One Producer in the City

Lessons from my first year of business: Meeting vs. Doing

You have just started your new business and before you can say "How can I help you?" in comes the request for your first meeting. 

Now let's say the meeting goes well. You make a connection and there is some possible business in the future and some referrals potentially coming your way. 

Exciting right?

So what do you do?

Take more meetings

Then some more

Then....

It's the end of the week. 

This is the easiest trap to fall into for a new entrepreneur. I still from time to time struggle with this one. 

So I'm not suggesting you stop having meetings, but I am suggesting you make sure you balance out your meetings with doing the work. 

Meetings are pleasant. There is usually little pressure unless it's a really big client and they are relatively short. As a result, just like the email video game I discussed in this blog, there is a tendency to want to take as many of them as possible. 

My advice?

Spread them out. 

Having taken days full of them, I can tell you that sometimes you feel like you can't get a single thing done and it is so important to guard your time to do the work that you are being paid for. At the end of my first year of business, I actually took two days out of my week and called them "No Meeting" days. This helped me stay on top of the tasks I needed to complete. 

Take a little time today and count up the number of hours spent on meetings.

Now count up the number of hours spent on doing the work.

If there is a gross inequity, fix it.

Because meetings are no fun, if you can't afford the coffee. 

Excelsior!

P.S.- My networking course Solving for X is this weekend. Make sure to grab your tickets HERE

Manager wanted

There comes a time in every entrepreneur's life when they realize that they need to bring on someone else to manage the work. 

After the insanity of last week, I have realized that the time is now. 

If you are interested in being a content manager for this blog, fill out this form. 

The new content manager will get the opportunity to see shows for free, write guest posts, curate all outside blog content, and work one on one with me to build the readership. If you are interested in customer service, this could be a really good fit. The position is volunteer, but there is the opportunity to move into a paid position as the blog monetizes

I will only take one person from this list, so apply today if you are interested. 

Excelsior! 

Solving for X is this weekend! Grab your tickets HERE

The S.A.M. Talks are happening!

Some of you may remember this blog post about the S.A.M. Talks. 

It seems something is in the air as the first TedX Broadway event kicked off yesterday and now the S.A.M. talks will be happening this weekend. As I promised, they are free, but you do need to register. All of the info is below. If any of my readers are interested in helping out or know someone who might be interested in videotaping, please email me. 

Look forward to seeing all of you there!

Excelsior!

ART IS NOT APART: Experiments, Reflections and Manifestos

A three-day symposium for artists, educators, curators and community workers who seek to reclaim the arts as an integral part of community life.

 

Collaboratively designed and hosted by two of New York's oldest yet most innovative community-based organizations - University Settlement and Henry Street Settlement.

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ADMISSION IS FREE - REGISTER IN ADVANCE!

Please click here to submit your registration form.

You can register for all or parts of the symposium but spots are limited -

so act fast!

 

Detailed schedule below:

Thursday, January 26th

Friday, January 27th 

Saturday, January 28th

 

Join an array of creative community makers including...

Elastic City, Fourth Arts Block (FAB NYC), Ping Chong & Company, viBe Theater Experience,Sasha Soreff Dance Theater, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, Arts to Grow, Leave Out Violence-U.S. (LOVE-US), SPACE on Ryder Farm,Patty Dukes and Reph Star, The Anthropologists, Hip Hop Re:Education Project and our three Artists in Residence - Panoply Performance Lab, Kinematik Dance Theater and Trusty Sidekick Theater Company.

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SCHEDULE:

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26TH 7PM-9:30PM

Creating Possibilities: Exploring Working Models, Approaches and Techniques

Panel Discussion: In a climate where essential services for children, seniors and other vulnerable populations are struggling to survive, how are artists making art relevant and integral to community life?

 

Panelists include:

Fabian Farbeon Saucedo, Program director of Hip Hop Re:Education Project  
chandra thomas, Co-Founder/Director of Programming,  viBe Theater Experience
Mallory King, Founder/Executive Director, Arts to Grow
Clayton B. Evans, Executive Director of Leave Out Violence-U.S. (LOVE-US)
Sara Zatz, Associate Director of Ping Chong & Company
Ann Gregg, Director of Community Programs of Carnegie Hall's Weill's Music Institute

Breakout Session: Small groups facilitated by the panelists will brainstorm art and community connections and then collaboratively create a visual artifact to hang in The Gallery of Possibilities which will be on display throughout the symposium. Participants are welcome to bring artifacts from their own work.

