One Producer in the City

Would like to inspect my budget?

Yesterday I was doing a consultation for a new producer and I was handed a budget. I immediately noticed a number of things missing and made her aware of them. This meant increasing the budget and talking through moving money around, reserves, etc. What was interesting was that there were things that were missed that were very familiar because I had missed them when I was starting out.

As producers, your budget is your foundation. It's the furnace that keeps your show nice and warm in the cold winter. If it breaks down, you could be in a lot of trouble. Ok, ok. Enough with the metaphor even though I may just be warming up ;)

It's never a bad idea to have someone else inspect your budget. Especially someone who has done a similar budget. This new producer did two very smart things. First, she asked for help and second, she listened to me even though what I had to say meant finding more money.

So if your producing a new show and you're very excited about your mastery of excel, make sure you take a second to run that budget by someone else. Give it a little check-up and odds are, you won't be sick later.

Excelsior!

Hey! Watch this!

Everyone in the industry thinks about stunts. This stunt got a show on CNN and national coverage, but what about the other stunts? And are the things we do as producers stunts? Do we say. "Hey! Watch this!" and do something crazy or do we just think what we present might be somewhat interesting and present it?

Today, ROOMS is having this event, and I'm going to be really interested to see what kind of response it gets.

The way I see it, stunts can be really helpful to a show if they are well-executed and well covered. I also think that the market is so crowded these days that you have to come up with a really big stunt if you're going to get anyone's attention. So it'll be great to see if this event is big enough and how it works or doesn't work.

So how about you guys? Anybody do any big stunts? I'd love to hear comments.

So c'mon and ring my bell ;)

Excelsior!

Email air hockey

Email piles up faster than students at a rush matinee of Jersey Boys. The question then lies in how you keep up with them and what is there to do?

After having many email issues of my own, I developed what I like to call the air hockey strategy.

Most of us have played this game. The aim is to get the puck in the other person's goal and to protect your own goal. This is fast-paced and there's strategy involved. This is also how answering emails works.

When someone sends you an email to follow up on an appointment, ask you for something, tell you congrats, anything at all... They are sending the puck your way. If that email hits your inbox, and you do nothing with it, it's just like having the puck go in the goal. You may get to it later, but what if you forget? That email could sit there for days.

Now let's say that email comes in and you respond right away or you respond very quickly. You just knocked the puck back to the other person. Now you have a game. Now they have to return the puck or allow you to score a goal. See how this works? If someone emails you,it means they want to play. It only makes sense that you join in and keep the game going. if you set up a meeting or get them on board with a project, you've just scored a goal. If you just let your emails sit there, people aren't going to want to play.

So I know everybody at this point is thinking, "How in the world can I possibly be on top of all of these emails?" Well, you can't. But... You CAN improve your game. Here's a few tips

1. The quick shot- Someone emails you with a  question it will take you a long time to answer. Respond immediately with: "Thanks for your message. I'm looking into that and will get back to you tomorrow" That takes about 2 seconds, sets you up with a deadline you can add to your calendar, and makes the other person feel like the message is important to you. They'll say "Wow. They got back to me right away! etc." or some variation on that.

2. The bank shot- Someone emails you asking when to get together, but you don't have time to check your calendar that second. Send back a quick: "Getting together sounds great. Send me a list of your free times and we'll set something up in the next few days" - Now you've given them a deadline and you've set them up to tell you the times they are free, making for easier scheduling.

3. The straight shot- Instead of writing an email back, hit reply and put your answer in the subject line. Now, all they have to do to get an answer is look at your subject heading.

So go to your inbox and start knocking those pucks around. There are plenty of folks out there ready to play.

Are you?

Excelsior!

The waiting is the hardest part

So some of you are probably now humming this Tom Petty tune after reading the heading, and some of you reading this are asking, "Who's Tom Petty?"

Ah I love how the net serves as great age equalizer. I know for a fact some of my students in high school read this blog. If you're reading right now guys, don't forget there's a vocab quiz tomorrow. Anyways....

This post will be short. Waiting is THE WORST thing that you want a consumer to deal with. People hate waiting and the longer they wait, the more irritated they get. So as a producer, it's very important to do everything you can to make sure people don't spend a lot of time waiting. Once people have to wait for you, the dynamic changes and it's hard to get them back.

So how do you monitor this with customers, clients, investors, etc.?

Schedule your appointments and always be prompt in your replies. I just recently discovered the joy of the Google Calendar and how it can sync to your phone. I now can check instantly if I have time to meet, which means I can get back to whoever is contacting me that much faster.

