Stop the Rumors

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.”

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."

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!

Think About It

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?

Musicians have been “Locked Out”

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

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.

Ask My Friends – Directing

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

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.

Ask My Friends - Organizing Your Tax Portfolio

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 1

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

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!

Musicals of Movies

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.

Learning from each other

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!)"

Top of the list!

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.

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.

A New Segment In the Blog Begins

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

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.