The Shoelace Project: Created by Sasha Soreff Dance Theater. This interactive performance and workshop explores how shoelaces represent a powerful and nearly universal symbol: they tie us up, trip us up and hold us up. Personally inscribe an ultra wide shoelace with your hopes and fears and make discoveries about what gets us tangled and untangled, bound and unbound.

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 27TH 7PM-9:30PM

Resistance (theirs...or mine?): Transforming Resistance Into Creative Fuel

Breakout Session: As we have all experienced, resistance is an inevitable component of making art. Small groups guided by expert facilitators will identify and harness the forces of resistance. Each group will devise an original performance as a means of sharing perspectives, strategies, and techniques for working with resistance.

Facilitators include:

Jesca Prudencio, Educator Coordinator of Ping Chong & Company
Esther Neff, Co-Artistic Director of Panoply Performance Lab
Jonathan Shmidt, Artistic Director of Trusty Sidekick Theater Company
Melissa F. Moschitto, Artistic Director of The Anthropologists  
Svea Schneider, Artistic Director of Kinematik Dance Theater
Patty Dukes , Artistic Director of Dreamyard's Bronx Theater Ensemble

Artist Shares: Enjoy short performances by artists who are finding interesting ways to connect their process and work with communities traditionally beyond the reach of the art world.

Shares include:

Panoply Performance Lab: NATURE FETISH: Episode 1: Laws and Logic
Patty Dukes and Reph Starr: Excerpt from Free Lunch

Wine Reception: Build up your creative community network.

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 28TH 3PM-9:30PM
(COMMUNITY DINNER AT 6PM) 

Manifesting Art and Community: Sharing and Acquiring New Skills, Ideas and Inspirations

Workshops: A selection of 90-minute workshops led by dynamic facilitators. Each participant will have the opportunity to select two hands-on workshops.

All workshops will be offered during session 1 and 2.Click here to see all the workshop descriptions!

You can now sign up for workshops when you register. If the workshop you would like to join is full, contact[email protected] to be put on the waiting list.

 

If you registered before January 19 you will be contacted to sign up for workshops.

Saturday Workshop Session 1:
Check-in: 2:45PM
Session: 3:00-4:15PM

Saturday Workshop Session 2:
Check-in: 4:20PM
Session: 4:30-5:45PM

Community Dinner: Sit, eat and enjoy connecting with creative community makers.

Smart Art Manifests & Artist Shares: Join us for an inspiring series of TED-style SAM (Smart Art Manifestos) talks and performances by innovative and highly creative community makers, including:

• Russell Granet, Founder of Arts Education Resource (AER), shares his vision for the future of arts education.
• Michael Roderick, Broadway Producer/ Founder of Small Pond Enterprises LLC, believes that hope lies in the artists- and talks about the lack of essential business education in arts programs set against the backdrop of Orwell's 1984. 

• Lilli Wosk, Vocal Coach /Music Director / Entrepreneur, questions Why Arts Entrepreneurship Now? And inspires similarities between arts entrepreneurs and the owners of hedge funds and the misconceptions regarding our limits.

• Tamara Greenfield, Executive Director of Fourth Arts Block shares a vision of a sustainable home for the arts.
• Ping Chong, award winning theater director, choreographer, and video installation artistwill talk about creating theater that reaches across cultural communities.

• And Melanie Joseph, Artistic Producer of The Foundry Theater gives the symposium's closing remarks. 

 

This symposium is co-curated by Nellie Perera, Director of Arts in Education at Henry Street Settlement's Abrons Arts Center, Alison Fleminger, Program Curator and Educator of The Performance Project @ University Settlement and Michael Roderick, Found of Small Pond Enterprises LLC.

The title ART IS NOT APART is inspired by artist and educator Eric Booth.

 

Remember - spots are limited. Click here to complete the registration form today.

 

 

Is someone sitting here?- An experiment

So I'm not sure about everyone else, but I get really annoyed when I go to a coffee shop and cannot find a seat. 

After being displaced from my usual haunt and forced to deal with the concept of an overcrowded coffee shop, I thought that it would be awesome if I knew ahead of time what places had seats open, that way I didn't waste time ordering coffee and standing waiting for someone to vacate a table. 

With this in mind I decided to conduct an experiment to see if it would help to give people a central place to let others know when a place was too damn crowded. 

So I created a twitter account: @ISSHereNY  It stands for "Is someone sitting here?"

A question I was asked ten times today.

The system is simple.

