THE PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVEPROA BROADWAY PRODUCER’S OPINION ON EVERYTHING BROADWAY AND BEYOND

VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 6AUGUST 2017

WRITING FOR PROS

UPCOMING EVENTS

RAISING MONEY FOR PROSMARKETING FOR PROS

Your Summer Reading List

Putting Your Prospects Into Three Pails

How to Get People to Pay YOU to Advertise Your Show

In the summertime you should read at least one book/play/script per month—

but not just anything. Here’s how I recommend you assemble your list...

A little organization makes things a lot easier. And taking your prospects and putting them into piles, pails or buckets is an easy step

that makes the asks just a little easier.

The great thing about merch is that not only can you turn a profit, but every single person

that wears a t-shirt, button or skull cap, is helping to get the word out about your show.

Read more on page 2. Read more on page 4.Read more on page 3.

Hello Pros!Happy heart of the summer to you!One of the things I love about summer is that there

is more theater going on during these few months than any other time of year. While Broadway usually acts like an Italian and takes most of the summer off, the rest of the country doubles down on its production rate. There are countless summer stock productions, outdoor dramas, and of course, tons of theater festivals from Hollywood to the heart of NYC!

I’m a big believer in the festival circuit for emerging theater artists. Why? Because that’s how I got started. And it’s a great way for you to get started as well. Not only is producing in a festival more economical, but acceptance into a festival gives your show a badge of honor that you can show off to producers, agents and more. So here’s a goal for you...apply to a festival for next summer —somewhere—anywhere (we’ve got a list on PRO). There’s NYMF here in New York, the Midtown International (that operates year round) as well as Thespis and Planet Connections. There is also the

Hollywood Fringe, the Minneapolis Fringe and even Edinburgh. Find one close to you and apply.And don’t say, “But I don’t know how to produce a show at a Fringe? And how will I pay for it?”Don’t worry about that part yet. Just apply. Get in. We’ll figure out the rest later.I’ll help.Go get ‘em!

Ken

Wednesday, August 9, 2017 | 7 pmMonthly Online Workshop: How to Start and Run a Non-Profit Theatre Company Monday, August 21, 2017 | 7–8 pm PRO Office Hours Call Thursday, August 24, 2017 | 6:30 pmMonthly PRO Industry Networking Event in NYC – Venue TBA As a member of PRO, you’re automatically registered for the Monthly Online Workshop! To sign up for other seminars or events, visit www.theproducersperspective.com.

Register today atwww.theproducersperspective.com/conference

Use code: earlypro to save $200!

When you were in high school, did your English teacher assign you a list of books to read over the summer? Mine did.

And let me tell you something, the books on this woman’s list weren’t page turnin’ beach novels.

I always wished I could pick my own summer reading list. And you know what? Now I can!

And you should too.

In the summertime you should read at least one book/play/script per month (one for June, July and August)...but not just anything.

Here’s how I recommend you assemble your list, because it’s exactly how I assemble mine.

First, ask yourself, “what type of project am I working on right now?” Are you writing a comedy? Producing a drama? Composing an operetta? Classify the type of show you’re working on.

Now, find the ten “best” examples of that type in history.

And start reading.

For example...I just pulled out Gettin’ The Band Back Together, which debuted at George Street Playhouse a few years ago and is now getting polished up for Broadway. It’s a musical comedy. So I did some googling and put together what the web thinks are the

10 Best Musical Comedies and I’ve started reading them one by one. We’re talking The Producers, Urinetown, Bat Boy, Avenue Q, Book of Mormon and more. As I read, I ask myself, “What do they have in common? Where is the funny coming from...the words, the actors, the choreography? Do they share similar structure?”

I’m only halfway through the list and I’ve already found a half a dozen things that I’ve applied to Gettin’ The Band Back Together that will, without a doubt, make it a better show (I’ll let you know what I tweaked when you see it).

So put together your personalized summer reading list. And sure, read it on a beach if you want. But then make sure you compare these classics to your own show to see how you can make it better.

If only my English teacher had given me musicals to read...

Name: Marylyn Varriale

Where You’re From: Long Island, NY

PROfession: Composer/Arranger/Writer

What projects are you currently working on?

