat in the fireplace, tail facing downstage. To be honest, the job of an ASM in Ballet is not very difficult: they are basically there to patrol the stage and deal with any crises that pop up that the stage manager won’t be able to handle because she is in the midst of a huge cueing sequence. The assistant makes sure the proud moms of tiny ballerinas don’t sneak backstage to take pictures and get in the way of huge rolling staircases. They sit with the little girl who threw up on the stage left wall until her Dad comes to pick her up (glamorous, I know). They keep an eye on the Stage Manager’s water bottle and box of tissues. Keep the Dancers happy. Count to make sure there are 8 white butterflies and 8 blue butterflies at the top of Act Two, which is extremely difficult when the butterflies are actually dancers strolling about in the wings, never standing still, and constantly returning to the dressing rooms to get hairpins. Oh, and they all look exactly the same for about two weeks, with the identical costumes, makeup, and bunned hair.

The stage manager guides the team through the technical rehearsals, obviously working the most closely with the lighting designer. This process is very similar to it’s regional theatre counterpart, so I won’t go into too much detail. It’s like stage managing a huge musical with no lyrics. And once you settle into the run, which can be three or four weeks for a show like the Nutcracker or three or four nights for what we call a “series” piece (usually consisting of three shorter, more recently choreographed dances), it is just like the run of a big musical."

More to come tomorrow. . .

Spider-Man Musical meets the Mouse?

2009-09-01T12:04:00.000-04:00

So if you haven’t been watching the news lately, Disney has just bought Marvel Comics.

This adds yet another twist in the web Spider-Man is building on Broadway. So far Disney has not commented about getting involved in the musical, and sources, which are still pretty sketchy themselves, say that it's over anyway. Could this buyout save the musical? After all, Peter Schneider is one of few people who work well with Julie Taymor.

I hope, just so I can see this musical, that Disney Theatricals does come in and pull rank. I doubt they will unless they are invited, but I hope they do. They have the expertise and money to make this musical come alive and possibly make money. What I would give to be in on those talks.

As I have said before, this is going to be a show to watch.

Theatre Thursdays

2009-08-27T11:51:00.000-04:00

It is #theatrethursday or Theatre Thursday. If you twitter you should try and twitter about your favorite show or theatre on Thursdays.

Here is one of my favorites.

Ask My Friends - Living in NYC

2009-08-26T10:50:00.001-04:00

Time is of the essence, it reveals itself to you as an enemy or a best friend. Through prosperous and difficult times in the city I have learned that for myself I have to create my own every day STRUCTURE. Structure may come from a day job, a writing group you participate in, or a yoga class you take a few nights a week.You must create a life for yourself in the city in which you feel connected to the community that includes not only the theatre community but also communities such as those bozo yuppie types perusing used bookstores on the Upper West Side. There's plenty of room for you and your 5 roommates to join their book clubs!

Someone once spoke to my college acting class and said, "Be a TONKA truck." I interpreted that as "Do not limit yourself and your talent to any 'agreements.' “Yes, you have to absorb what you've read in college theatre textbooks, in books you've read about getting agents and so forth. However, absorb it, then stuff that information in the back of your closet with your poncho and break the rules, run people over. Who says you have to work "there" before working "here"?

Meet new people (then record their contact information in a database!), read lots of plays by getting a FREE library card, and go ahead... splurge on an AC unit for your apt. Augusts in NYC are brutal!

You may go through times where you lose a sense of your purpose, forget why you moved to the city in the first place. You have to put yourself first and take the time to regain your passion and ravenous need to be in the theatre. It's a holy place. But, it does not need tender loving care. It needs to have the door busted open by some hungry, crazed artist demanding to take it to the heavy side layer.”

Goals

2009-08-25T10:01:00.000-04:00

I have been at my new job at the Harman Center for 7 months now.

When I came into the job I set 3 month, 6 month and long term goals. I did that after being employed here for a week. It is now time to review my goals. I know I have checked off most of them but some I still haven’t reached. Now that I have been here for over 6 months I need to go threw and look at the goals I set and revise and add to them.

I challenge you all to set goals. Even if you think they might be too far out there. Set them and reach for the stars.

Monday Blues

2009-08-24T10:36:00.000-04:00

Mondays seem to be tough on us all. After the weekend who would want to go back to work. Here are a couple of things I do to get through the Monday.

1 – Don’t go out on Sunday night. I leave my Sunday evening free to unwind and watch a movie or TV. Something easy to relax.

2 – Eat a good breakfast. You should do this everyday but especially on Monday to get you going.

3 – Don’t over schedule your day. I try and schedule emails and calendar time in the morning so I have enough time to get caught up on the happenings over the weekend. It helps me not fill rushed.

4 – Have something to look forward to on Monday evening. Something to focus on to help you push through the day.

Best of luck and Happy Monday!

A Clean Desk

2009-08-21T11:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, I have been busy with all the October events this week and my desk is MESS. I have been saying I would clean it for days. Now I have too. As you can see by the picture it is a mess. I will post a picture of a clean desk once I have cleaned. I hope to do it right after lunch.

A clean desk is important for several reasons.

First, it makes you look very organized to others. So people trust that when they give you information it won’t get lost in the piles on your desk and never get accomplished.

Second, it gives you a larger work area. With a clean desk you can have more desk space for your current project.

Lastly, it makes you feel more at peace. Laugh if you will but it makes a difference in your attitude. For me I feel like I am never getting enough done and that the piles are haunting me.

Clean up your work space today!

A New Conversation on the Arts

2009-08-20T12:31:00.000-04:00

Rocco Landesman was recently appointed as the Chairman of the NEA. Mr. Landesman spoke at my graduation of the 14 week Commercial Theatre Institute. He was impressive and I was grateful he was chosen to speak. He was different than most of the speakers at CTI because he didn’t tell stories about producing or give advice about getting into the business, but spoke about the Arts and how important they are. I think we are lucky to have Rocco in DC and I look forward to seeing what changes he can bring to the NEA. I posted his statement to America from the NEA website below.

“Hello, I am Rocco Landesman. I am honored to serve the country in my new role as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Arts Endowment is dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education.

We’re at an exciting time in our nation’s history. Now, more than ever, the arts matter in America. The arts are central to our nation’s civic, economic, and cultural vitality. The arts reflect who we are and what we stand for – freedom of expression, imagination, and vision.

Arts education is indispensible to raising America’s next generation of creative, innovative thinkers. We will continue to work with our partners to help bring quality arts programs to neighborhoods and communities across the country.

I look forward to a new conversation on the arts in America.

Thank you.”