If you are sitting in a coffee shop and it is crowded, you let your friends know by doing the following "@ISSHereNY This place is packed! No seats and line out the door #starbucks39thand8th

The hashtag is the location so it's searchable and all people need to do to find out if there's room is to follow @ISSHereNY and search for their location. 

Now as I mentioned, this is an experiment.

It might work

It might not

But until someone develops a website, this is my only hope. 

So give it a whirl and give me your feedback. I'm not a tech guy, I'm just a guy looking for a seat.

#necessityisthemotherofinvention

Excelsior! 

Another networking No No

Here's something I see happen a lot and it's a sure-fire way to lose someone's respect in under 30 seconds. So if you're doing this: Stop and if you see someone doing this, let them know the damage they are causing.

This is the scenario: Someone in a higher position sees you at a party and starts talking to you. A few minutes later someone of importance walks in and while you are in the middle of the conversation, they say, "hold on" and then go and greet that person turning their back on you and starting a whole other conversation. 

I'll be the first to tell you that you need to give your donors, supporters, and those in authority high consideration, but NEVER do it at the expense of your attention to the person you are talking to. It's rude and you never know who that person knows.

The right way to handle this if you are in the position of power?

Introduce the person coming into the conversation to the person you are chatting with no matter what level they are at. 

They will appreciate the intro and the consideration and you will show them that you respect their time.

Remember, you and only you can prevent networking No No's.

Excelsior!

Want to be part of a three day FREE symposium celebrating the power of the arts? Check out Art is not Apart. 

Need to learn about raising money for your next project? 

The Next Solving for X is on sale now and you can grab a ticket here.

 

Want to make an impact? Have a dream and build a super team.

There is no doubt that one of the strongest tools in your networking tool box is your ability to introduce other people to one another, but there is one tool that is even stronger than that:

Your ability to put together a team. 

In the case of The Avengers above, someone needed to have a vision for the fact that these heroes could work well together and use their abilities in concert to be a formidable force. You can do the same thing. 

Next time you are thinking of introducing people, take a second to think about who else might be good on their team. Maybe introduce four or five people at a time. Sure, in some instances you might have a Wolverine vs. Cyclops thing going, but for the most part you'll find that people work pretty well together. 

Today is a day that celebrates the idea of one man having a vision and bringing people together around a common cause. That story is inspiring and should push all of us to think about how we can bring people together around a common vision. 

So take the time today to ask yourself who you can match up.

Who knows? You might just have another Avengers on your hands.

Excelsior!

Want to be part of a three day FREE symposium celebrating the power of the arts? Check out Art is not Apart. 

Need to learn about raising money for your next project? 

The Next Solving for X is on sale now and you can grab a ticket here.

Guest Blog 62: Modern Dance but no one rolls on the floor

This week's guest blog comes courtesy of my friend David Homan who's here to tell you all about a really cool collaboration between himself and his wife. Take it away David!

Hey All,

You're reading a guest blog by David Homan and Ariel Grossman, a composer and choreographer team who also happen to be married to each other.  Ariel creates the dance, David makes a great meal. David writes the music, Ariel does the dishes.   Last night was sea scallops and fresh basil/spinach pasta! 

We're both not in the avant garde, and are raising money via kickstarter for a major collaborative show with Catherine Miller/WalkingTalking and Davis Roberton's Joffrey Ballet School Performance Company. 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/792081117/ariel-rivka-dance-and-david-homan

 When little Ariel was 8 years old, she trained there, and Catherine, for whom David is writing a piece of music, is using Joffrey Ballet dancers in her work.  David's also writing a piece for Ariel and her company, Ariel Rivka Dance. 

Click here to see Une Nuit, Ariel's work at the Saratoga Artsfest, which will be premiered in NYC March 22-24 at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center on 60th and West End Ave

http://www.arielrivkadance.com/?page_id=69

And if that wasn't enough, here's a video of Ariel dancing her own solo, to the music of her dancer Stephanie Chun.

http://vimeo.com/28032515

THANKS!

Ariel and David

www.homanmusic.com

www.arielrivkadance.com

www.evaband.com

Thanks David! Be sure to check out their work. 

Excelsior! 

Awesome Person Thursday: Richard Marr-Griffin

This week's Awesome Person Thursday comes to us courtesy of Lenny Schwartz, who you all may remember directed my show BETH in November. Take it away Lenny! 