MV: I am a composer/arranger and writer currently working on a musical play called Evangeline, a Curious Journey—a modern era love story based on Longfellow’s Epic Poem—set in the 18th and 20th centuries with reincarnation overtones. Also, I am

updating an anti-drug musical play for teenagers called Turn Off! which was developed at The School for the Performing Arts in NYC.

Why did you join PRO?

MV: Since musical plays are continuous, collaborative projects, I joined PRO to find creative partners who can help bring my work to a higher level of development and performance.

What do you look for in a collaborator, and how do you seek out creative partners?

MV: I look for collaborators with experience

writing specifically for musical theatre and who are conversant with all types of musical styles. I recently joined Ken’s Writers Search to find someone to help me edit my musical play with new and fresh insights.

What have you found to be the most valuable part of being a PRO member?

MV: I value most learning through the experiences and advice Ken shares with us. I have enjoyed the webinars and find the info on them extremely interesting and useful. Ken’s book, How to Succeed in the Arts…or in Anything and Steve Cuden’s Beating Broadway should be in everyone’s library.

WRITING FOR PROS

FEATURED PRO MEMBER

Your Summer Reading List

Here are the rumors people are whispering about these days...Buzz from the recent workshop of Mean Girls was so good, several insiders asked to attend the 2nd presentation just because

it was so much fun.• • •

Amazon is circling Broadway, ready to drop anchor with its own ticketing service. Expect it to make an appearance when Harry Potter opens up next year. Look out Broadway.com!Got a rumor? Send ‘em to me at ken@theproducersperspective.com.

OVERHEARD IN SHUBERT ALLEY

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LAST MONTH AT THE BROADWAY BOX OFFICE

I thought I was so cool.

When I was 14, I went to see The Monkees at the Worcester Centrum. It was my first concert. And I swore Davy Jones pointed at me and everything.

My stepdad let me use my allowance to buy a t-shirt (for $20 – which in 1986 was a ton of dough) and you can bet your “Last Train to Clarksville” that I wore it to school the next day, parading around like a peacock.

I told you I thought I was cool. I didn’t say I was cool.

But this experience did teach me my first lesson and one of the most important lessons in live entertainment.

People love merch.

Merch always sells. Always. And it’s always a money maker (unless you really screw it up). And the great thing about merch is that not only can you turn a profit, but every single person that wears a t-shirt, button or skull cap,

is helping to get the word out about your show.

So I don’t care how big or small your show is, you should make sure you are at the very least selling t-shirts or some wearable item that your audience can take home with them. You might find that you make more money on the merch than on the actual ticket sales (this is the case for most up-and-coming rock bands who tour the small circuits).

(Here’s a tip...get your cast t-shirts as an opening night gift, and then just make more, and sell what’s left. You’ll decrease your cost of purchase because you’ll be ordering more, and you gotta get something for everyone for opening anyway.)

We’re not allowed many additional streams of revenue in the theater biz. In fact, merch is one of the few we have.

So take advantage of it, and you’ll find yourself with a few more bucks in your pocket and maybe a few more butts in your seats.

Rodgers & Hammerstein Had It Wrong

It wasn’t June that was bustin’ out all over. It was July. What a month we had here on Broadway! This month had more shows reaching $1mm a week that I’ve ever seen before, and several shows reaching $2mm and a few reaching all the way up to $3mm! The weeks in July are the best performing consecutive weeks of the entire year, thanks to the influx of tourists to the city for the summer. Although something to know...the advances for these high grossing weeks is not as high as you think for a lot of the shows. In fact, an advance for a July week can be the same as an advance for a October week...sometimes even less! The difference is in the walk up. Tourists don’t tend to buy in advance, but when they get here, they storm the box offices (and the TKTS booth) looking for a show to see before they head back to wherever they are from. It can be hard for a Producer to predict where a July week will end since sometimes more than $500k of tickets can be sold within the same week you’re in! That can cause some serious pit stains for a Producer with a show that is up against the ropes—but if you’ve made it to July, odds are you are going to come out of July.

JULY 2016 BROADWAY GROSS

$104,066,068.35 • • •

JULY 2017 BROADWAY GROSS

$124,305,628.57Increase/Decrease: +19.45%

• • •JUNE 2016

BROADWAY ATTENDANCE

985,117• • •

JUNE 2017 BROADWAY ATTENDANCE

1,054,175Increase/Decrease: +7.01%

• • •Get the weekly grosses

by subscribing to my blog.

