Brief Yourself

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.

Ask My Frends - Producing at Fringe Follow Up

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

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.

Top Ten List

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.

FELA

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!

Spider-Man Saga Continues

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.

People to Know - Joseph Papp

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.

My 23 Hour Day

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.

Be Proud

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.

Results

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

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/

Be Aggressive

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.

Oh, Human Resources

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.”

The Show Must Go On

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.

Ask My Frends - At the Ballet Part II

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."

Spider-Man Musical meets the Mouse?

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

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

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.”

Goals

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.