     I am honored to write this piece about awesome person Thursday about the director of my next film Richard Marr-Griffin. You may not know Richard, but you should. He is the director of past family fun fare as The Disco Exorcist, Exhumed, and Nun Of That.  I know a lot of New York City people read this blog but Richard is from Rhode Island.

     Richard and his company, Scorpio Film Releasing, produce independent films. His Company comprises of his partner and producer. the wonderful Ted Marr and producer Kristin Kayala, He works smart and fast and they film and premiere one to two features a year. Nine out of the last Nine films they produced together went on to get worldwide distribution.  Richard is on of the last guys out there slugging it  out in the trenches trying to tell the stories he feels needs to be told. And I admire the hell out of him for it.

    Richard also does in the film world something I strive for in the Theatre world: New works. Opportunities for actors in a professional environment.  Good, smart entertainment. One his Facebook page It reads the following as his job description: Director/Editor/First Among Equals at Scorpio Film Releasing, LLC. Yes, I stalk him. You can too! He is fun in his directing, prepared, intelligent, and extremely approachable and kind. But don’t tell him I told you that. And if you met him you could see that for yourself.

     I was fortunate to have Richard and his team welcome me into writing their next feature, “Murder University.” Yes, it’s a horror film. In a time of endless remakes, reboots, sequels and retreads, We feel what horror really needs is to go back to school. Back to the basics. No CGI fakery, no tricks, no gimmicks. Just solid storytelling, a great cast, and a beautiful visual look. 

     Richard is directing and it’s been an invigorating fantastic process working with some amazing talent. Everyone in this film in full of enthusiasm. And they deserve the best film Richard can direct.

     Here is the link to the Indiegogo page below. Please donate if you can. Anything is appreciated. There are prizes alongside the side of the page for each level of donation.

http://www.indiegogo.com/MURDER-UNIVERSITY-FEATURE-FILM

     Richard has done many fantastic films. He will continue to do so I think until he can no longer hold a camera. And I look forward to seeing what he comes up with from here. Because for Richard? I think the best is still yet to come.

 

 

Things you may miss

This weekend I was particularly taken with the things that we miss. In the city, there is so much going on and so much being advertised that we become overwhelmed. As a result of this, we often miss key elements because our attention is drawn to the subway steps that tell us to go to Target or the facebook ads that tell us to buy a t-shirt.  This weekend I did an experiment where I posted on my social networks once an hour about things that I thought were cool. I added some quotes and some links and was amazed at the number of retweets and comments. This leads me to the realization that even readers of this blog, may miss some of the great things that are coming along because it hits their inbox at the same time as a dozen other attention grabbers. So for the sake of those who may miss out, below are short tweetable opportunities for all of you. Enjoy!

You can win FREE tickets to a customer service seminar by filling out this form.

There is a FREE workshop coming up on how to shrink your budget HERE

You can win a chance for FREE consulting for a year and other prizes by going HERE and telling your friends

And I am offering a Workshop on Raising Money for less than the cost of an Off-Broadway Ticket. 

So if you find any of this valuable, feel free to tweet and retweet and make sure you're friends don't also miss out.

Excelsior! 

Guest Blog #61: RSO sending out and SOS

Hey all,

This week Ryan Scott Oliver is here to tell you all about his latest project. Take it away Ryan!

Ryan Scott Oliver here!  I’m the composer and lyricist of Disney’s upcoming Freaky Friday, Darling, Mrs. Sharp, Jasper in Deadland, Out of My Head, and this spring, 35mm, a multimedia musical exhibition featuring the work of photographer Matthew Murphy.

We’re currently trying to raise funds via Kickstarter, and we need your (you theatre loving theatregoer, you!) help!

Wait wait wait don’t go!  Forget about the fundraiser for a second.  Just watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9_8GnbKcgk&feature=player_embedded

Did you like it?  No?  You’re right; too dark.  Okay okay, what about this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbA4dbkfa9s

Kinda pretty, maybe?  You love Jesus?  Sorry...  All right, well if that doesn’t sell you— what about a friendly little pop tune?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BV79eSArCU&feature=related

Have I got you?  Even a little bit?  Okay then...  I’ll let you watch the video to find out more about our project, and if you’re moved even a little bit... Please give a little bit.  If you’re moved a lot, well... You’ll know what to do!

 
THANKS!!
Ryan Scott Oliver

PS, Can’t give, but want to help?  Please spread the word!

Thanks Ryan! I have seen his work in person and trust me, it's great stuff. 

See you all next week and don't forget about your WORST Customer service story!