I'm personally guilty of letting emails slip through the cracks and I realize as that goes along, I could be losing potential customers, so I do everything I can to get back in touch with people as quickly as possible. And if I made them wait a long time, I always apologize.

As producers, we want to keep people happy. They won't be happy if they're sitting waiting for us to get our acts together. And let's face it, if your act's not together.....

Then there's no show.

Excelsior!

Throw a party

I spoke before about making sure that you get out there and see as much as possible. But what if no invites are coming your way?

Throw a party.

Invite like minded people and sure enough you'll encounter somebody who has a connection to the business. Ken's social last night most likely ignited numerous relationships amongst bloggers and you can do the same. All it takes is getting people together.

On Friday, I usually give my students the weekend off, but if you're a loyal reader, I have an assignment for you.

Plan a party. Invite folks on this blog or others, but do something that will get a group of people together to share their passion. Then, comment and if you want invite me. The more parties we throw, the more people we'll meet.

I'll even put something together myself.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Excelsior!

The Bloggers, the Institute, and the Bootcamp

So every once and a while, I do the job of delivery boy through this little blog here. I'm often asked by aspiring producers what events are good to go to. Here's three.

1. Ken Davenport is hosting a social tonight for bloggers. It's exclusively for those of us who spread our messages for free throughout the net. If you blog, you want to go here, and get in on this.  If you go, make sure to introduce yourself to Ken. He's one of the best producers I know and is a great person to know. Nuff said.

2. CTI is doing its three-day weekend program in May. This is an essential step if you're interested in the commercial theatre world. It provides a great networking opportunity and it's where I have met some excellent contacts. Check out the three day and you won;t be disappointed. It's worth it for the people you meet as well as all the info provided.

3. TRU is hosting another Bootcamp for new producers. If you are just starting out and want some really practical info on producing, you'll want to check it out. Of course, they also have a really great host for the event ;)

And that's the buzz this week folks. Get out there and check out these events. See you there!

Excelsior!

A new thought

So here's a thought. As I was walking by this show the other day and saw the line. I said to myself, "Wow. It must really bite to have to stand in that long of a line" I then got to thinking about a trip I took to Six Flags this past summer and this thing they have called the flash pass where if you'd rather not wait in line, you take it and you can skip the line. It'd be interesting to see if people who are waiting in line for a big show, would pay more to get into the theatre faster. And folks, this is just a random thought. It may not work at all, but why not at least think about it?

People hate waiting in line and Six Flags capitalized on that, maybe we should too.

I'd love to hear thoughts an comments on this.

I'd also love to see you at the next Hold for the Laughs tomorrow. Info is below.

Excelsior!

Hold For The Laughs, 4/22 with Marc Maron!

Host:	Hold For The Laughs
Type:	Causes - Fundraiser
Network:	Global

Date:	Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Time:	9:30pm - 11:30pm
Location:	The Sage Theatre
Street:	711 Seventh Ave btwn 47th and 48th
City/Town:	New York, NY
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Email:

holdforthelaughs@gmail.com

Description

It's Hold For The Laughs time again!

As always, all proceeds from the event go to support indie theatre. Please come out to the Sage Theatre for an exceptional evening of comedy and meet some terrific people in the theatre and comedy communities.

The networking event starts at 9:30pm, and the comedy will follow at 10pm. This event has sold out in the past-- please reserve your spot in advance by emailing holdforthelaughs@gmail.com. Tickets are $10 if you email in advance, or $12 at the door. No drink minimum, beer and wine are available. Oh, and of course, there will be free homemade cookies. Betcha can't eat just five.

The lineup:
Lauren Olson (doing an excerpt from her solo show, Our Condolences)
Charlie Kasov (New Orleans Comedy Festival)
Diana Saez (CNN, Sirius Radio, DC Comedy Festival)
Jesse Popp (Comedy Central's Premium Blend)
Marc Maron (Letterman, Conan, HBO, Morning Sedition on Air America Radio, recent solo show "Scorching the Earth")

Please reserve asap if you want your info included in the networking packet.

Really, you don't want to miss this one!

The Producing Puzzle

One thing that hasn't really been addressed yet on this blog is what happens when things go wrong.  I think this is a very important side of the business so I wanted to talk a little bit about that today. Now, we're not always talking financial failure, someone being fired, or some other major event. Sometimes it's as small as the printing company you use being a little bit off or maybe your set designer got a ticket and you have to pay for it. I like to think of this process as the producing puzzle.