MARKETING FOR PROS

PRO QUOTE OF THE MONTH

How to Get People to Pay YOU to Advertise Your Show

Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines and Habits of Billionaires,

Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss

Over the last two years, #1 New York Times best-selling author Tim Ferriss has collected the routines and tools of world-class

performers around the globe. Now, the distilled notebook of tips and tricks that helped him double his income, flexibility, happiness, and more is available as Tools of Titans.

“Say ‘yes’... and figure it out afterwards.”

~Tina Fey

3

WHAT KEN’S READING THIS MONTH

One of the first and most important exercises that I teach in Raise It, my course on how to raise money, is to make a list of anyone and everyone that you could ask for money for your show. Now, you’ll notice that I didn’t say make a list of anyone and everyone that can give you money. I said make a list of people you can ask for money. It’s a very important distinction, because you can control who you can ask. You can’t ultimately control who will give you money (although in Raise It, I certainly teach you lots of tips and tricks on how to increase those odds!).

I go on to say that when making your list, you shouldn’t judge people by thinking things like, “Oh, they just got divorced, they can’t give me money,” or “They would never invest in the theater.” Just make the list without thinking who will or who won’t give you money. You want the biggest list possible.

The next step is a bit more advanced, but it’s a very important part of the process. Once you have that list, divide it up into three categories, or “buckets.”

For example, here’s how I divide my list into three buckets:

1. People who have invested with me before.

2. People who have not invested with me before but have expressed interest in investing.

3. People who I have yet to ask to invest.

Another way to think of these three categories is how a salesperson straight out of Glengarry Glen Ross might define them.

1. Hot

2. Warm

3. Cold

Yours might be different, but you get the idea...the hot are the people most likely to invest with you, and the cold are just plain unknown. (TIP: When you do make your list, however you label your buckets, make sure you ONLY have three.)

Why split them up in categories like this?

Two reasons.

First, when you know who is in each category, you know where to begin your asks. You should always start with the people in category #1, because this group should generate the most amount of money for you the fastest. And isn’t that your goal?

Then you go to #2 and then to #3. The third category will take you the longest to convert, so we don’t want to start there, because if they take too long we may end up against a deadline. And that is no fun, let me tell you!

Second, your long term goal is to take the people in category #3 and move them all the way up to the first. The more folks we have in the “Hot” bucket, the easier our next raise will be, right?

This is a group that I focus on when I’m NOT under the gun to raise money. I’ll invite them to shows, send them articles I think they’ll enjoy, etc. I’m literally warming up a cold lead until they are boiling hot.

I find that a little organization makes things a lot easier. And taking your prospects and putting them into piles, pails or buckets is a simple step that makes the asks just a little easier.

RAISING MONEY FOR PROS

4

ON THE PODCAST

CONNECT WITH KEN

The Producer’s Perspective Podcast has become a veritable who’s who of Broadway insiders. As a member of PRO, you’re the first to know who’s coming up:

• Scott Elliot - Founding Artistic Director of The New Group

• David Javerbaum - Emmy and Grammy Award Winning Comedy Writer, Composer, and Lyricist

• David Caparelliotis - Casting Director/Founder, Caparelliotis Casting

• Randy Buck - CEO of TROIKA Entertainment

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Copyright ©2017 Davenport Theatrical Enterprises.

Producer/Writer/Director Kevin Davis’

One In A Million Musical will be playing at The Riverside Theatre in NYC from November 2–11, 2017.

More info can be found at facebook.com/oneinamillionmusical.

• • •Writer/Producer

Lauren S. Raslitz’ work was recently featured in a

cabaret, “Things We Think But Dare Not Say”, at Mr. Finn’s Cabaret on August 6 and 7. The performance featured Jeff Blumenkrantz and

Anne L. Nathan.

Got a project update? Email me at ken@theproducersperspective.com

UPDATES FROM PROS

www.facebook.com/kendavenportwww.twitter.com/kendavenportwww.linkedin.com/in/kendavenportwww.instagram.com/kendavenportbwayken@theproducersperspective.com

Putting your Prospects into Three Pails