When you get involved with a show, you are getting a puzzle that has not been put together yet. You usually have all the pieces but you have to figure out how to put them together. Now think about this, how do you start?

You guess.

You take a risk, and try to put two pieces together and see if they make a little bit of the picture. You also take a second to look at the box to figure out if you're on the right track. You then put more pieces together and continue to look at the picture, and if something is missing, you keep going back to the image and finding more and more of the picture.

So how does this apply in the producing world and what does this have to do with things going wrong?

When you produce you usually have a pretty good idea of what to put together first. You may have done a great job of assembling your creative team, you may have found great rehearsal space that's cheap, you may have set up your marketing ideas for your show and they seem like they'll work.....

BUT

That's just a few pieces of the puzzle. When something goes wrong in the production, that's the gaping hole in the middle of the puzzle. Do you blindly just try to put pieces together?

No. You look at the picture on the front of the box. Just like if you're producing something and you're having trouble, you should be looking at other shows. Look at shows that did well. Think about what they did or didn't do. Talk to other producers who have been through that problem. Reaching out to the people who did this right is just like reaching over and grabbing that box and looking at the picture. You'll get the pieces together faster and you'll feel better.

And don't let anybody tell you that looking at the box is cheating and that you need to make it harder on yourself. They're idiots. If something does not feel right to you or if you're in trouble, go back to the box. Because if you decide you can do it all on your own, you're probably going to end up holding a lot of pieces and a half finished puzzle.

Who wins then?

Excelsior!

The Balancing act

Producing is a balancing act. I often reference the plate spinners you see in the circus because that's really what we are. At the same time we're raising money for one project, we have to see other projects, meet with creatives, negotiate deals, and find good help. These are just a few of the tasks that come into play.

It also occurred to me that I may want to get even more people in on the act since my act has gotten bigger lately.

So here it is.

If any one reading this blog is interested in working with me on some of my upcoming projects, leave me a comment on here or send me an email. I am going to list all of the things I have going right now below to give a decent landscape and hope that those of you who want to learn more about all of this would come on board, cause folks, there's a lot to balance.


1. ROOMS is running currently and I'd love more people to help us with this

2. TOTSEB- Theatre of the Small-Eyed Bear is up an running and producing three shows in rep. You can find out more about the three shows by visiting the website link, and I'll be bloggin over there too!

3. The Manhattan Independent Space Initiative- A project in which I am working on finding spaces in Manhattan to rent or lease for artists and possibly include elements of commercial production.

4. At least three new musicals in development

5. The Independent Producers Alliance of NY- An organization I started for new producers to talk about their issues and problems in the industry

6. Hold for the Laughs- A monthly comedy series that raises money for Independent Theatre Companies

And there's a lot more. So if you have an interest in learning more. Email me. I'm looking for a few good producers.


Excelsior!

Supervision vrs. micro-managing

Having been on both sides of this more than once, I thought it might be a good idea to talk a little bit about how producers function when they have someone working under them.

I see there being really two approaches: Supervision and Micro-managing

I'm a big fan of one, and I really hate the other. So here we go.

Supervision means that you are keeping an eye on something. Whether that be an employee, your show, your sales, etc. Supervision is often best achieved through the use of some distance. When I'm teaching, I move around the room and survey the whole class. This tells me who's asleep, who's paying attention, and who's doing someone else's homework. I can then focus on the problem areas and fix them. The same idea applies to producing a show. I trust the people working on the show and I watch over what's going on. I ask to be CC'd on emails and I stop in on rehearsals from time to time. I ask my PR people how the press release is being received. These are all tasks that other people are in charge of but I watch over it and give a suggestion here or there. Over the years I have found that this method has encouraged team work and respect amongst those that work for me. It's because supervision still allows you to let other people do what they need to and it shows a level of trust.

Micro-managing is for people who aren't comfortable with distance. They want to have a say in everything. They want to change the marketing image even when a hundred people have all agreed they like the current one. They want to personally type the email that your PR person is planning on sending out. They want to be at every rehearsal and even give notes to the actors. These are extreme examples, but this is not the person you want for your leader. It's very important to pay attention to details, but if you get so focused on details that you miss the big picture, what does is really matter? I'd rather have my ship stay afloat and not have the prettiest paint job, then have a Monet on the front that I glance at for two seconds as it sinks into the ocean. So if you're in charge of any project right now, ask yourself which of these two are you? Maybe you're a combo of both?

For my money, good leaders supervise and bad leaders micro-manage- But feel free to disagree. I welcome your comments on this.

Excelsior!